Still Need You

“If you ever need a group to make cards I think my group at work would love to do this during our slow time in the winter. Just let me know.”

After seeing that comment we wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page, we ALWAYS could use more cards! Unfortunately we can never tell how many cards we’ll get a quarter. First, there are several groups who’ve expressed interest in making cards, but haven’t found free time during the week. Then as touched on in a prior post, people often hosts events, but don’t get a chance to send them (Seal the Deal). Then it’s very rare that we get groups to Stream It, consistently make cards on a quarterly basis without us reaching out requesting additional cards. And to be honest, most of the time we’re BEGGING for people to make more cards!

Here’s more insight. Since we're a certified non-profit, we have to keep track of ALL our expenses and donations! So we decided while we're tracking that, we can also watch where ALL the cards are coming from and going to with detailed formulas in our excel chart. For example, there’s a formula which shows if people made cards the last quarter:

• =IFERROR((B61-VLOOKUP(A61,'Q1 2015'!$A$15:$B$70,2,FALSE))/VLOOKUP(A61,'Q1 2015'!$A$15:$B$70,2,FALSE), "None Last Quarter")

In summary, what the formula does is shows us the percent difference (e.g. 20% more cards than last quarter) for each group quarter over quarter. But if a group didn’t host an event the prior quarter, it simply shows us “None Last Quarter”.

With that excel chart we start to reach out to groups who’ve made a bunch in the past but have a ‘None Last Quarter’ next to their name. This way we can make sure that we’re not heckling people who just made cards.

While looking into all this data we learned there’s no way we can get over 1,000+ cards without at least one group making 150+ cards. Here’s a breakout of who did that in each of those prior quarters:
• Q1 2013
             o Mayfield Junior School – 227 cards
             o Northwestern – 202 cards
             o University of Illinois Chicago – 169 cards
• Q4 2013
             o PHD Media – 223 cards
             o Isobar – 164 cards
• Q1 2014
             o CervantesKids – 356 cards
             o QuickenLoans – 163 cards
• Q2 2014
             o KForce – 675 cards
• Q3 2014
             o QuickenLoans – 285 cards
             o Millward Brown – 187 cards
• Q2 2015 (as of June 5)
             o Minnesota State University – 413 cards
             o Hickory Woods Elementary – 237 cards
             o Huron Consulting – 222 cards

As you can see, we often get HUGE stacks of cards from HUGE companies….but what you can’t tell is how many times we see “None Last Quarter” on our chart. Also, based on our promises to hospitals we need 1,250 cards each quarter! So no matter what else is going on, WE STILL NEED YOU!

#WeStillNeedYou #UpliftingSpirits #EveryCardCounts

To see more pictures and stories please check out our website www.cardzforkidz.org, like us on Facebook page, follow us on Twitter , visit our Google+ page, or visit our LinkedIn page! Also, check out some of our videos on YouTube!

In Debt

Thinking about it….we’ve been through a lot. When we originally thought about making Cardz for Kidz! a certified organization, we didn’t understand how much work needed to be done. We at first were thinking it would just be with immediate friends or coworkers. When someone told us we should make it certified we said “OK sounds good” before we knew what that entailed!

Here’s a checklist of things that we needed/need to do in order to continue to grow and connect with more children:

□  Submit Articles of Corporation to IL Attorney General (2 pages)

□   Submit Bylaws to IL Attorney General (7 pages)

□   Submit Charitable Organization Registration Statement (3 pages)

□   Submit IRS Form 1023 (40 pages)

□   Design/Animate Logo

□   Set up Bank Account (6 pages)

□   Design and Build a SECURE Website ($5,000)

□   Annual Attorney General Paperwork (2 pages)

□   Annual Federal 990 Form – would have been 4 more pages - “would” being the keyword!

That’s a lot! Especially since all the “staff” at Cardz for Kidz! are employed with 9-5pm (on good days it’s more of a 9-6:30) jobs, we understand there’s NO WAY we could do it by ourselves. What sparked this post was while we were trying to get together our annual Federal 990 Form. We reached out to our friend who’s a certified accountant, Robyn Fuller, to get her advice on how we should complete it. She told us based on how little we were bringing in we could simply complete the e-Postcard version. That was less than a page and took a maximum of 5 minutes (that’s on top of getting a national organization to make cards and put their logo on our site).

So we’re definitely missing a bunch of people, but we once again wanted to thank the people who made it so we exist and have had the opportunity to reach a total of 13,000 children in 6 different countries:

• The first four points on the To-Do list:

o   We touched base on this during our first blog post, Once Upon a Time, we’re thankful that our three friends Veronica Farley-Seybert, Grace Adoroja & Ndu Ozor stepped in to complete the 50+ pages for us

• Logo Design:

o   Originally started as a brief discussion, but thankful that Arron Davis quickly designed and animated the logo for us. Now that’s on our t-shirts, website, FB page, business cards…..

• Bank Account:

o   To this day surprised with how AMAZING Zina Meltser has been! For example, after the Pledge Allegiance event we deposited the checks at a BMO Harris bank in downtown Chicago. BUT we forgot to get the check numbers so we could include that in our tax deductible receipts to the donors. Within a day of reaching out to Zina, she sent us scanned copy of each check and the donation slip!

• Raise Funds for the Website:

o This is all thanks to PHD Media. They held an annual #PHDBigHug day. During the event they raised money in order for us to build our site. In addition, we connected with the designers at their event. It was a long time coming, but as we always say, the website was worth the wait/weight.

• Annual Attorney General Paperwork and Federal 990 Form:

o Thanks to the help and direction of the people above….we can fill out those 3 pages all by ourselves!! J

In summary, in order to be a 501c3 certified organization that is recognized by global corporations, as well as aligning with government requirements there’s a lot that needs to be done. Thinking about how we guarantee that we’ll never require, or even suggest, people make a donation to participate, we’re always thankful when people volunteer to help out. So although everyone listed above told us their contributions were free, we’re still IN DEBT to you and #ForeverThankful for how you helped us!

#InDebt #UpliftingSpirits

To see more pictures and stories please check out our website www.cardzforkidz.org, like us on Facebook page, follow us on Twitter , visit our Google+ page, or visit our LinkedIn page! Also, check out some of our videos on YouTube!

Seal The Deal

Thankfully so far this quarter has changed!!! As of June 5, 2015 we’ve already received 1,334 cards! For a bit we were on a downward trend (e.g. Q1 2015 – 891 cards), but after Q2 we’ll be proud to update the image on our website, www.cardzforkidz.org/donate.

But thinking about it, we only show the amount of cards we’ve RECEIVED each quarter…..not how many were made. You’d be surprised how many people MAKE cards, but never ship them. Recently here are a couple quotes from conversations and/or emails.….don’t worry we made sure they’re PG!

• “I still have cards that I need to try and get to you!!!”
• “Aww man, I keep forgetting I have to get you the cards”
• “A few months ago some of us here in the office got together to make cards and I have been holding on to them to send them to you.”

In order to prevent those types of comments, we made some changes. We’re always trying to stay behind the scenes, but we made some changes so people can easily participate. For example, we made modifications to our How-To page so you can easily see where to ship the cards.

Based on the emails and responses we’ve been receiving we know people have done the hard part- making the quality cards. Then, due to the updates to our site, we understand people can efficiently find where to send their “artwork”. Now, all we need to do is find out how to inspire participants to send the packages (aka SEAL THE DEAL).

#SealTheDeal #UpliftingSpirits

To see more pictures and stories please check out our website www.cardzforkidz.org, like us on Facebook page, follow us on Twitter , visit our Google+ page, or visit our LinkedIn page! Also, check out some of our videos on YouTube!

It's Up To You

Some of our participants....

Sorry we couldn't fit all of them in one simple screenshot!

We've visited the page a bunch and we're still impressed by how many groups have pitched in to help uplift spirits. And for those logos to be on our site, we had to receive documented approval for us to use them AND receive their desired landing page! So if you look under albums portion of our Facebook page, you'll see there are even more renowned groups (e.g. Harley Davidson, Northwestern University) who have made cards.

Now one may think, "here's some small organization  that's never done a press release AND simply had a couple friends do all the paperwork....how did they connect with these groups???" Here's more 100% honesty, most of the time, we knew someone. Here are some examples:

• Google - A former coworker worked there and connected us to the head of the HR department
• LinkedIn - an old roommate worked in their Chicago office
• QuickenLoans - a friend from high school currently works there and launched their first event
• Denver Public Schools - an old neighbor is a counselor in that school district

Unfortunately we're starting to get to the end of our connections! So, in order for us to grow and continue to get more renown participants, IT'S UP TO YOU, to tell a friend or host an event. If so, just like the kids, we'll be forever thankful.

#ItsUpToYou #UpliftingSpirits

To see more pictures and stories please check out our website www.cardzforkidz.org, like us on Facebook page, follow us on Twitter , visit our Google+ page, or visit our LinkedIn page! Also, check out some of our videos on YouTube!

Resonate With Kids

No No! That’s our job! As mentioned in a prior posts the individuals who “work” at Cardz for Kidz! are able to remain behind the scenes….and that’s it- we’re the only ones!!! J We thought of a couple ways that we could recognize everyone who’s helped out. First, we dedicated a whole page of our website to show how many cards each group’s made, www.cardzforkidz.org/participants!

Then as a backup plan we ask groups to take a bunch of pictures during their event so we can create a special album for them on our Facebook page.

FINALLY, even if none of that works, we can create a similar looking logo and post their cards in the Top 10 album.                                                                                                                                        

We’re hoping that with at least one of those methods every group will be recognized for participating! We thought we had it set, until Resonate slipped under the radar and this blog post is the only way we can OFFICIALLY thank them!

As of April 2015, we have received 1,544 cards from advertising agencies in Chicago. Approximately 75% of those cards have come from either a Mindshare or PHD/OMD event. One common thread between those advertising giants.....Justin at Resonate Media.

Justin reaches out to the community leads at those agencies to check to see when they’re having their next event and how he can help. Not only does that include getting snacks for the agencies, but even more importantly, making cards as well.

Here’s a quote from one of our thankful helpers at Mindshare after their event in Q1 2015:

"We made a total of 92 cards and they all look awesome!  It was a great event and Justin came in to help support and feed everyone, which we greatly appreciate."

Thinking about his participation we decided to check in to see if we could get some of Justin's background. He said, “charity is close to my heart with all I have overcome in my life, and we brainstormed a way that we could help increase the amount of cards created for these dear kids.”

When we followed up with what he liked about Cardz for Kidz! he said:

"My favorite part about helping the agencies host the event is that we stop and make time to make the cards. There are not enough hours in a day and unless you stop and make time in life or it will never get done. So this allows us to make time and by providing lunch and prizes makes it something that the agencies look for forward to."

Since we don’t know how many cards he’s made, we can’t put a logo up on our site. Also, since Resonate hasn't held a big event with a bunch of pics they don’t have an album OR a Top 10 picture. So we decided to dedicate a blog post to him to let him know his contributions RESONATE WITH KIDS.

#ResonateWithKids #UpliftingSpirits 

To see more pictures and stories please check out our website www.cardzforkidz.org, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, visit our Google+ page, or visit our  LinkedIn page! Also, check out some of our videos on YouTube!

Newsworthy

Every quarter Cardz for Kidz! promises each hospital/shelter we partner with that we’ll send them a certain amount of cards. For some hospitals, based on our room to room requirement and their size, they’ve requested that we send them less than their overall hospital capacity. Some smaller hospitals updated us that they often don’t have many long term patients and have high turnover. Based on that they asked if once every 3 months, we could send more cards than they have beds.

In addition, to those preset hospital destinations we often make multiple special deliveries. This is highlighted in our mission statement.

Cardz for Kidz! is an organization dedicated to uplifting the spirits of hospitalized and/or traumatized children across the globe by delivering inspiring homemade cards.

Here are some examples of the some traumatized children we reached out to:

• 235 cards in  Q4 2012 to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut after the school shooting
• 15 cards in Q2 2013 to Neighborhood Charter House School in Boston, MA after the Boston marathon bombing
• 50 cards in  Q1 2014 to Berrendo Middle School in Roswell, New Mexico after the school shooting
•  Colin in Michigan, Addie in Utah, Daniel in Massachusetts all with their own disheartening conditions.

Thanks to you we even received some documented gratitude from a couple of those places.

Here are two things in common between all of those delivery locations:

1. Children were put in HORRIBLE conditions that they could not control
2. They all had at least one newspaper article or webpage explaining the tragedy

We are going to continue to keep our ears open for those type of situations, but we will continue to make sure that kids, who may not be going through a situation that’s on the front page of multiple newspapers, are still positively impacted by your cards. 

Although it may not be discussed on CNN, USA Today or other news stations, we feel that each disheartened child is NEWSWORTHY and we’d love to send independent homemade cards.

Please reach out to info@cardzforkidz.org if you know a child you’d like for us to make a special delivery for.

#Newsworthy #UpliftingSpirits

To see more pictures and stories please check out our website www.cardzforkidz.org, like us on Facebook page, follow us on Twitter , visit our Google+ page, or visit our LinkedIn page! Also, check out some of our videos on YouTube!

We Remember You!

“Hmmm….I don’t know! What should we say?!?!?” That’s a quote from one of the “staff” members at Cardz for Kidz!  during a recent brainstorming session on how we can get more cards.

We’re not sure if you saw one of our last Facebook post, but Q4 2014 was our lowest production in cards in over a year. Actually if you check the date and time on the screenshot below you can see that we’ve been embarrassed to update our card per quarter count.

• Q3 2014: 1,105 cards :(
• Q4 2014: 989 cards :(

While talking to some of the board members they provided some ideas on how we could continue growing. Here were some of their ideas:

• Pre-packaging supplies. Make it EASIER for people to participate. With that people could simply go on our website, click a link and we’d send them all the art supplies. Only problem is we’d have to purchase the supplies, box them up, then ship them out. Since all “staff” at Cardz for Kidz!  are volunteers, having people dedicate that much time to our organization isn’t an option.
• Work with More Renown Hospitals. Someone suggested that we should work to partner with the major hospitals in each of the big cities. By partnering with the primary hospitals people have heard of then more groups will be interested in giving back.

Actually, if you look at this ranking, http://www.parents.com/health/doctors/best-childrens-hospitals/, we’re partnering with TWO of the Top TEN (Lurie & Mott). In addition, one hospital we work with got 70,000 cards at once.  As long as a hospital or shelter reaches out and promises to deliver cards room to room, we’ll partner with ANY hospital ANY size. Thanks to our partnership with some of the larger hospitals, we’ve been reaching out to universities in those areas; part of the strategy to expand. The only thing is the second option, to work with renowned hospitals, may misalign with one of our main hash tags, #EveryCardCounts. But we want to make it clear, we never discriminate.

Although, yes, a lot of those large hospitals would appreciate the cards, as touched on in a prior post, we believe it’s more important to focus on small hospitals who don’t get as much attention. We know we won’t be able to provide a DVD or new toy to each child at the small hospitals we work with, but at the very least we can provide a card!

We’re going to continue to focus on hospitals that may not get as much attention and/or donations. So here’s a special reminder to smaller hospitals. Although some groups may not talk of you or large companies may have never heard of you, OR you have a small number of pediatric patients, don’t worry, WE REMEMBER YOU and won’t forget!

#WeRememberYou #EveryCardCounts #UpliftingSpirits

To see more pictures and stories please check out our website www.cardzforkidz.org, like us on Facebook page, follow us on Twitter , visit our Google+ page, or visit our LinkedIn page! Also, check out some of our videos on YouTube!