Organizations Doing Good
Here at Catalyst, we have the opportunity to partner and work with a number of leading organizations focused on different areas of “doing good.” We’ll be highlighting a number of these organizations and their initiatives at Catalyst Atlanta, but I thought over the next several weeks I would list them so you could check them out and see more of the great work they are doing.
I’ll be listing 4 per week over the next 8 weeks, in no particular order.
1. Compassion Art- an initiative founded by Martin Smith, lead singer and founder of the band Delirious. Their Compassion Art music project has already raised over $120,000 from the sale of the CD towards poverty initiatives around the world.
2. Advent Conspiracy- started by good friends Chris Seay and Rick McKinley, this campaign encourages consumers to forego putting money into gifts at Christmas, and instead give that money to clean water projects and other worthy initiatives, fighting against the grip of consumerism on our culture.
3. Gift Card Giver- started by Jeff and Andre Shinabarger. Focused on collecting gift cards that still have credit on them, and turning that credit into money that can be used for worthwhile projects. You can host a Gift Card Giver House party in your community, or just simply send in your unused gift cards.
4. Hope International- the leading microfinance Christian organization. Providing small loans to individuals around the world to help lift them from poverty and give them a job and sustainable income. Peter Greer is doing a great job leading this top-notch initiative.
Let me know if you are aware of charitable organizations, businesses or initiatives that should be highlighted. List them in the comments section and I’ll add them to the list.
Advent Conspiracy changed the way I think about Christmas.
Here’s my top pick that many folks may not know about (yet). It’s founded by some young leaders out of Texas…
The Preemptive Love Coalition (http://preemptivelove.org) exists to eradicate the backlog of thousands of Iraqi children waiting for life-saving heart surgery and to increase the dialogue between international communities at odds.
I met one of the young leaders of this group, Jeremy Courtney, and their story is incredible. A part of their model is that they sell a high-quality, hand-made, Kurdish shoe called “Klash” (similar to TOMS model… can’t wait to hear the interview that Mike Foster did with Blake Mycoskie!).
Two months ago I went on a personal trip to Northern Iraq to “go & see” (we call it “genchi genbustsu at work) to review their business model, make recommendations, and to learn.
There is good news coming out of Iraq.
–Dave
P.S. Honorable mention has to be IJM.org. I also visited their HQ in DC and these guys are world class. Stop Trafficking…
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