I must say that when I first was introduced to CARE2 by my wise niece (who takes after her Aunt ) I was, at once, both delighted yet surprised about it. Delighted that it definitely was on the right track but surprised that it was just a tad bit scattered in the organization of its causes.

That is not to say that it cannot all come together though. 

Maybe that is why I`m here....

Not by plan or design, but by predestination.

I`ve raised millions $$$ for major charities whose only legal requirements were to designate 1% towards the actual cause to qualify for nonprofit status. 

I would consider it an honor to apply this knowledge ethically to raising $$$ for small (to mid) nonprofits and charities who have come together on CARE2.

I look forward to exchanging knowledge with you all on this group.

 [ send green star]

Well, I did have a Non-Profit Org., about 8 years ago...Animal Welfare/Rights....did great here for quite some time..but I lost all volunteers - I did protests they all thought were too wild for this area...I did them anyway - so they left my organization.  I guess they had too much pride to help animals in a way that really counts - making a HUGE statement.  Anyway, things are different, but I'm involved in all the same things.  My main concern is animal welfare and animal rights. 

At the moment and from now until March 1, 2004 my concern is  getting enough signatures and enough brief notes sent out to our Michigan Governor to over turn the permssion she gave hunter's to have a season to kill Mourning Doves.........the Michigan Official Bird of Peace.  We need 650,000 signatures by 3/1.  That's alot of signatures. There isn't a Petition on C2, but feel free to go to:

stopshootingdoves.org  

and all the information is there.  By the way our Governor Granholm - before she won the election she told ALL the animal groups in Michigan and other's that she would veto the hunting of Mourning Doves if it came across her desk.  HA!

I will like this group....it has 'good and healthy' all over it!

Regards, Nellie F.

 [ send green star]

I just wanted to say that I envy you and what you do. I so much want to be part of something like this, by volunteering, but like so many others, I have a house (and yard) full of my own critters who I have to give attention to, and a full time job.

I have found another way that I was able to help at least one NO-KILL animal shelter. I do web design, and this particular shelter did not have a presence on the internet, so I designed, and DONATED a web site for them. I am still adding to their adoptable pets pages, but it has finally gone live last week after a month of work. I am so excited to have been of help even in such a small way.

If you know of anyone in the No-Kill shelter or related businesses in need of web sites, I would love to help. More information can be found under my Professional Profile tab.

You may view the no kill shelter site at:
www.catniptrails.com (remember I am still adding pets in need and pages to this site) I would love to do more of the same type of sites for others in need. You can contact me through care2 or the MEdesign email link on the catnip trails site.

Just this past weekend! Thanks to Catnip Trails, I was introduced to Dr. Terri, who is an exotic animal vet, who also runs a Non-Profit farm for handicapped and special needs children. I recently had the chance to visit both Catnip Trails, and Dr. Terri's God's Helping Hands Farm. Dr. Terri currently has a website, but has asked that I redesign it for her! She even has a wallably, 2 Florida Panthers and a northern Panther on her property along with several other RESCUES! Her current website is: www.drparrott.com I can't wait to get the one I am doing for her up and running. I attended the special rodeo (just like the special Olympics) and had a wonderful time. These children are learning about all animals, and learning to love and ride horses! Dr. Terri recently lost her husband to cancer, has three daughters, and her elderly parents which she takes care of along with her 57 acre horse and exotic animal farm (I don't know how she does it! but sure glad she does). Animals which can be rebilitated and returned to the wild are. Others live out the rest of their days on the farm. All animals on the farm are rescues with the exception of one Quarter Horse.

I am currently trying to raise funds for both Catnip Trails and GHHF, for both of them are located in South Central Florida and took extreme damage from hurricanes Charley, Francis and Jean. Roofs were blown off of their barns, trees downed fences, pastures stand flooded. They are in desperate need of funds to help rebuild since FEMA will only cover damage done their homes and not the critter's quarters. Any ideas and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

God Bless You for what you all do! And Thanks for the invite.

 [ send green star]

Would love to start a small nonprofit for two separate things.

Have been extremely timid to even get started since writing grants hasn't proven to be my forte.  But I know there is someone else with some of my ideas that could do what I can't and vice versa!

Thanks for informing me of this wonderful group.

Care2 is exceptionally informative.

JoyAngel

 [ send green star]

Writing grants is formidable, thats understandable, and costly.  You have to hire someone (usually) and it`s very time consuming.  Can conceivably take years to get a grant, if and when you do.  It seems like a quick fix, I know,  but you shouldn`t limit your cause to depending on that alone.

That`s why I created this group, so we can explore other avenues together.

 [ send green star]

"Small" is a good word! When charities get big, they go "corporate" in many cases.

Also, I am glad you are including the unofficial groups as well as the full "nonprofits"

I am very much involved with several efforts and very gratified with the results in spite of the difficulties.

There are nonprofits for many reasons, not all of them charitable. For example, a professional association can be a nonprofit but its real purpose is to protect the profits of its members. A political group can be a nonprofit for the purpose of promoting its ideas, but the people who disagree probably would not call that a charity either. Same with religious charities. Many of them are quite mean-spirited.

So, Donna F, what are you thinking of when you use the word "charity"? Should there be a thread on this question?

 [ send green star]

It took me 2 years to get the grant I'm working under. I had actually forgotten about it when i got the call to show up and sign papers!

Now I am working on the second level of grants for next year. I have to slowly replace the grant I have with an income stream, and it has been a real interesting ride so far!

 [ send green star]

We have not gotten our non-profit status quite yet.  That is the stage we are at now - working on bringing together the filing fees and getting the paperwork done to make this happen.  I started my Yahoo group about a year before the groups here at Care2 (which is already double the size of the one at Yahoo!).  Funding has been a big problem for us.  I'm not good at asking for money without people writing that I am some kind of a lazy bum trying to "get rich" off of my experiences.  There has been some minor success at raising funds, but they trickle in once in awhile and are still way under what I spend every month to keep up and running.  We are hoping that after we finish writing the book and set off on our road tip around the country promoting it and giving talks for different groups, that the situation will improve.  We also believe that simply obtaining the non-profit status will help tremendously.  We have already missed out on a funding effort for that reason.  Another AR group was folding and looking for a worthy group to tansfer their leftover funds to.  They wanted to help mine, but since I didn't have the non-profit status, there was nothing they could do.

We also are in need of a way to take all of our cobbled-together freebie sites and put it all together into a coherent and professional site, but that is also beyond our ability and knowledge.  We were offered a free doimain a while back, but had no expertise to put together a site to use it.

I am looking forward to being able to network with others in this group and share knowledge.  While I have the experience and knowledge about the poultry industry, as well as the ability to do public speaking, I am not a person that is good at asking for funding or running a site.  Hopefully we can get this all together within the next year.

If anyone is interested in helping, I would certainly be grateful and appreciative.  We can use all the help we can get setting this thing up.  Thanks in advance.  Sounds like we already have the makingsof a good group of people here.

Here are my sites:

My main site - the blog:  http://cyberactivist.blogspot.com/  (started out with slaughterhouse stories, but now is more personal commentary and should be split up and organized), my photo page:  http://cyberactivist.fotopages.com/  and of course, the groups:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/activistsagainstfactoryfarming/ and http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/AgainstFactoryFarming

If anyone has any ideas on how to pull all of this together into something a bit more coherent, please let me know.

 [ send green star]

Virgil, you are probably best off to leave the blogs and groups where they are because you can't easily transfer that traffic to a new host, but the photos would be better off in a site that you could more "cleanly" design with your own "look & feel" and then you could interling the blogs etc with a central site.

This also would spare you the cost of traffic that can be pretty heavy when blogs get a lot fo use. This way you get a better ROI off traffic that is visiting your site for a purpose that would cause the visitors to take a desired action, such as signing up for an ezine or purchasing something that supports your group.

The traffic that really matters to you is that ROI traffic, not all the blog chatter.

The type of site you would want would normally cost about $25 a month if it is a fully independent site that gives you complete control, but can be had for less from a lot of hosts.

It can be a real pain in the butt shopping through hosts to find which ones truly leave you in charge of your domains, traffic code, etc. and which ones offer a cheap deal only to stick you with all kinds of "add on" costs.

You can fill out the application form in WeHelpAnimals for a free site if you want. We just have put our site through a thorough redesign and will soon be loading in the AUP contracts that will follow the application form that is presently in the site.

You can see the ad program we use in our main site. If you don't want to use it, then we would have to ask a small monthly fee. We share the ad income with all our supported sites.

 [ send green star]

Some of you already know of me.  I like to find creative solutions to difficult problems,... and getting non-profit status, and fund raising techniques has been strong on my mind through all of my efforts.

I still have good information, and have a couple of groups that prompt people to provide information whether I am interested in the subject or not.  One of those groups is:

http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/Summary  which provides a forum to c2c members to summarise the information gathered at the several different sites and groups where the particular subject is to be discussed.  Eventually the summary group will become the first stop for any issue you may have,... It is up to you, me and anyone else to make the summary group complete and informative.

http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=1952&pst=17121&archival=  This link is direct to a topic under the summary group on How to become a non-profit, that I set up specifically to summarise the information that is shared at this group.  This topic includes a link to this discussion group,... so you might check occasionally to see if some of my other friends have provided a summary that may help you in this group.

Fund raising:  The best I have to offer at this time is my present choice for income.  It is a choice at this point as I have not accepted the task yet,... and may not:

Microsoft was sued.  There is a 1.1 billion $ fund set up to compensate consumers that were 'overcharged' on their software,... and to be compensated,... one must fill out a form,... send it in and wait till the court decides to permitt the delivery of the compensation.  This compensation comes in the form of vouchers that 'after buying 'certain' 'Specified' computer hardware and/or software,... can be sent in for a cash refund.  Trully a flaky deal,... I am studying the settlement (70 pages ) available at http://www.microsoftcalsettlement.com/ for a copy of the California settlement... and trying to determine if it is a planned case to create case law for the benefit of corporations or if it is a real court settlement created by overpriced attorneys that simply have no imagination.

Either way word has it that few people are applying for their refund, voucher, compensation,... whatever.....  So there is this fund raising group having professionals like myself ask people to apply for their refund and donate it to charity.  Word has it that each non-profit can onlly receive $10,000 so there should be a lot of charities that will get those vouchers, or the computer supplies, or the cash from the vouchers.

Info at:

Claims:  1-800-960-5660

Fundraising group: Donate Direct 877-633-6227

It is a shame to give so much to the fund raiser, tis better to go direct.

 [ send green star]

If you are not on my friends list,... it is easy to get there.

Click my picture.  Oh wait there is no picture.

Click my name, it will take you to my profile and my profile may take you anywhere!

((((((((((((Big hugs)))))))))))))

Bill

 [ send green star]

Hi, guys.  I am the assistant director of a rabbit rescue.  

 Yes, I save bunny rabbits....  I try very hard not to break out in song and catch bluebirds on my fingertips, however.

Anyways, I got my group its n/p standing, incorporation, and tax-exempt status.  Most recently I built our new webpage (with much foul language and obscene hand gestures) and put together all the paper work to obtain our first 2 and only grants. 

Everything I learned, I learned from blah blah blah for Dummies books.  Had I known they would help so much, I would have admitted to my dumminess a long time ago.

Anyways, I hope I get a lot of good pointers here.  Are goup is small, maybe 12 volunteers & fosterers, and its usually the same 3 people doing all the work.

Thanks for starting this group, Donna.  I think it's the first I've actually posted on.

-S

 [ send green star]

and your cause so we can start to form an idea on how best we can help each other by sharing.

I`m going to begin some threads soon for particular non-profits, charities, orgs, movements, etc.

 [ send green star]

I am the founding director of the Sacred Circle, the purpose of which is to foster community among individuals seeking to heal the earth through transforming ourselves, assisting others in their transformative process and direct healing and activism with the Earth herself.  We are at this time directing our efforts towards personal healing and healing of the rivers in our part of Florida.  The two are intertwined.  Most of the individuals involved are Reiki healers and activists.  We are set up as a non-profit as a church.  I am aware that this group is not oriented towards spiritual groups, but, as we are oriented to the restoration of the Earth, I thought I could learn something here.

In addition, I am case manager for the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Gainesville.  We are a non profit network of faith communities who provide shelter, transportation, meals and case management to homeless families with children.  We are a program that helps parents negotiate the minefield of poverty - assisting them with basic needs while guiding them through the process of finding stable and affordable housing and employment.  These folks are casualties of the inequities of this society.

Thanks for starting this group.

Namaste, Sunemaura

 [ send green star]

Click here:

http://wehelpanimals.com/amazon/fundraising-dummies.jpg

Then click here:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764552201/wehelpanimals-20

 [ send green star]

Consider what a benefit it would be to everyone, and to Care2 as a thriving community, if we have a guideline allowing hosts to place a certain number of links similar to the above in groups........... a blessing given to people who bless others is a blessing twice given!!!!

 [ send green star]

Wow, we have some great people here!  It's nice to meet everyone and hear about the various ways everyone's doing their part to help!

And thanks Donna & Rosetta for all your helpful input!!

BTW, Donna, you had responded to a comment I had re:  whether I could or should look into acquiring  "Nonprofit"  status.  You said:

"You don`t have to be nonprofit to help.  I`ll get into this later.  But suffice it to say that you can help in a major way just by doing what you do.  More later...."

I'm trying to raise as much as I can afford to w/o being a Nonprofit.  But obviously I still have to work another full-time job to be able to support myself, since my main purpose for my Business is to raise funds for other Non-Profit Organizations....

So, I was actually wondering how it is that  Nonprofits  are able to sustain themselves financially, while raising money for other causes? . . .  For instance, I've noticed that it seems as though, with most Non-profits, only a  certain  % of the Revenue  actually goes to the cause and the rest is for over-head, administration, salaries, rent, etc..

So, basically I wanted to know two things:

      What  %  of  Revenue  is a  Non-profit  required  to dedicate to the actual  Cause?

      What other type of   Benefits  ( financial  or  otherwise )  are there for  those running  the  Non-profits  ( in this case,  for me )?

Thanks again,

Cosmic Rhino  ] :< )

 [ send green star]

Salary compensation is a subject of importance so I`m creating a thread for it and other administration costs.  Please go there so we can all contribute our questions and individual takes on it.

The thread title is:

Administration Costs

 [ send green star]

Glad you joined!  We look forward to your posts here.  Please scan our threads and contribute your expertise where you feel it may help.

Again, welcome aboard....

 [ send green star]

One thing I did early on is register the primary forms of my nonprofits: "com" org" and "net"

This is mainly because if you are successful there may be someone out there who will try to copy-cat your good name and also because some of the rules on nonprofit activity limit certain kinds of sales, so an orgainzation can operate its sales through its com account (which often would not give purchasers a tax receipt) while accepting its donations through its org account.

The "net" should be grabbed for protective reasons, also, but if you offer email in the name of your domain, you will want to distinguish those account holders from your staff members, who would have their email as "org" or "com".

You also would want their email traffic running off a different server IP from your org so that you can easily distinguish whether there is bulk email going out from an account holder, which you probably would not want to allow.

 [ send green star]

Hello everybody...  I support many causes here in England, from a local safe house in my area and several other charities, to being a Life Governor of the R.N.L.I.  Many people think that the R.N.L.I is funded by the UK's Central Government, when in fact, ALL of their funding is self raised.  My personal veiw ( and that of many others) is that is a disgrace that so many have to volunteer to lay their lives on the line to rescue the shipwrecked or those adrift in peril.

SHAME on you British Government!

 [ send green star]

Hi Everyone, and thank you for the invite.

I'm not an organiser or anything, but I feel my love for animals makes me a good candidate for this group.

I wanted to make you all aware of this link, please take a look and feel free to pass it onto everyone you know, and other groups.

http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/Products.aspx?DeptID=597&CatID=24042&CatTyp=LFS&ItemTyp=G&GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=0a9b7cc&ProdSeq=5&ProdCount=13&Cat=&Dep=women%27s&RefPage=SearchProducts&ShowMenu=T&ShopBy=0&SearchString=ponchos&S4DeptID=597&S4PageSize=30&S4Tab=categoryon&S2HighLight=False

I'm thinking of starting a petition to make everyone aware, what do you think?

Thanks,

Sue

 [ send green star]

Please view all of our group Topics and see if one is listed for your area of concern so we can hear/see your comments.

Also, if there isn`t one listed already, feel free to start one for your area of concern.

Again, WELCOME!

 [ send green star]

Hello Everyone, and thanks for the invite Donna.

I run (with help) Feathered Family, a non profit parrot rescue. Its a lovely job yes, as I get to spend my time with parrots! Of course, most of the parrots who come to us have some emotional, behavioral or physical problem, but our goal is always to help the bird overcome these issues and be placed into loving homes.

We've been lucky, as I work my tailfeathers off at fundraising almost non stop, and we usually meet our needs each month. Of course none of our officers draws any income at all, all of the moneys goes to the birds care. I would love to see a day when I could draw an income so I could stop with my sidework and focus 100% on the birds, but until then I'll muddle along and do what needs to be done.

This is a good idea Donna. I remember when we were starting Feathered Family how little help and info we found, so this may help someone to build their dream and help a worthy cause.

Athena - www.featheredfamily.com

 [ send green star]

Thanks, Rosetta & Donna F. & Donna G. for your help re: my Non-profiit status questions! I''m looking forward to learning more in the various Threads!  

Cosmic Rhino  ] :< )

 [ send green star]

I realized that I forgot to introduce myself. So hi everyone.

I have been passionate about the environment for as long as I remember. I wrote my first activist letter when I was 8 yrs old and I have been hooked ever since! My whole life I have been starting small community based activist organisations dealing with everything from planting trees to fundraising for pediatric AIDS.  And now many of you may know me as your Group Host Advocate on Care2.

I'm not sure if I can be helpful in this group but I look forward to contributing any way that I can.

 [ send green star]

Thank You to Donna for inviting me here....

My name is Amanda Taylor and i do what I can for any animal or human in need of my protection and love.

Thank you for allowing me a chance to get to know you all and welcoming me into your group.

All My love,

Amanda T

 [ send green star]

Thanks for the invite Donna!

Hugs,

Susan

 [ send green star]

Dear Donna,

 This group is a good thing, and I am delighted to be asked to participate.I want to work in the area of spiritual awareness of the Divine in ourselves and in this natural world that I revere as Mother.

 I believe this group will be helpful to we who are attempting to ground our energy, making heaven manifest on earth.Thats just a fancy way of saying there is nothing like a homegrown, organic peach.                                                    Love,Deb 

 [report anonymous abuse]

Thanks Donna for another invite to another one of your great groups!

Love and Peace,

Ashley

 [ send green star]

Excellent group!

We started building an eco-revolution three years ago. In the months to come we will finally launch. At that time I am hoping real activists like youself will help unite and empower all like minded activists. That will be the beginning of an eco-revolution.

We need the help of many and numerous opportunities await talented and commited activists. Please get to me, we are preparing to launch and run 65 membership organizations.

The tip of our iceburg begins at andrew@oeom.org.

Peace.

 [ send green star]

What a splendid group idea!
Thank you for the invitation!

And so many great members here!

Looking forward to you!

 [ send green star]

Thank you for the invite - actually, it was a reminder that I'd "joined" but forgot to follow through. 

Okay, so who/what are we...  About three years ago, my wife Mary and I decided to start Spots and Stripes (http://www.spotsandstripes.net)  to help tigers, leopards, cheetahs - wild cats - etc., after reading the financials of many of the groups we had been donating to over the years.  It shocked us!  One of the biggest organizations was paying a million dollars a year to the two ladies who founded it!  Almost half their annual budget.  We thought that was disgraceful.  Before the ink was dry, we added feral cats to our scope, since our first cat is feral.  And working with feral cats is something we can do hands-on, instead of through surrigates.  We capture-neuter-release ferals, shots and vet checks, feed colonies and tend to the ill.  Whenever possible, we find homes for those "dumped" cats and kittens that really are not wild. 

A lot of paperwork.  But we accomplished the most important thing:  During our IRS interview about our 501(c)(3) status, we actually got the Agent to write a part - to us, the most important part - of our "Articles of Incorporation" so that when the organization passes to other hands, no one - no human, will ever be able to draw a salary or any kind of compensation from Spots and Stripes. 

What am I talking about!  We support our cause mostly out of our own pockets!  That's just fine with me... doing this has helped get my life back after a couple car accidents.  There could be no greater pay or salary or compensation than seeing and knowing, as we say, four paws at a time, that we've saved a cat from starvation and prevented many unwanted, homeless kittens. 

David

 [ send green star]

I've just found the Care2 community and am in the process of making introductions. I've led a non proft in Chicago since 1990, but have been a leader of a volunteer-based tutoring/mentoring program since 1975.

I encourage you to visit http://www.cabriniconnections.net to learn about the 7th to 12th grade mentoring program we lead in Chiago. Then visit the Program Locator and Tutor/Mentor Institute section of http://www.tutormentorexchange.net to see how we're trying to help every poverty neighborhood have comprhensive volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs.

The key to this strategy is that we've been maintaining a database of tutor/mentor programs serving Chicago since 1993. We use maps to show where these programs are vs high poverty or locations of poorly performing schools. Then we organize events that draw programs together, draw visibility for tutoring/mentoring, and intend to draw volunteers and donors directly to programs in various neighborhoods of the city.

With the Internet we're now connected to people all over the world and trying to teach others to adopt this strategy. My vision is that at some point in the future an organization's web site will serve as its request for funding, and that collaborative advertising will motivate donors to chose what city, what zip code, and what organization, and how much, when deciding to make a contribution.

I hope some of my experiences can benefit this group, and that I can learn from some of you.

 [ send green star]

I am trustee and one of two full time volenteers of a non profit group working in Ukraine. My wife and I live and work just outside of Kiev, where we have a Cinema club for disabled and disadvantaged youth. We have a movie hall with high end cinema equipment and we show interlectual, art house and other films. After every showing we hold a discussion about the film. We also hold various cultural and theatrical events, poetry evenings etc..

As there are only two of us in total we have very little time for fundraising and to be honest it is a subject I know very little about. Currently we are supported by a number of generous friends relations and small organizations in the U.K.

More details can be found on our web site : http://www.ukraineaid.org/kino.htm 

If anyone has any advice about where and how to apply for grants or other kinds of funding I would really appreciate it.

 [ send green star]

New shrine is supporting orphans and economically poor children on education.   Now its supporting more than 300 students.

For more information, please have click http://www.newshrinefoundation.org

We are looking for charity or corporate or individual who is interested to cooperate for this novel cause.  [ send green star]

New shrine is supporting orphans and economically poor children on education.   Now its supporting more than 300 students.

For more information, please have click http://www.newshrinefoundation.org

We are looking for charity or corporate or individual who is interested to cooperate for this novel cause.  [ send green star]

FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS AS WELL

80% OF PROFITS GO TO PAGE, ROCK, AND RAPP COUNTY
20% STAY IN VIRGINIA

WE ARE DOING A CURRENT FUNDRAISER... I ASK YOU TO TAKE A MINUTE OF YOUR TIME AND VISIT:

WWW.CURRENTFUN.COM

CLICK START SHOPPING NOW IN RED CLOSE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

PICK THE ITEM( THAT YOU WANT TO ADD TO YOUR CART AND PROCEED TO CHECK OUT

THE ORGANIZATION STATE IS VIRGIRINA (SO YOUR ITEMS WILL BE TAX FREE)

To ensure that OUR organization is credited, please choose the organization you are ordering for: THIS WILL BE "SPECIAL OLYMPICS DIVISION 4 VIRGINIA"

YOU DO NOT NEED A Participant #


THANKS FOR TAKING YOUR TIME :O)
CASSIE GRAY

 [ send green star]

I've been an "Eco Artist" for about 17 years now. When I was working I would donate my services/skills/time by volunteering at local schools and such. Head Start was always my favorite. We made Easter baskets from their little milk containers, puzzles, games and all kinds of wonderful things. The girl who ended up marring my oldest son actually still had some of the projects we made together when she was only 4years old, she's now about 23. I think that is the greatest compliment I could ever recieve.

In Boston I worked with a lot of nonprofits. They would hire me as a "consultant" and I'd go into schools and other organizations and do my thing.

Now that I'm disabled I am trying to get my own nonprofit started so I can continue teaching people how to turn their common household throw aways into useful things. Wether it be, jewlery, art, crafts, or whatever else imagined. I have a beaded curtain made from milk jugs and styrofoam packaging. I cut little goddess shapes out of the plastic and stars from the styrofoam and strung them together with fishing line. It's beautiful and no one has ever guessed that it was made from trash. When I tell them they don't believe me. I'll add a picture to my gallery and post one here later.

Any way Earth Smart Art pretty much says it all. It's about keeping the Earth clean by using your own trash in a creative way. It's about education because a lot of people do not have a clue on how to begin recycling let alone doing it creatively. It wasn't so long ago when I didn't recycle, not because I didn't care but because I didn't know how. Finaly it's about art. Creativity is the key.

There are many companies out there that use all natural products and such but many people do not realize to mass produce "All Natural Products" much of nature is actually destroyed in the process.

So if each of us were to learn how to take care of our own mess, we can have our all natural and recycled products without causing any harm at all. I know and understand that some of us can't or maybe don't want to spend the time cutting up their own milk jugs, styrofoam, paper products and so on but these things can be donated to a local school or community center where someone like me can come in and turn all that trash into an incredible after school project.

I've done this for/with the Boy Scouts of America, Head Start, the Boston Police Dept, Boston City Hall, Boston Public Schools, Children's Theater Groups, The Museum of Fine Arts, OHHHH the list goes on and on. I've even designed entire parade floats and the costumeing for the participants.

I'd like to have a Creative Recycling and Education Center so I can continue educating people about this Earth SmARt way of doing things.

I have filed for 501c3 my filing number is 200654948310. It was filed on 08/24/2006. When it comes to the art part of all this I'm magical but the business end is frustrating and difficult to say the least. I've started a website www.ecoart.us and I've got a group here on care2 Earth SmArts 

http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/ecoarts

Every thing is going fairly slow so I must be doing something wrong. I know I need to put up more pictures and instructionals but for some reason something always goes wrong. The computer is acting up. It can't read my camera. BlaBla Bla, Then I get so frustrated I just need to take a break. I've been at it for more than 17 years and a single project has earned me $15,000.00. So after all the falling off the horse and getting back on I know that there must be some thing to all this or I wouldn't keep doing it and other's wouldn't see it's value.

This mask is made of recycled materials. Even the paint and beads were obtained from a recycling center. It's mostly paper-mache but there is cardboard, wood scraps and other bits and pieces all nicely put together. Some of my work has been used in other nonppofit organization's fund raising efforts. I get rave reviews each and every time. I even have a mask in a palace somewhere in Africa. It was in a mix of donated items on the cover of either Time or National Geographic. I never got to see it myself, St. Francis House in Boston let me know. (That's who I gave it to)

So that's what I do. I create art projects with recycled material. I'd like to start a few teacher training groups so when I'm no longer able to do this, other's will keep it going.

I have yet to find a piece of trash that I can't turn into something creative and useable. Even unused food can become compost material. You can find more info about me and what I do in the group and the website. I'll try to get more pics and instructions up ASAP.

Royce!

 [ send green star]

I have spent the last hour or so reading here, and I know I have barely scratched the surface.

Tomorrow I will be volunteering my time at the EFBC-FCC.

http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/

They were started 30 years ago, and they are dedicated to the preservation and protection of endangered felines.

The founder is still our best volunteer, and he still takes no salary. He has given up his house, his business, and his youth to this endeavor.

They are the most succesful breeding facility in the Americas for the critically endangered Amur leopard, sometimes known as the far east leopard, or Siberian leopard. While they are proud of this, they also see this as a sad stastistic. They are financed by individual people, and do not have the funding of a major zoo. Never the less, it has grown to be a respected institution worldwide.

I also volunteer with a local animal shelters volunteer program. It is the Volunteers of the Burbank Animal Shelter. They work with the police department to care and save as many animals as they can.

http://basv.org/

Both of these are great organizations, and if you have questions about either, please ask me.

BTW, I am sorry to hear David's story about how and why he started Spots and Stripes. I also would like to "out" an organization that is in essence, stealing money. Is there a thread for that? If so, I will find it when I have the time. Incidentally David, The newsletter for the EFBC-FCC is titled Spots and Stripes, so that name really caught my eye.

Best, Eric

 [ send green star]

You're right. There is a lot of information to cover here.

Also, If you have a topic you don't see, feel free to start a thread on it.

for joining.

 [ send green star]

children & animals. i am new to care2 & looking 2 meet new friends & support causes. i am a stay at home mom of a special needs son with ms who enjoys volunteering. let me know how i can help.

 [ send green star]

to the group.

Is there anyone here who needs a kind hearted volunteer like Janelle?

Well let her know ASAP ok?

 [ send green star]

If you do any online shopping, please don't leave money on the table that could go to charities. I have deals with over 1500 merchants (Staples, Amazon, etc) to contribute to a basket of the best charities that serve the Arts, Animals, Education, Health, Humanity or the Planet.  Please go to www.clickshopsupport.org and click the cause you want to support.  When you shop this way, each store has agreed to donate up to 25% to a basket of the best charities determined by an independent third party, Charity Navigator.  It won't cost you an extra dime, and in many cases you will save money using the exclusive coupons they offer. 

Make these merchants step up to their responsibilities.   This is a concrete way to make the world a better place for us and generations to come. 

Please let me know how you liked the shopping experience, and how I can improve this site to attract more people to shop with a conscience.  Please forward this to all your friends on Care2.  You can use the Referral Blaster on the site to let your non-Care2 friends know about this.  There is also a safe shortcut you can download that will sit on your desktop that will always take you directly to this marketplace.

Let’s start to feel good about where we spend our money!

http://www.hopefortomorrow.bravehost.com

Thank you,

kelli

Kelli, I would like to help out the shelter with its revenue requirements.  Have them go to my site www.fundraising-solutions.org, and register for free.  I will get our staff to design, print and deliver free promotional material to make sure this becomes a big money-maker for a good cause.

 [report anonymous abuse]

Thank you for the information, I will discuss it with pastor Daniel.

Hi there,

Just came across this group - it's great! So helpful for me. I have set up my own wildlife foundation, the Kucinski Wildlife Foundation which is now a Scottish registered charity. Having difficulties in funding it though.

I look very much forward to this group.

 [ send green star]

Hi,  I'm a board member of the Foundation for Caregivers. I'm also coordinator of their Weigh To Give program, an obesity fighting health initiative that is also a community charity fundraiser anyone can use to raise funds for any IRS registered charity.  See my work at www.ffcg.org and www.weightogive.org.  

Dear everyone.I see that you have been doing a great and wonderful job and thanks be to GOD.I Personally,am a servant of God,with a church ministry titled lighthouse international ministries-kenya,see www.lighthouseinternationalministries-kenya.com  and we are soon working on how we can network with friends and organisations that would be willing to team up with us,towards raising funds for the kenya orphan rescue project(KOREP),which we have launched,to help the so many African children mostly affected by the death of their parents due to Hiv/Aids.I would hence be blessed if anyone can link friends and organisations that may be willing to help us or advice us on how best to riase funds for this worthywhile cause in africa.If anyone is inetrested to kickstart the process,and form a charity there ,then let us know as well.We have been working on the webiste of KOREP,and we are Trusting God that soon it will be complete possibly by the end of this month May 2009,and for all friendfs and organisations to get to read and know more about the PROJECT.Am also visisting Tenesse and NORTH CAROLINA on the entire motnhs of September and October and hence I would like to chat with those American Freinds ,(when am there)who would have shown interest in this project.

Please write to us.Bye and Shalom.Brother Noah(Kenya-Africa)

 [ send green star]