| SOAPBOX | MANY WAYS TO GIVE | DYLAN THOMAS SOCIETY | IN-KIND | GIVE/GET | GRANTS | VOLUNTEER |
As the holiday season approaches, remember to use GoodShop.com! Your purchases at more than 2,500 stores (including Amazon, Best Buy, Apple, Macys, Toys R Us and others) can result in a donation to Art from Ashes! Not to mention, more than 100,000 coupons automatically pop up on the toolbar so you save money, too!
Thank you to all of our supporters and donors over the years, who have made it possible for us to work with more than 5,000 youth! You can click the tabs above to find out more about our giving philosophy and to check out the many ways you can support our work.
For a list of our donors & sponsors, CLICK HERE :: For info on our grantors, CLICK HERE.
CHANGING YOUNG LIVES
We'd love you to support our efforts, whether it's through donations, corporate sponsorships, joining the Dylan Thomas Society, volunteering, networking, or attending our youth performances. More than 75% of funding for all nonprofits comes from individuals who want to help. We will continue to hold fundraisers, to solicit grants, and contracts with other youth organizations, but we believe very strongly in the reciprocity of individual giving. It not only benefits the recipient—in this case, high-risk youth—but blesses the giver. Many people tend to think that when they have "enough" money they'll give. Giving faithfully—even when it seems you don't have enough—rewards you with the faith to give. If you'd like more information on the benefits of giving, both to the giver as well as to the recipient, and how important it is especially during hard times, please download an article called "The Greatest Moneymaking Secret in History" by Dr. Joe Vitale or access it via the Nightingale-Conant website.
This is why we encourage individual giving at Art from Ashes…among our board members and volunteers who give so much already. Because it's about letting go of fear and embracing faith. Because it works for all of us, but especially for the struggling youth who have so little, and who so need the belief in themselves that comes through our program.
SOAPBOX :: The 10% Experiment :: not just for religion anymore!
Many people have heard of the "tithe," the concept of giving 10% of income and goods to care for the poor. Although it is associated with the Israelites in order to support those who served God and to care for those less fortunate, the practice can also be found in various cultures and belief systems around the world. From Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonia to the temples of Apollo in Delphi and Athena in Athens, pre-Christian centers of worship collected tithes for their gods. Ancient cultures as disparate as the Greeks and Chinese–including the Arabians, Phoenicians, Romans, and Carthaginians—gave in ways mirroring the tithe. Many Christians believe in "joyful giving," which takes the flat 10% out of the equation and encourages abundant and sacrificial giving without regard to specific amounts.
Now businesspeople and motivational speakers are encouraging people to give from another perspective. Multiple sources from Nightingale-Conant to wealth management coaches say that individual giving serves to increase peace of mind and helps create a more stable financial attitude for the giver, as well as puts the giver into a position of receiving by reducing a perception of need. In this current climate of financial fear, who wouldn't want freedom from anxiety and increased reciprocity when it comes to money? So in addition to the financial benefits of donating to the poor promised in the Torah, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Koran, and other holy books, according to philanthropists and business gurus, the benefits to the giver are multiple:
"I remember when I first heard about the idea of giving. Like many, I was skeptical. I thought it was a scheme to get me to give money to the people who were telling me to do the giving…But then one day..."
CLICK HERE for the full article
We are grateful for a donation of any amount, but hope you will consider committing to a monthly amount through GivingFirst.org. This wonderful organization, a program of Community First Foundation, allows regular automatic withdrawals, as well as one-time donations through your bank or credit card. All donations are tax-deductible.
Our program goal for Phoenix Rising this year is to provide 400 workshops to youth at various schools and non-profits in Denver, Boulder and surrounding counties.
Previous Soapboxes
:: Faith In Our Calling :: CLICK HERE for the full article
:: Your Heart Is Where Your Money Is :: CLICK HERE for the full article
WAYS IN WHICH YOU CAN SUPPORT ART FROM ASHES:
We all have a cause we care about. Yet, despite our best efforts to help our fellow man or nurture the environment, we often fall short on money or time and we don't contribute as much as we hope. But what if you could make a difference for your favorite charity (that's us!) by simply doing something you do every day already—search the Internet!
Art from Ashes has teamed up with GoodSearch, an internet search engine that donates 50% of its revenue to worthy charities designated by you, the user. By simply adding a toolbar to Internet Explorer (IE) or Firefox, each time you search the Internet, a penny is donated to Art from Ashes! And Good Search also partners with more than 1,300 stores (from Amazon to Zazzle).
We encourage you to take a few minutes to discover how easy the transition is to using Good Search as your search engine. They make it really simple and are just as effective as Google (plus, they support worthy causes like us!) Just be sure to select Art from Ashes when you are asked "WHO DO YOU GOODSEARCH FOR?" When you use the toolbar, every eligible purchase donates to Art from Ashes automatically at no cost to you.
easy #2 Check off everyone on your gift list at any time of the year and support Art from Ashes. Jewelry, home décor, wine, and so much more. Not sure what you're looking for? Check out the gift idea suggestions on the site. www.giftsthatgive.com offers more than 1,000 products for you to choose from, and 20% of your purchase will be donated back to Art from Ashes with no additional cost to you! Just register at www.giftsthatgive.com, place your order, select Art from Ashes from the dropdown box in the shopping cart, and we get a donation!
easy #3 OR shop at more than 200 online retailers through GiveBackAmerica
GiveBackAmerica.com was created to raise money for charities at no additional costs to their volunteers and supporters. The website and concept was created to make a difference in people's lives. Shop with ease this season at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and hundreds of other top-end retailers, and know you're also giving to young people who need your help.
youth performance events
...some of which are fundraisers and many of which are free performances in the community. Attending youth performances is vital to reintegration of young people who feel disenfranchised. Most of our young people have never written, let alone performed poetry, and your attention and appreciation means the world. Please check out our events page for details on upcoming events and information about previous ones.
sponsorships
Sponsorships are for businesses or individuals who wish to fund
our programs and receive recognition for supporting our work with youth
in the community. Philanthropic or anonymous givers can provide an
entire 8-week program for up to 20 youth by becoming an Epic Sponsor.
Other levels of sponsorship contribute to existing sessions and/or
create new collaborative possibilities for organizations and schools
needing funding for our program. Please download sponsorship levels
here: sponsorships.pdf
join the Dylan Thomas Society
Clown in the Moon
by Dylan Thomas
I think, that if I touched the earth,
It would crumble;
It is so sad and beautiful,
So tremulously like a dream.
The Dylan Thomas Society, founded in 2010 by board member Mark Bell, Senior Counsel with Husch Blackwell LLP, is established for donors who want to give with purpose. The Society is a separate fund with benefits such as poetry gifts, banquets and luncheons, the obligatory pub crawls (hey, we're talking Dylan Thomas!), and special youth performances for members. Membership in the society is for community-minded givers who are committed to donating a minimum of $1,000 a year or $100 a month through GivingFirst.org.
CLICK HERE to view a list of our current donors to date and sponsorship level donors.
in-kind & community business support
Gifts of goods and services help us keep costs low, so that we can apply funds directly to the youth programs. Art from Ashes would love the support of the community in providing art supplies, writing materials, and office supplies. Please contact us at info@artfromashes.org
or 303.837.1550, if you can help.
Businesses can sponsor AfA by donating a percentage of sales or providing goods and services. We will publish your support on our website and in our newsletter.
featured businesses are:
Appaloosa Bar & Grill
The owners and bar manager of Appaloosa Bar & Grill host a biannual Appreciation/Benefit Party, donating the income generated from the bar! They also make up the members of the band Oakhurst, which has performed at fundraisers to raise money for the Phoenix Rising program.
CLICK HERE to view a list of our current donors to date and sponsorship level donors.
united way
Did you know that you can make tax-deductible contributions to Art from Ashes through your employer's United Way Campaign? When you fill out your pledge form, select "I want to give to a Mile High United Way Funded Agency or the following 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization" and write in "Art from Ashes, 853 Inca St., Suite 1A, Denver CO 80204." Our tax ID# is 20-0273372.
Individual donations can be made online through GivingFirst.org or by mailing your donation to Art from Ashes, 853 Inca St., Suite 1A, Denver CO 80204. Please feel free to request that your donation be spent for a specific purpose (i.e., applied to a particular workshop; a poet honorarium; art supplies, writing materials or poetry books; operational expenses, etc.)
get stuff/give stuff!
Purchasing poetry items through our online store at CafePress.com and by attending adult workshops supports our youth programs and the continuing operation of our organization. Plus you know you're getting something of value for your donation!
Give the gift of a small group 6-workshop session to be used at the discretion of the recipient. AfA gift certificates can be redeemed at any time in 2011.
Another way to give and get something wonderful in return is to attend a fundraiser. Performances in the community are an essential aspect of the transformation process. Many of our youth come into the program feeling isolated and rejected by their communities and by adults in general. Upon completing our program, a full 80% of youth surveyed said they were more interested in their community. Art from Ashes provides performance opportunities for those youth and support opportunities for members of the community willing to encourage those efforts. AfA hosts one fundraiser per month and two gala events a year (please refer to our EVENTS page for a schedule of performances). Consider attending one event a month to offer emotional support to our youth performers and financial support for our work.
support a youth workshop
Rainbow Alley
The Spot Urban Youth Center
Douglas County Student Support Center
Boulder Preparatory Academy
word on wheels
Donate your old vehicle through our auto donation program!
America's Car Donation Center makes a difference every day for thousands of charities and causes nationwide. Auto donation for charity is a breeze because they arrange everything, from pickup of your auto (within 3 to 4 days) to taking care of all the legalities and providing the tax paperwork you need to maximize your tax deduction. Please call 1.800.240.0160 (click here to use JaJah and call online).
volunteer opportunities
"The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others." — Gandhi
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." — Aesop
"Love each other." — God
Volunteers and interns are the lifeblood of our organization. Art from Ashes has always been almost entirely volunteer-run, and we could not have become successful without the hundreds of volunteers who have supported our work. Many volunteers, including youth from the workshops, have been with us for years and are now staff members, workshop facilitators, board members and guest artists. As the organization grows, so does our need for people in the community who care about youth and the arts. Art from Ashes has a six-hour/month minimum requirement, and all positions are matched to the skills and interests of our volunteers. Potential volunteers and interns are asked to complete the online application and download the volunteer packet, which contains information on AfA's history and mission as well as available projects for volunteers. We also ask that you review the philosophy behind our Phoenix Rising program. After we receive your application, you will be contacted by an agency representative and scheduled for an orientation. Please email volunteer@artfromashes.org with any additional questions.
For those volunteer applicants who wish to work with youth, we have specific training requirements that can be discussed at your meeting. Orientations are held at our office at 853 Inca St., Suite 1A, Denver.
