umojawa is a leading information provider for the nonprofit sector that helps nonprofits more effectively manage their organizations and maximize the efficiency of their external communications and fundraising efforts via new age mixed media and social media platforms. Utilizing today’s best practices in social media as well as traditional B2B marketing communications, umojawa helps ensure not-for-profit organizations reach their target audiences while creating general awareness to their missions.
umojawa provides a mix of news and in-depth features along with a smattering of “how-to” articles and videos to keep our readers informed of the latest and most effective trends in awareness and fundraising using technology/methodologies that drive the marketplace and corporate sponsorship.
A community is only as strong as its roots. umojawa is proud to introduce The Community Tree, where we will highlight parents from across the country and beyond that serve their communities and families in inspiring ways.
We are please to present Patrick O’Neill and Lisa Tomasi of the new charitable giving platform, YouGiveGoods, as our first Community Tree members. Read more…
If you would like to be featured, or nominate a parent to be featured, please contact us at hello@umojawa.com, and include Community Tree in the subject line.
It’ True!: I Teach Because I Can’t Do Anything Else!
Welcome to one of my favorite annual postings that I dedicate each year to an amazing world of educators. I hope you find this reflection one that you will continue to enjoy and share with others! Also, please take a moment to subscribe to this blog by RSS or email and join me on twitter at mjgormans . I have some great posts coming your way involving PBL, STEM, tech integration, and a continuing series on Professional Learning Communities! Most of all, thanks for being one of those over 20,000 visitors a month and I would appreciate it if you pass this special post on to others through and email or a retweet! Also, remember that I can come to your conference or school district and provide engaging authentic and purposeful professional development . Please contact me anytime at (mjgormans@gmail.com). Thanks so much. Michael Gorman (21centuryedtech)
t is estimated that by 2015, women will make up 64% of the world’s adult population who cannot read and although America’s drop out rate is higher for boys, one in four girls do not finish high school. Lack of education and scarce opportunities in a downward economy leave many searching for a solution to lift the the spirits and soicio-economic status of women and girls across our nation, 55.2 percent of the 42.9 million and growing living in poverty in the United States (American Community Survey data, 2009).
While school based programs are developing curriculum to combat gender-based violence and reduce the high school drop out rate across the country, individuals and grassroots organizations continue to brilliantly engage and encourage girls and young women to empower themselves in their communities. Read more…
Donor cultivation is part art, part science. At its most basic, donor cultivation (and prospect cultivation, for that matter), centers on communication: staying in touch with your donors and prospects to build a relationship of trust and mutual interest.Big gifts, small gifts, recurring gifts, bequests… they rarely just “happen.” Most are the result of an ongoing process of cultivation and dialogue. Here, in no particular order, are eight great ways for your non-profit to stay in touch with your donors through the course of the year. For best results, mix and match based on your non-profit’s unique needs and goals. Read more…
GIFT Productions (Get Innovative For Tomorrow), a new non-profit concert organization and promotion company that raises money for underserved children’s arts and music programs announces its launch event, a concert to benefit the South Mountain YMCA (SMYMCA) after school arts and music programs. This event will feature musical acts Jaclyn Dima and the Shakey Tables, Liat, and 8bit. 100% of ticket sales will go to benefit the SMYMCA. This event is sponsored by umojawa (www.umojawa.com),an online community encouraging social change.
The GIFT Productions Launch Event represents an initial step in bringing together two fantastic aspects of the Maplewood/South Orange Community: its arts and music and its non-profit/social change community. The event will be held at Highland Place, one of the top venues for music in the Maplewood/South Orange area, and is sponsored by umojawa, a leading company to promote social change throughout the world. The show will feature top folk- and indie-rock bands from both NYC and the NJ area, and is another example of how Maplewood/South Orange is establishing itself as a local and national leader in utilizing arts and music for social change.
“Two of the most consistent themes regarding improving our country’s economic situation include encouraging creativity to help promote entrepreneurial endeavors, and providing additional services to people who could use help during a difficult time. The aim of GIFT Productions is to combine both of these goals by providing a valuable opportunity for underserved children to embrace arts and music, which has been shown to improve educations, social and emotional development,” says GIFT Productions Founder and President Michael Friedman, PhD.
GIFT Productions seeks to accomplish the goal of providing funds for arts and music programs while helping promote and facilitate the local music scene in Maplewood/South Orange and the
Essex County area. Keeping to this vision, GIFT Productions will continue to organize and promote shows that raise money for arts and music programs while providing a platform for promising artists to showcase their work.
“This is a win for everyone in the community: underserved children receive funding for important arts and music educational programs, artists have a chance to showcase their work, and the community gets a chance to foster a thriving arts and music scene,” adds Michael Friedman, PhD.
GIFT Productions seeks to become a leader in raising money for underserved children’s arts and music programs through organizing and promoting concert benefit shows.
Maplewood, NJ—September 13, 2012—umojawa, a new online community encouraging social change and civic engagement, and rewarding organizations for their work that benefits others, announces its first annual OvationTM Award in Education to recognize outstanding performance in projects initiated by Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) and Home School Associations (HSA) teams to benefit their schools. Five regional winners will be announced in May 2013 and each will receive awards for their schools from a prize pool valued at $10,000, with additional prizes to be announced throughout the registration period.
PTA and HSA individuals and teams throughout the United States are encouraged to register now at http://umojawa.com/ovation/ to learn about the Ovation Award criteria, the application process, and how to get involved. As an added benefit, early registrants will be entered in drawings throughout the fall and have a chance to win from $2500+ worth of prizes. The earlier a participant registers the better the chance they have to win. New program sponsors and opportunities will be announced throughout the school year.
“The PTA/HSA is the largest volunteer child advocacy association in the nation, reminding our country of its obligations to children. They are a greatly under-appreciated group of volunteers and we want to honor these unsung heroes for their dedication to the youth, our country’s future,” said Stephanie Jelley, chief executive officer, umojawa.
The Ovation Award honors teams that demonstrate best practices in volunteerism, with projects that show strength in team leadership and management, innovative approaches, and successful solutions applied in school systems nationwide. Keeping true to its core mission of using social media for social good, umojawa will share all submitted projects, and crowdsourcing will be an essential part of the judging process along with judging by the umojawa board.
“Our Ovation Award tagline, Admiring What’s Inspiring, says it all: we celebrate those that demonstrate social good in our educational system and we help them spread the word to inspire others to do the same,” added Jelley.
About umojawa
umojawa is a leading information provider for the non-profit sector that helps them more effectively manage their organizations and maximize the efficiency of their external communications and fundraising efforts via new age mixed media and social media platforms. Utilizing today’s best practices in social media as well as traditional B2B marketing communications, umojawa helps ensure not-for-profit organizations reach their target audiences while creating general awareness to their missions.
For more information please contact:
Kim Hoskins, Contour Marketing 732-688-5631 kim.hoskins@contourmm.com
SOMa Middle Schoolers Fight Hunger
This year the South Orange & Maplewood middle schoolers will bring awareness while fighting hunger in their community using new age media, decreasing the carbon footprint of the traditional food drive, the burden of carrying goods to school and eliminating waste by ensuring that 100% of the goods are what our pantries need most.
Hunger is a growing problem across the country. Approximately 1 in 7 households are “food insecure”. Children need adequate nutrition for their physical and mental health, as well as their emotional development, and participation in community. Local food pantries have severe shortages and subsequently must turn people in need away. They need our help! Read More
Until this week, readers of Our Children have been local, state and national PTA leaders who receive a printed magazine and have to make copies of articles they want to share with others. All that has changed with the first issue of Our Children for the 2012-2013 school year, now available online.
“For more than 100 years Our Children has been an important benefit for PTA leaders working on behalf of families, students and their schools,” said Marilyn Ferdinand, Editor-in-Chief of Our Children Magazine. “We are extremely pleased to provide the same practical information to any parent, educator or interested community member who has access to the internet. The digital Our Children is an example of how today’s PTA is empowering parents and families to accomplish great things for all children.” Read More
(Source: umojawa.com)
World’s youngest mayor: 15-year-old teenage girl in Palestine
A 15-year-old Palestinian girl took office as the mayor of a West Bank town and became the youngest person in the world to occupy this position.
As part of an initiative to empower youth and involve them in the decision-making process, Bashaer Othman will be the mayor of the town of Allar in the city of Tulkarm in the northwestern West Bank for two months.
Othman is in charge of all matters related to the municipality of Allar and which include supervising employees and signing all official documents with the exception of financial ones.Othman is working under the supervision of elected mayor Sufian Shadid who expressed his enthusiasm for the teengar’s appointment as a step towards supporting youth.
“There are many ways of supporting youth other than financial means. First, we should make sure we remove obstacles that might stand in their way and with determination and perseverance we can do so,” he said.
For Othman, the new position constitutes a major challenge that she is hoping she can be up to.
“I want to go through this experience in order to be able to share it with other youth so that they can be prepared for running state institutions in the future,” she said.So inspiring!
(Source: faineemae)
