I Live Here, I Give Here … the name of our organization reflects a deep personal commitment: yours and mine. It is a commitment we share with thousands of our neighbors who demonstrate their love for our city in countless acts of generosity every single day.
When I Live Here, I Give Here was first created, there was a sense in some quarters that our community was not as generous as it should be, that we didn’t rank as highly in philanthropy as we did in “weirdness.” However, I believe that Austin’s naysayers have been proved wrong. Austin never suffered from a lack of generosity, our generosity suffered from a lack of vehicles that unleashed its amazing power.
I Live Here, I Give Here’s Amplify Austin online giving day in March 2013 was proof that Austin is indeed a generous place. $2.8 million dollars was raised for over 320 participating nonprofits in just 24 hours!
Now, you can help I Live Here, I Give Here have an even greater impact in 2014. Please make a tax deductible year-end gift to support the continued success of Amplify Austin!
Help us to our goal: A friend of I Live Here, I Give Here will match the first $5,000 in donations made by December 31, 2013. Your gift can put us over the top!
Of course, Amplify Austin is not the only evidence of our community’s generosity, but it is an astonishingly successful way to mobilize people who are eager to make a difference in their own hometown.
Support the organization that brought our entire region together for a genuine celebration of giving. Make a year-end gift to I Live Here, I Give Here today!
And remember to Save the Date for Amplify Austin 2014, 6pm March 20 to 6pm March 21!
Thank you for your generosity,
Tom Spencer
Executive Director, I Live Here, I Give Here
see the full entry
A BIG Time was had by all at I Live Here, I Give Here’s annual awards program The BIG Give; many thanks to all who attended our signature celebration.
The BIG Give honors both nonprofits and their donors.
We were thrilled to recognize Leo Welder as the 2013 BIG Giver. As a board member of the Austin Sunshine Camps Leo was part of a small team that has grown the organization’s revenue from $40 thousand per year to $400 thousand per year!
Our BIG announcement at The Big Give was that Leo will represent Austin in the Jefferson Awards for community service. Many thanks to Susie Ellwood, the Publisher of Austin American-Statesman, for starting a new Austin tradition where our BIG Giver awardee will automatically be nominated for this national honor.
Nearly 1,700 individuals participated in the voting for our nonprofit awards for excellence in donor stewardship.
Our finalists for the $5,000 RetailMeNot Little Prize were Amala Foundation and The Christi Center.
We had three outstanding finalists for the $10,000 Mercedes Benz of Austin Big Prize: Children at Heart Ministries, Emancipet, and Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation.
Congratulations to Amala Foundation and Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation - our 2013 prizewinners!
The ballots and comments from our nominations process will be returned to participating agencies shortly by Blaire Kniffin, our Assistant Director of Nonprofit Relations.
A BIG thanks to all of our nonprofit partners for the good work you are doing for our community!
Tom Spencer,
Executive Director
I Live Here, I Give Here
see the full entry
In many ways, becoming the Executive Director of I Live Here, I Give Here feels like a homecoming to me. I have served as a member of this organization’s Non-Profit Advisory Council and its Board of Directors. In both capacities I have had the pleasure of working with many wonderful colleagues from Austin’s vital non-profit sector.
I am writing today to remind you that your donors can vote for you to win one of the grant prizes at The Big Give until this Friday, September 6th at midnight. Send them to vote here!
We will announce two finalists for the $5,000 RetailMeNot Little Prize and the $10,000 Mercedes-Benz of Austin BIG Prize on Friday, September 20th. The winners will be announced on the night of The Big Give on September 27th. Buy your tickets now to see who wins and enjoy a circus themed night with us under The Big Top!
Before we roll into The Big Give, allow me give big thanks to Karen Frost who has served as our Director of Nonprofit Relations. Karen is now our Sponsorship Sales Executive and Blaire Kniffin will be taking on the job of ensuring that we continue to hear your voices and improve the quality of services we provide to our nonprofit partners!
Blaire can be reached at blaire@ilivehereigivehere.org
Thanks! We’ll see you at The Big Give!
see the full entry
