“Volunteerism is the voice of the people put into action.  These actions shape and mold the present into a future of which we can all be proud.”

-Helen Dyer

Today is the first day of Idaho Gives, an event in Idaho centered around promoting the nonprofits and giving back to them during this time. So, I wanted to share what I’ve learned in the past year about giving back and how you can have a great impact too!  

Lessons from the Nonprofit World :
I recently joined the board for a nonprofit up here in McCall, Idaho called CIMBA (Central Idaho Mountain Bike Association). It’s a pretty rad nonprofit that does a lot of really great work, like building fun new trails (for all users), maintaining current trails, hosting community events, and so much more.

Here are some lessons I’ve learned from my time with CIMBA that I think everyone should know about nonprofits. 

• Time & Money are SO IMPORTANT!
  • I mean duh, isn’t time and money always important in most things in life? But these really are big items that make a nonprofit run. Money is needed for projects and events. Time from people is needed to run those projects and events.
    • It blew my mind how much money is needed for projects. Like hundreds of thousands of dollars to build one trail! Just one! I had no idea. You might be surprised to learn how much nonprofits you love spend on the work they are doing. 
    • It also blew my mind how much time it takes to do anything for the organization. There are so many moving parts from permitting, to planning, to marketing, to approvals, to so many other little things to make anything happen. 
• Asking for Help is HARD!
  • It’s really hard to just keep having to ask for help over and over and over again!! From spending the first few months of the year talking to local businesses about being sponsors, to encouraging people to become a member, to asking others to volunteer their time to work on the trails- I feel guilty and greedy! Is it just me? So, next time an organization asks for your help, just know, it’s probably uncomfortable and difficult for them to do so. But, without the help, then the organization wouldn’t function and achieve their goals. 
• An Amazing FUTURE!
  • Despite the lessons and challenges, I can see the fruits of the labor for those in the past and for us currently working in the nonprofit.  What CIMBA (and other organizations) have done in the past have made my life so much better. It’s easy to forget about the work that goes into a new trail when I’m out biking on them. But now I see what it takes and it makes me appreciate them even more, as well as offering my time and money towards it knowing it will be worth it in the end. Because as Dr. Seuss said: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” 

So, today, I urge you to think about what you love in your life and how you can give back. With Idaho Gives, it’s a time to focus on monetary donations, but if that isn’t something you can offer, then donate some time to nonprofits you care about! And if giving isn’t really your thing, that’s okay too but I encourage you to read on. 🙂 

Giving Ain’t Really Your Thing?
It’s okay if you aren’t a giver, yet (or ever), I wasn’t really one either. I am an extremely busy person, I like to do what I want to do, and I honestly don’t feel the sense of responsibility to give back. Yup, I said it. BUT, then I realized most givers weren’t necessarily givers before either. This may sound silly, but I just always assumed people who volunteered either had a ton of time and volunteering was their type of hobby or they just really found fulfillment in giving back. What I’m learning is that’s not always the case and some of the volunteers I’ve met are busier than me. So if they can do it, so can I. Not necessarily because I want to, but because I need to. 

Plus, after being apart of CIMBA for seven months, I’ve already seen some personal benefits that I didn’t expect, which are: 

• Networking
  • Meet new people, meet powerful people, meet helpful people, just meet people that can help you in your day-to-day personal and professional lives. 
• Plan out the Future
  • If you join a mountain bike nonprofit like CIMBA, you are on the forefront of being involved on what next trails get built, what events to bring to town, what will make your biking world better. So what do you want to see in your future? 
• Learning
  • I’ve learned a lot of helpful tips and tricks from other people on the board. From biking specific things, to computer related stuff, to marketing techniques, and so much more. These are lessons that will help my personal and professional life! 
• Finding Purpose
  • You will feel fulfilled and have a purpose when you’re involved with a nonprofit! And this Forbes article HERE talks about the benefits of purpose! 

Hopefully this has inspired you to give back and if so, read on for ideas of how to give back (*hint, it doesn’t have to always be your time). 

Giving Your Money: 
Having people to help with their time is super important for most nonprofits, but so is money. So if you don’t want to donate your time, donating your money is really great too! And if it’s hard for you to just hand over your hard earned cash directly, here are some other ideas of ways to donate financially to organizations: 

• Challenge Accepted:
  • I once heard a Realtor tell me that he wanted to build a habit of working out every day and he got another friend convinced to do it as well. They wanted to have some money on the line as motivation so they each wrote five checks out to their favorite organizations and they agreed that if one of them didn’t show up the other one was supposed to mail their check out. I thought that was a great idea all around! Then I laughed when I learned they changed it to have the checks go to organizations they hated. Which nothing motivated him more to get to those early morning gym sessions than knowing his money was going to something he didn’t believe in.  So, are there areas you are making bets, or challenges with money on the line that you could put that money to good use? 
• Streaking for a Cause:
  • In McCall a few amazing ladies created a fitness challenge that was for thirty days and if you missed a day you paid money to join back in. At the end of the event whatever money was raised was then spent on the people still involved to go to dinner and have drinks. They realized though that the money could be put to better use and decided to donate it. Years later, and after opening it up to the public, (and working their butts off to put the event on), they donate thousands of dollars yearly to local kids for college. How cool! So, are you apart of any groups like this that could raise a few dollars for a nonprofit? 
• Marketing Made Easy:
  • Lots of organizations have options to become a sponsor with your business. This is a great way to get your business marketed to the community and a way to give back as well! My company, Elevate TC Services is a proud sponsor of CIMBA and I get to rock this cool CIMBA Supporter sticker! 
• And of course there is the tax benefit when you donate money. 

Giving Your TIME: 
If you read the last Elevate Livin’ Life e-newsletter you know that I feel very strongly about the importance of protecting your time. So trust me, I get it when it comes to the difficulty of sacrificing your time on nonprofit work. But, something important to remember is this can be on your own terms!

• Maybe you can’t give up your Saturday to work on the local trails, but could you give up a few hours in the month to work on the computer or do other tasks behind the scenes?
  • Nonprofits usually need help writing grants, putting together marketing material, running errands and a boatload of other tasks that you could jump into on your own time and terms. 
• Or be an unknown trail angel!
  • Instead of formally being apart of the organization, just do your part on your own for work you know they do. Clear some trails while you’re out on your own ride…or whatever activity your organization you believe in does. 
• Perhaps you can’t directly donate your time but maybe you can indirectly?
  • Do you know a lot of people, and/or are you naturally a talker and social butterfly? Perhaps you can just share about the organizations you believe in to help them grow their awareness. OR share on social media their posts!

Just think about what you have to offer (time, money, or something else) and figure out how to offer it to organizations you believe in, which is your next step, figuring out which organizations! 

Finding Where to GIVE: 
Are you ready to donate some time or money? Well here are some steps to help you figure out where to direct those valuable offerings! 

1. Think about your favorite hobbies and passions.
2. Google “said hobby” with “nonprofit” in your city.
   1. If that doesn’t yield any results then go to your local store for said hobby and ask them if they know of any nonprofits or organizations that need help. 
   2. Or ask a friend you know involved in community service work that does similar hobbies. 
3. Once you find the organization, contact them to ask if they’re in need of any help. Or join the board meetings to learn and listen. Or go to their website to learn where to donate. 

The future you, the future children, the future everything thanks you for your donations!! 🙂 

Idaho Gives:
I hope this e-newsletter has sparked your mind with ideas of where you can be a helping hand in the future or even today, especially as Idaho Gives is taking place. A few dollars can go a long way! And if you want to donate to the organization I love, CIMBA, click HERE (no pressure!!).

I’d love to know what organizations you are apart of?!

Or if this e-newsletter encourages you to join one, I’d love to know this too!! Especially if you are in McCall, you like biking, and you want to help out CIMBA. too. 😉