December 31st has come and gone, and my mailbox has slowed down on delivering free address labels, greeting cards and calendars, all for a good cause. I believe in supporting the community, but surely there must be a better way to raise money for a good cause. Voila! This Sunday's Source in the Washington Post gave me some great ideas with an interesting article entitled This is for Charity? Raising Money for Good Causes Has Gotten a Lot More Wacky.
It seems that a new generation of philanthropists has gotten creative about supporting the causes they care about. Events like Washington's first Sweet 'Stache Man Pageant are good, clean fun for a cause -- and they won't bust a young professionals budget. Hosted by a group called SMASHED (formally, the Society of Mature Adults Seeking to Help, Entertain and Donate), events aimed at 20 to 30-year-olds keep their cover charges under $20 to encourage as many revelers as possible to donate. Other wild and wacky events they have sponsored include the D.C. Idiotarod, a spoof of the famous Alaskan dog sled race, and the Amazing Race Scavenger Hunt. The point of all -- to have fun while raising money for a good cause.
As business schools devote more of their curricula to "social entrepreneurship," it was only a matter of time before young philanthropists got their own blog. FLiP (future leaders in philanthropy) is a great resource for young professionals without tons of dough looking for ways to make a contribution to society.
Of course, philanthropy has been around for a long time, and the young aren't the first to try to make it fun. Celebrity auctions, benefit concerts, and luxury car raffles are time-honored ways to raise money for charity. At Hoopla, we may not be wild and crazy, but we do like to have fun. On February 10, we are 
hosting a very special art exhibit by Robyn Einhorn, entitled Compassion: Living Transfusion Dependent. This is the artist's Valentine thank you to all of the blood donors who have kept her alive for the past seven years, and 50% of the proceeds from the sale of her artwork will benefit the Leukemia Foundation. Plus, as we are sure you will agree, the artwork is irresistibly beautiful. On February 13, you can win a free $10 gift certificate to Hoopla just for donating blood at our American Red Cross blood drive. So whatever your style, make this your year to have fun and donate to a good cause.
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