CRASH COURSE
PHASE 1 STEP 6 > ADDING A DOSE OF FUN, MAGIC & ADVENTURE
This picture says it all
what adding youth to an event or campaign
means for the energy of the entire endeavor
Remember this energy for mobilization before gatherings, and for cultivating good spirit during gatherings.
Who wants to go to boring blahblahblah?
Lulu’s first LemonAID stand
How could you possibly resist
to buy Fairy Juice
+ add a $-note
?
When Lulu and her friends
go out on a Water March in the afternoon,
they return with $2,000
For American kids, LemonAID stands
are part of daily life and culture.
The big fat magic trick is to
put the FUN into FUNdraising.
It becomes especially exciting
when you realize that Dollars and Euros
are worth 10 times more in ‘low income countries’
and make 100-fold impact in the hands
of genius changemakers.
Meet FUNdraising Champs
LEMONAID WARRIORS
It started …
when Lulu heard of African communities in need of a well to have clean, safe drinking water. Instead of setting up a lemonAID stand by herself, she called out “WATER WAR! Girls against boys! Who raises more funds for water wells in Africa?” and 400 lemonAID stands popped up from coast to coast generating 1000s of dollars in a whiffy.
Next was a Water March on her birthday.
She and her friends had so much FUN that they decided to dream up more actions for their favorite causes. Can you tell the causes? Can you imagine doing them yourself? Sure.
As Lulu was often interviewed about her work, their approach and how others could participate, she soon formulated a PHILANTHRO-PARTY Philosophy – and that’s truly one for all of us to live by.
Pick a Cause you are passonate about
Choose an Activity you love
Add a dose of Fun, Magic, Adventure
For best fun and impact, we further recommend to
Pick an Occasion
UN Days are great. There’s also town fests, school year start, holidays, birthdays, company events …
Pick a Crowd
Vividly Document
to boost reach, follow-up and fun
And they founded their own organization.
LEMONAID WARRIORS
My favorite childhood memory is visiting my first Philanthroparty, a can carnival! To get in, you had to bring cans to donate to the food bank.
At the event, we played many games related to cans, like a can stacking game or “can-can competition”. It was the first time that I was able to see the impact that the youth can have on our community and the world.
While I was only in Kindergarten, this passion for activism continues to guide my decisions in life to this day.
Madi, 10
Preparation is part of the Party experience.
Visits to recipients add to the adventure.
So do media appearances, events, encounters and awards.
DOLLARS FOR HIGH IMPACT CAUSES
One day Lulu announced big news to us … Mattel had teamed up to make her a Monster High ghoul.
Meet Boo-Lu, the ghoul who gives back,
in toy stores all over the planet, calling kids to do Philanthro-Parties and win skullerships to donate to their favorite charities. Magic works magic!
Next, Lulu published a book.
If my generation is to face the great challenges we are about to inherit, service needs to be a bigger part of our education. It’s a challenge to get schools and larger institutions to step it up and make service and volunteerism a bigger priority.
I wish there were more opportunities to support the next generation of compassionate leaders. While we are the future, we need to start acting now, rather than waiting until it is too late.
With this crew, even voter registration at school is FUN – and highly successful!
As a youth-run organization, our ambitions are not always taken seriously. Our actions are often dismissed as symbolic gestures. But children and young people are capable of accomplishing enormous tangible good! We can have a profound impact on our local, national and global communities. LemonAID Warriors works to give young people tools and support to carry out these aspirations.
But ideally, our schools and our entire society would also be on board.
‘My new passion is mentoring. It is so rewarding!’
It started with one girl.
REFLECTION
Essential Insight #4
FUNdraising and Philanthro-Parties
with a dose of fun, magic and adventure
- raise big funds
- with fun
- for all generations
- build community
- generate vibrant photos
- generate invitations to schools
which makes it a more powerful tool for changemakers than people imagine!
A BIG LESSON for all changemakers
Imagine an socio-environmental youth organization with 300 crews in many countries.
- for their summer training camp, they seek to raise $30,000€
- if each crew does a $100€ bake and lemonAID sale; how much money to their raise?
- how long does it take them to do this? 1 day at school
Here are additional effects
- add a flyer on your causes and the people will learn of your causes, too
- WHILE buying a yummy cake, lemonAID, green smoothie or vegan delight
- which also educates them on v egan stuff, especially if you add a flyer and linklist to best recipe videos
- uplifting conversations
- it grows friendly supportive community
- it grows the team
- it grows contributions, tips, demand, invitations, allies, partners
- it generates 100s of vibrant photos of youth campaigners in merry conversation with adult and youth public
- growing reach, community and media presence
all of which contribute to the cause. By adding cake, lemonAID and a smile.
Also apparently “off-topic” Philanthro-Parties generate this effect
- book drives
- LEGO drives
- and people will love you even more for it; also those that only saw you as a nasty political activist.
Hmmmm. And aren’t those things needed for a good world, too? And don’t eco-social campaigners have TIME for that in between their other stuff and the … talking talking talking? Yes they do.
THE BIG REVELATION :
- You can combine earning money with informing on important causes
- You can combine informing on important causes while earning money
- This grows the benevolent audience that frequents your stand
- IF YOU bliss ALL people, not just a small political segment of society
- IF YOU reward their financial contribution with something UPLIFTING
- IF YOU include the SENSUAL, not only the brainy
- IF YOU focus on the positive, not only on suffering and fear of loss
- IF their contributions make immediate tangible impact
- IF YOU are in good mood, focus on the positive – like Lulu and LemonAID Warriors
- IF YOU add a dose of fun, magic and adventure – Philanthro-Party style
Eco-social activism changemakers that only do advocacy underperform. Only calling for donations online, while they can generate enormous sums themselves onsite means underperfoming. Onsite, you can even generate that money faster, in just one day! It also an fun active occasion to bring all teams together around the planet.
You can time this for a UN Theme Day, like water, or family, or youth skills, or for a festive season.
Timing all 300 teams for the same week
- generates big energy, /more than for a common protest generating the same lukewarm photos and little effect
- creates 100s of uplifting photos
- strengthens a bond among the 300 crews
- makes it a big happening – a Philantro-PARTY!
- with celebration of a collective achievement : $30,000€ for the summer camp training
- This makes all 300 teams on 6 continents feel part of the summer camp training (and not just the few people that participate)
- This is an important experience of sovereignity and independence from government etc funds that come with corsets, paperwork, distress because only between 2% and 10% for funding applications are successful, and the other 90% to 98% lose out, wasted time and sat idle waiting waiting for the jackpot!
You notice that this is GOLD and simple.
That’s part of our goal with our #BeMoreAwesome program for youth age 8 to 18 with student clubs at school etc.
We’ll go deeper into this in Phase 5 HIGH IMPACT STARTER ACTIONS
For now take a breath, feel your HAPPY HEART and then we look at charity champs doing DEVELOPMENT!