Big News! Look Who's Pitching on September 30th!

 After receiving a significant number of nominations, the Council chose five organizations to pitch at our Live Giving party. The selection process was tough – Charities Review Council was thrilled by all of the submissions. Our community is full of innovative ideas, and nonprofits are using their imagination and creativity.  

Donors: are you ready to try a new way of giving? REGISTER HERE. 

We're honored to announce that Youthlink, Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, World Savvy, Pillsbury United Communities and Native American Community Development Institute will all be pitching, Shark Tank style, at our Live Giving Party on September 30. Each of these organizations is either working to meet Standards or Meet Standards; for that reason, donors who give at our Live Giving Party can feel confident that these great ideas are also strong investments. 

Maria (YouthLink), Jennifer (NACDI) and Lynnea (SmartGivers) Practice for the Pitch Party

Learn about each organization below. Their creative pitches will remain a surprise reserved just for party guests! 

Youthlink 

Youthlink's mission is to build healthy relationships with youth and the community to address youths’ urgent needs so that doors of opportunity are opened to futures of empowerment, connectedness, and self-reliance. Youthlink empowers homeless youth to be healthy, active and contributing members of the community. Youth (defined as ages 16-23) can find themselves homeless for a variety of reasons – Youthlink offers young people a place to feel safe, eat a meal, shower, get help with school and finding a job, or receive medical care. Without a stable home to grow up in, homeless youth are often ill-prepared for the demanding responsibilities of adult life.  Youthlink takes care of their basic needs so they have the power and motivation to find a route out of homelessness and an avenue into adulthood. 2014 marks the organization’s 40th year of guiding homeless youth into pathways of opportunity. Read some phenomenal stories of individuals who prospered with a little help from Youthlink.

Rural Renewable Energy Alliance 

Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) is the brainchild of high school teacher Jason Edens. His vision was to help families struggling with fuel poverty in a more sustainable way. The cost of heating your home has risen exponentially in the recent decades; solar energy technology is one way to offset that cost, but the initial installation costs can be just as extraordinary. RREAL helps provide the installation and use of solar energy panels, so that families struggling to pay energy bills can heat their homes through the winter on minimal dollars and continue to be self-reliant in future years. They are helping offset the ever increasing carbon footprint of fossil fuels and the money tax-payers put in to help low income families from freezing in our beyond frigid Minnesota winters. Win- win for the environment, economy and individuals who each winter have to choose between heat and food. Read more about how solar energy works and who’s benefited from this program.

World Savvy 

World Savvy provides students and teachers with the resources needed to be responsible global citizens in the 21st century. Our world is increasingly interconnected; the students of today need to know how to navigate the technology that is connecting us and the array of cultures that are now in contact. History has never seen this level of instantaneous reach; developing global competency is critical for us to thrive as a collective world society. World Savvy provides programs for students and teachers with themes of collaborative problem solving, art and media exploration, experiential service learning and international exchange. Read more about their World Savvy Classrooms and Global Competence Certificates – two programs changing the way we approach education and the world. 

Pillsbury United Communities 

Pillsbury United Communities is a network of neighborhood centers across Minneapolis that offer programs and activities that address education, youth and family, wellness and nutrition, employment and training, and asset creation. They seek to help people not just exist, but thrive in their communities as connected Minneapolis citizens. With 5 centers throughout the area, they serve just about any need a neighbor could imagine, including computer and culinary classes, retail stores for shopping and job opportunities, after-school activities, emergency food shelf and child care, and urban farming. PUC  offers strategic opportunities for people to participate, connect and organize; building bridges between communities and decision-makers, to break through barriers to self-sufficiency. And this October they will be celebrating their 135 years of service in the Twin Cities! Learn more about the centers and the opportunities available for ALL Minneapolis residents.

Jay Bad Heart Bull Practicing the NACDI Pitch

Native American Community Development Institute 

The Native American Community Development Institute or NACDI hopes to connect the Native American community to 21st century opportunities. By acting as an alliance of major Indian nonprofits and businesses in the Twin Cities area, they help to strengthen the capacity building efforts of the community. Their aim is to change the Native American community from one of deficit to one of opportunity, job growth, and asset building. Over the past few years their accomplishments include recruiting the first American Indian-owned Bank to open on Franklin Ave, creating a new Community Development degree program for MCTC, and graduating 7 Native Americans in their entrepreneurship program. Read about their lengthy list of current projects and how they are touching both the Native and non-Native communities. 

Judging by the work these nonprofits are already doing, their bright ideas are sure to be ‘disruptive’ and worthy of your 'time,' 'talent' and 'treasure.' Please join us at the Live Giving Party, and show your support for five strong organizations who are working creatively to address some of the biggest needs in our Minnesota community, and beyond.