NU vs Illinois - Cabrini Connections Wins

Northwester alumni and friends donated $1,620 on GiveForward.org and another $$5,943 in funds raised by NU alum Matt Ulrich through the Oct. 25 Charity Hill Challenge, for a total of $7,563. The Illinois total on GiveForward was $1,020, which means NU was the victor on the football field and on the fund raising field.

The real winner is Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection. In total, this campaign raised $8,583 and introduced nearly 100 new friends to the work we're doing. Without Kurt Kitner and El Da'Sheon Nix launching this effort in September, we would not have that money.

This week Kurt and El were featured in a few blog articles written by GiveForward. Read them here, here and here.



Fund Raising is an on-going part of the work we do that enables us to offer the programs of Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection. This graphic is one that was created by students in our tech club, and which will be used in our holiday fund raising campaigns. We have three graphics, and any of our friends and volunteers can use them to launch their own campaign on GiveForward.org, or through other communications. Just ask Dan or Bradley to send them to you.

This week El Da'Sheon and Kurt, and the leaders of GiveForward.org will be hosting workshops at the Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference to share their experiences and talk about how athletes and others can take the lead in raising money for their favorite charities.

Finally, on Sunday, Nov. 22, you can Raise a glass for Cabrini Connections! We're having a wine-tasting fundraiser from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22, at Cellar Rat, 1811 W. North Ave. You can still make a donation, even if you cannot attend.

NU vs Illinois on the Fund Raising Field

El Da'Sheon posted a press release on the Cabrini Blog, as well as an update on the Charity Hill Challenge. Take a look.

If you can pass this on please do.

Illini vs NU FUNdraising Challenge!!! GAME WEEK!

For the past couple of months the Cabrini Connections’ program has been promoting the Illini vs NU FUNdraising Challenge leading up to the BIG GAME between Northwestern University and the University of Illinois on the football field. And all of the promotions has led us up to game week this week. So as the teams prepare for a great game on the field we are looking for some big fundraising plays off the field.

Currently ILLINOIS is winning.

As of 11/10/09, the Illinois score is $1,000 with $260 in new donations made today!

The Northwestern core is $925. However, the donations from Matt "Chest" Ulrich and the Charity Hill Challenge, are expected to add over $6,500 to the NU fund raising score.

The Illinois team has been working hard to cut costs and stretch dollars at Cabrini Connections. In September Kurt and Steve Miller, both Illinois alumni, were able to get the monthly rent cut in half, meaning a savings of $10,000 to Cabrini Connections, T/MC.

However, that's not cash, or donations from alumni. The big game is Saturday! If you're a fan of either school, or of Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection, please encourage donations to your favorite team.

Wildcat Fans Go Here: http://www.giveforward.org/illinivsnuchallenge/

Fighting Illini Fans Go Here: http://www.giveforward.org/illinialumsgive/

We're still raising money for our mapping project and there are seven tickets available for the Nov. 22 Wine Tasting event. See more ways to give at http://www.giveforward.org/cabrinitmc or on the Cabrini Connections donations page.

Turn Bad News into Good News

In my blog today I posted a link to a letter to the editor, titled "Their Blood is on Our Hands" - Rev. Meeks, written by Rev. James Meeks, pastor of Salem Baptist Church, and an Illinois State Senator. This is a powerful call to action.

Each week at Cabrini Connections we have volunteers connecting with inner city kids, with the goal that our kids stay in school and move to jobs and careers, with our help, and don't end up as the subject of one of these bad news stories.

We can't do this without help from donors. We've had many people step forward, but we're far short of our annual budget, and the money we will need next year to keep providing our services.

There are many ways to give and we describe them here.

One campaign that's going on right now is a competition to see if alumni and friends of Northwestern can raise more money for Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection than can alumni and friends of Illinois.

As of 11/5, NU has$925 points (dollars) raised.

You can donate to the NU team at http://www.giveforward.org/illinivsnuchallenge/

As of 11/5, Illinois has $740 points (dollars). Help the Illinois team at http://www.giveforward.org/illinialumsgive/



You can also sign up to attend the Holiday Wine-Tasting Fundraiser from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22, at Cellar Rat, 1811 W. North Ave. Even if you can't attend, you might make a Thanksgiving donation to this event and start celebrating your holidays early. See more at http://www.giveforward.org/ccwinetasting/

We started putting events on the GiveForward site in late August, and already we've raised over $61,000. This site enables anyone to launch a fund raising campaign, celebrating a birthday, a holiday, a run in a marathon, etc.

We hope more and more of our volunteers, and friends, will do this, helping us build a much larger network of support to keep kids headed toward a positive future instead of a newspaper headline.

$10 Donation, 10 Invitations - America's Giving Challenge Challenge

Last Sunday Parade Magazine announced the 2009 America's Giving Challenge, in which non profits who recruit the most donors, people giving $10 or more, can win a grand prize of $50,000, or daily prizes of $1000.

This money would be a big help at Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection, so we're inviting all of our friends, volunteers, former students, peers, etc. to help us win.

Our strategy is to encourage $10 donations, and 10 people recruiting. Thus if 100 people each recruit 10 more, and they recruit 10 more, they each are raising $100, and increasing the chances that we win.

Our second challenge, is to encourage donations to be made on FRIDAYS only. Thus, tomorrow, and next Friday, and the Friday after that, if we concentrate our donating, we have a better chance to win the daily prizes, even if we can't win the overall grant prize.

Here's our Facebook Page where you can make your donation.

Northwestern vs Illinois, on the Fund Raising Field

If you're a University of Illinois alum, or fan, visit this link and help your team win this challenge with alumni of Northwestern University.

If you're from Northwestern, or a Wildcat fan, you can support your team by making a donation at this link.

Follow this competition on the Cabrini Blog, which will end on Nov. 4 when the two teams meet on the football field.

Do your trash talking on Facebook, Linked in and in your business and social circles.

Who will win? The kids and volunteers who benefit from the services of Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection.

Each One, Reach One. Create your own fund raising event.

Each One, Reach One, is the fund raising strategy of Cabrini Connections. If each of our volunteers, students, alumni and leaders just reached out to one person and recruited them to be a donor, we'd dramatacally increase the flow of resources and the stability of our organization.

Did you know that you can raise money for Cabrini Connections by running in a marathon, or by celebrating a birthday, or special event? This graphic shows the Cabrini group page at http://www.giveforward.org/CabriniTMC/. This is a web platform that enables anyone to create a fund raising event, and to ask friends, co-workers and family to give their support.



Nicole White and Nick Infusino have used http://www.firstgiving.com/nicolewhite3 to ask friends to support them as they run the Chicago Marathon. Their goal is to raise $2,000 for Cabrini Connections. Nicole and Nick have sent 50 letters and countless emails to friends and family, and already some are responding with donations of $24 to $104.

We have more than 90 active volunteers every year, with more than 300 alumni volunteers receiving this email every two weeks. More than 500 people are in our Facebook group. More than 800 adults have been tutors/mentors since 1993. More than 500 teens have been involved for one to 7 years in Cabrini Connections. We're connected to many more who were part of the Montgomery Ward program as far back as 1973.

This is an army. We just need to find a way to release its full energy, with many individuals and groups organizing events that raise $100 to $1000 to help us pay the bills and keep Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection in business for the coming year.

Please do all you can to find people in your family, work, alumni and social network who will make donations or become benefactors. This makes it possible for others to be volunteers.

Say I DO and support a charity

Are you getting married, but already have a full supply of dishes, household appliances, etc. Do you want to do something socially beneficial to mark the start of your new union? Maybe you want to do something that assures a brighter future for the offspring that will come in future years.

I received a donation this week that came to us because one of our former leaders, Gita Rao, was married this spring, and she decided to encourage friends to visit the I DO Foundation and consider giving a gift to Cabrini Connections to honor her wedding.

We've had a few volunteers support us with wedding gifts in the past, but this is the first time I've found a web site that acts as the matchmaker in this process. Thank you Gita and friends who have chosen to help us with their donation.

If you have wedding bells on the horizon, maybe you can help us this way, too.