If you have already given, thank you very much! If not, there’s still time to make a tax-deductible donation to Cheerful Givers and to know that you showed the not-so-fortunate children that they, too, are special by allowing their parents to recognize their birthday with a toy-filled gift bag.

Your gift of $100 will bring birthday joy to 10 children. We appreciate whatever you can afford, and it will make a difference in a child’s life.

Thanks for your generosity and a very Happy New Year!

OutstandingDining.com founder, Ben Berry is a manager at an independent
eatery in the Twin Cities. After working with other gift certificate and
discount websites to expand the customer base at the restaurant, he
came to realize two important truths about online gift certificate
venues: first, that these sites were playing an increasingly important
role in how and where consumers spent their money.  Secondly, he
realized that many of the small, independent businesses that
participated often did so at a operating loss. He became convinced that
there was a better system to be had and set out creating one.

His concept: a website that ensured each gift certificate sold benefited
the participating restaurants just as much as it benefited the
consumer.  At that point, he realized he needed to take the concept one
step further.  The need for gift certificates and discount venues
stemmed from tight economic times. Tight economic times also meant that
most local nonprofits were struggling for funding right at the time
their services to the community were needed the most.  Berry not only
saw an interesting correlation, he also saw the next evolution of online
gift certificate websites: a system that met the demands of the
consumer while also addressing the needs of the community.

Check out the options at Outstanding Dining!

To encourage donations throughout the day, an individual donor will be randomly chosen every hour by GiveMN.org to win a “Golden Ticket.”  An additional $1,000 will be given to the charity that received the original donation, and one name will be randomly drawn to win a $10,000 golden ticket.

Local musician, Tim Mahoney, has written a song to be unveiled on this day whose title sums it all up – “Just Give.”

Thanks to a generous donation from AAA Minnesota/Iowa and support from Hubbard Broadcasting, Cheerful Givers is now being featured in more than 100 thirty-second spots on KSTC-TV, Channel 45 in the Twin Cities area.

Randy Williams, Regional President, AAA Minnesota/Iowa commented “We appreciate your work and what the Cheerful Givers organization does for so many children, families, and communities. I am blessed to be able to be involved, and was very happy to see how our employees rallied in support. We hope the ads help inform and brings lots of additional support.”

Hubbard Broadcasting is offering to personalize this ad to other businesses that may be interested by changing the final logo and tag line. Opportunities for matching spots may exist as well. Contact karen@cheerfulgivers.org for more information.

Cheerful Givers is now being featured on Groupon.com  with a G-Team campaign running from Aug. 23-25.

 As you may know, Groupon is a website that features daily deals (50 to 90% off) on local goods, services and cultural events in more than 500 markets and 46 countries worldwide. G-Team is a community outreach initiative within Groupon that brings communities together to do good, have fun, and make an impact. G-Team has been working in the Twin Cities to help mission-driven organizations like ours raise money and  raise awareness, channeling the collective buying power of Groupon followers and our local supporters.

 
If you’re not currently a member of Groupon, sign up at (http://www.groupon.com/subscriptions/new) and confirm your city as Minneapolis/St. Paul. Then check your daily Groupon email, or you can go here to support our cause and encourage your friends to help.

We need 50 people to donate a minimum of $10 to get the funding. The result will be 50 less fortunate kids get to have a Happy Birthday!

We are pleased to offer a limited number of t-shirts (size XL) which are autographed by Michael Cuddyer in support of Cheerful Givers.  Please make an online donation of $60 or more and send email to karen@cheerfulgivers.org with mailing address.

Congratulations also to Debra Price, the lucky Twins fan, who also receives $1,700.

 Michael Majerus, Controller, MindWare Holdings, Inc. commented “You guys do great work! We wish you every success in achieving your mission which is so important to the parents and children you serve.”

Note from Cheerful Givers:  We are now looking for donations of thousands of pencils to include in birthday bags along with these great booklets. 
Contact karen@cheerfulgivers.org

Gamin Ride is a mobile video game theater that comes to you — wherever the party or event happens to be.

They’ll be donating a portion of each birthday party or corporate event booking to Cheerful Givers.

Read more…