Minda Seibert's blog

Moments after news broke of the January 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, NRG Energy’s corporate inbox was flooded with requests from concerned employees: “How can we help? What is NRG going to do? How can I give?”

Needing to respond quickly, NRG did fast research through the Clinton Global Initiative to find a partner organisation that could bring immediate relief to Haiti. They chose us — Mercy Corps — for our proven ability to mobilize quickly and bring emergency relief with an eye to longer-term development efforts.

Some of the NRG team stands holding the Haitian flag. Photo: courtesy of NRG

In less than five days, NRG had set up a page for Haiti on their corporate giving website to receive donations. In addition to the online drive, employees conducted fundraising “spinoff” events — such as sandwich sales and walks — to help raise even more. NRG employees knew that every penny raised would make an even bigger impact because of the Company’s unique triple match programme.

CEO David Crane’s idea to do a Company triple match was inspired by employee fundraising for victims of Hurricane Katrina and it is something they’ve repeated for every emergency response they’ve fundraised for. The result? £38,232 for Mercy Corps’ humanitarian efforts in Haiti.

As a corporation, NRG has a strong philanthropic bent and its employees are especially generous with their time and money. In the past five years, NRG has provided millions of dollars to organisations and charities that have a direct impact on the lives of people in communities where NRG does business. According to NRG, these group giving efforts are “an extremely unifying activity” — and besides, it’s just the “right thing to do.”

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Need help getting your MPower fundraiser off the ground? Here are some tips to help you maximize your fundraising potential.

• Personalize your page. Your page started like every other, with a generic page title, personal message and photo — but those fields are for you to personalize. Tell your friends why you care about this cause! A fundraising goal and a suggested giving amount are also motivating to potential donors.
• Spread the word. Click the email, Facebook and Twitter logos on your fundraising page to share the news with your networks.
• Manage your comments. Click the "Fundraising results" tab to manage the comments people make on your page. You can delete any comment at any time, or choose not to display gift amounts.
• Hold an offline event Bake sales, benefit concerts, ice-cream socials...all these have successfully raised money for Mercy Corps. We can help promote your public event online, and you can add to your total any money you've raised offline by filling in the "Additional Amount" field on your page. (Be sure to click "save" before leaving the edit tab.)

Please note: Offline donations should be mailed promptly to Mercy Corps, Attn: Minda Seibert, 45 SW Ankeny St., Portland, OR 97204. Make sure we can tell whose fundraising page to attribute them to. Mercy Corps will mail receipts to donors for whom we have name and addresses. If you need ideas or support for your offline event, check out our community fundraising page.

More questions? Check out the MPower Projects FAQ and Personal Fundraising FAQ pages. If you can't find the answer there, please email accounthelp@mercycorps.org.

Thanks again for all you're doing. Keep up the good work!

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Over the last few years, clothing companies Horny Toad, Nau and Lizard Lounge have redefined corporate philanthropy and the retail experience by helping customers connect social and environmental responsibility to the shopping experience. Last Thursday evening, these three eco-friendly businesses got together for a barbeque to celebrate their success in tough economic times, as well as honor their commitment to the power of business as a force for change. I was thrilled to attend this event, and to receive a check from Nau supporting Mercy Corps’ environmental, social and humanitarian programmes.

Through a unique Partners for Change programme involving customer choice and participation, Nau gives two percent of every sale to one of five charitable organisations. At the time of each and every purchase, customers are given the opportunity to consider where they would like to help effect change. Additionally, when Nau sells products to retail partners, two percent of those sales are also donated to these community partners in a manner that mirrors the choices their customers make at nau.com.

Horny Toad CEO Gordon Seabury (left) presents a check for £10,078 to Mercy Corps' Minda Seibert. Photo: Mercy Corps

It was a perfect evening for the event and an ideal location. Nau employee Tyson and his wife Sujata hosted the event in the spectacular garden at their Portland home. After many business challenges between 2005 and 2008, Nau reinvented itself under the ownership of California apparel company Horny Toad. The party’s joyful mood was a celebration of recent success and a reflection on charitable partnerships. Horny Toad CEO Gordon Seabury presented me with a check for £10,078 for Mercy Corps.

Nau also just announced their first annual Grant for Change, a £6,000 grant designed to support those who instigate lasting, positive change in their communities. This year, they are accepting nominations until August 17, 2009 for:

• Athletes who are challenging assumptions about what it means to move through the world.
• Artists, designers or other creatives who are moved to design better solutions to the world’s greatest problems.
• Activists who are seeding positive change in their communities, and moving others to do the same.

Visit nau.com for more information. To learn more about Horny Toad, visit their website or their retail store, The Lizard Lounge, in Portland, Oregon.

Mercy Corps appreciates this donation and is proud to be one of Nau’s Partners in Change.

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This year, a young man from North Carolina named Dane Randall made one of those plunges into the unknown: he decided to hop on his bike and ride from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean. He’s doing it because he loves cycling, because he wants to see his own country from the ground and because he’s gutsy. But, most of all, he’s doing it because he felt an inescapable sense that he had to help other people.

Dane had an epiphany: he realized that he could turn something he loves to do into a way to do something he cares about; his cycling journey could raise money for charity. His fundraising requests are phenomenally modest — just 1¢ per mile. A thousand miles costs a sponsor only £6, and to support Dane’s entire ride is only £25!

Considering all the work he’s doing, the price seems more than fair — this young man has taken on a great endeavor for a great cause, and deserves the support of the Mercy Corps community. So far, he’s raised about £720 of his £3,000 goal, but we hope that Dane will inspire people to give as he has been inspired to help.

To sponsor Dane’s charity ride, visit his his page here on our website.

Dane maintains a terrific blog from the road. It is a complete vicarious experience, like traveling right alongside him, only without spending more than three months on a bike!

He takes us with him state by state through a rich collection of photographs and stories, and you can track his location on his interactive map. Dane launched his journey on April 30 and, as of today, he's just a little south of Colourado Springs. He’s been touched by phenomenal yet casual generosity, has had some hilarious encounters and been wonder-struck by the U.S.’s cultural diversity and scenic beauty.

I strongly encourage anyone who has enjoyed cross-country travel to visit Dane’s blog; you’ll be flooded with your own warm memories, and be impressed with the documentation Dane has managed to keep from the road through frequent visits to public libraries. You may well be moved to offer Dane some local perspective, a shower and a meal when he gets to your town.

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The Mongol Rally helps preserve the unique livelihoods and cultures of Mongolian families through raising money for innovative Mercy Corps programmes. Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

Did you ever have the urge to propel yourself for 8,000 miles or more from the United Kingdom to Mongolia, strapped into a contraption that you and your friends have funded and designed? Ever wanted to embark on an international adventure with nothing but a hastily-scribbled roadmap, the ingenuity of MacGyver and drive of Columbus? Then you might be interested in learning more about an audacious fundraising project slated to begin in just a few weeks: the 2009 Mongol Rally.

This once-in-a-lifetime event features dozens of completely crazy contestants, driving across a third of the world to raise some big cash for programmes that empower people in some of the most remote corners of the world: places with exotic, jaw-breaking names. Unfortunately, they’re also places where natural disasters and economic hardship have hit families hard. Mercy Corps is working along many of the routes the Rally contestants will travel.

Mercy Corps has partnered with the Mongol Rally for yet another round this year to raise funds that will meet needs across Mongolia’s epic deserts and sweeping steppes. These incredible programmes help Mongolia's people achieve economic independence and sustainability, bringing real change to rural communities and herders.

If you’re interested in far-flung destinations and extreme travel, this rally is the adventure to follow. You can keep track of teams with names like Creeping Blandness Prevention Group and Airag Addicts as they rumble precariously from London, England to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Let me introduce you to a couple of courageous guys in the rally: Andrew and Mike of Team Flatlanders. These guys will first fly to Scotland, where they will buy and modify a car. After that, they’ll take a ferry to mainland Europe, drive to Barcelona and then finally take off for Mongolia in whatever automobile they’ve managed to piece together by July 19. In his own words, Mike — who recently worked as a scuba instructor — says, “[I’m] putting myself completely into the unknown and seeing what happens. This is what gives me passion in life, what makes me want to see more.”

For the whole story of Team Flatlanders, click here. You can also check out their website, which tells why they’re tackling the Rally, in their own words.

You can follow the bravery — or insanity — of these teams, as well as contribute to the cause right here on the Mercy Corps website. Support those supporting us, I always say.

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