Seasons greetings to all from your friends at Autograph Store Charity Fundraising! We haven’t seen much snow yet this year, but we’ve seen one successful charity auction roll in after another. We’re happy to say that this year has been our most successful yet, and with the New Year right around the corner we’re hoping to keep up that momentum.

We may not have been as busy as Santa and his elves, but we’ve been working around the clock the past few months to ensure we can help spread hope and happiness throughout the holiday season. Our charity auction experts have been assisting charities around the globe help bring some incredible auction items to their biggest supporters. Even Santa can’t get his hands on some of the unique fundraising items our charity partners can!

Whether you’ve been the lucky recipient of one of our unique auction items, one of our valued charity partners, or just one of our devoted followers, we’d like to take this time to send our warmest wishes to you and your family this holiday season. We hope you can help join us in spreading the holiday spirit to those in need.

By Devin Noonan, Social Media Coordinator

It’s that busy time of the year again. The holidays are fast approaching and charity auctions are in full swing. For your friends over here at Autograph Store Charity Fundraising, we’ve been working tirelessly to make sure that our non-profit partners are ready to roll this winter with their extraordinary fundraising efforts. We’d like to take the time to turn our spotlight once again on one of our most recent successful partners, SpineHope.

SpineHope was founded in 2008 in an effort to combat spinal disorders through an increase in education and awareness, expansion of research, and transformational surgeries for children in need. Since their founding, SpineHope has helped assess hundreds of patients with spinal disorders, providing many with critical surgery and a better way of living.

This past year they held their Inaugural Fundraising Event in Chicago, which treated family, friends and supporters to a night full of live entertainment and fun. Our fundraising specialist Heller Pool was thrilled to help kick start SpineHope’s first major event with some incredible fundraising items.

“I absolutely loved Heller,” said Beth Felker, event coordinator for SpineHope. “She was clear, upbeat, enthusiastic, and most importantly, she helped us meet all of our deadlines. I would love to use Autograph Store Charity Fundraising again.”

Some of the popular items at SpineHope’s inaugural event included items autographed by music icons Billy Joel, Bob Seger, and Pearl Jam. With the combined efforts of SpineHope, donors, and Autograph Store Charity Fundraising, their first-ever fundraising event brought in over $40,000. For Felker and company, this was a large accomplishment that far exceeded her expectations, but that wasn’t even the best part.

“The most important goal for us was to raise visibility and support for our cause while thanking all of our loyal supporters,” Felker said. “All of the money that we raised from our charity auction was simply a bonus.”

The amazing doctors and their medical team volunteers at SpineHope just completed a trip earlier in November, where they provided children in need with life-changing surgery. They’re now eagerly awaiting their next big trip this December, where they’ll embark on a mission to help provide individuals in need with life-changing surgery. To find out how you can help support this great cause, visit SpineHope online at http://www.spinehope.org.

By Devin Noonan, Social Media Coordinator

The fall season is traditionally one of the busiest and most lucrative times of year for non-profits to increase their charity fundraising dollars. The trees are looking bare, and Mother Nature has brought us some early snow already — telltale signs that the holiday season is rolling in once again. But before Santa’s sleigh departs the North Pole and we make our way into a New Year, we celebrate one of America’s favorite holidays, Thanksgiving.

A far cry from our time in school when the letter “F” brought on feelings of dread, Thanksgiving is a time to cherish the letter, focusing on the importance of friends, family, food, and for some of us, football. This year, we ask you to remember another “F” as well, fundraising. Day in and day out we help our charity partners with their efforts to raise money and awareness for great causes around the world. In a hope to inspire and fuel some charitable gestures on this day of giving, we ask that each end every person perform just one act of good faith. Whether you invite a lonesome friend over for Thanksgiving Dinner, offer some free time to a local soup kitchen, or simply donate a few dollars online, we simply ask that you help keep the spirit of giving alive. After all, isn’t that what Thanksgiving is really about?

We have a lot to be thankful for here at Autograph Store Charity Fundraising, and we’d like to take the time to specifically thank our dedicated friends and charity partners who continue to work tirelessly to make this world a better place. From all of us here at Autograph Store Charity Fundraising, we hope you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving surrounded by good food, great friends and a loving family. And don’t forget the newest “F” during this wonderful season of giving!

By Devin Noonan, Social Media Coordinator

Today’s video blog serves up a very special treat from our hardworking charity fundraising interns, Britney Sachs, Bryttnee Parris and Brittany Nardolillo (our three Britneys!). Our cameras left the safety of the Autograph Store offices and hit the mean streets of The Big Apple to record what your donors had to say about why they support the charities they do. What do you think about what they had to say? Leave your comments here, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and become our fan on Facebook!

Produced by Brittany Nardolillo, Charity Fundraising Intern

Non-profits the world over are always on the lookout for innovative, new fundraising ideas to generate support for their causes. We recently came across one such idea that hasn’t received overwhelming attention — at least not yet.

We’re talking about vending machines. That’s right, you heard right — vending machines. The same machines that deliver you your favorite candy bars and sugary beverages now provide hungry and thirsty consumers around the world the opportunity to make charitable donations while consuming. First introduced in Japan, this fundraising idea has made its way overseas to Brazil, and is expected to make an impact in major cities all over the world soon.

More than 10 million people commute via public transportation each and every day in New York City. Imagine what might happen if just 1-percent of those commuters donated a single dollar each day. In just one day, $100,000 would be raised, without anyone having to go out of his or her way.

That’s exactly what happened in Japan when a local Coca-Cola bottling company teamed up with the Japanese Red Cross to encourage post-tsunami support. Consumers were provided the opportunity to offer a charitable contribution to the Japanese Red Cross, along with or instead of their beverage purchase, earning them a thank you from an automated system upon completing their transactions. And, if that wasn’t enough, the Coca-Cola Company also donated a percentage of its beverage sales directly to the Japanese Red Cross, further supporting the program.

In São Paulo, Brazil, the city’s public transportation systems have also become accustomed to this innovative, new fundraising idea. Vending machines in their subway system now include simple thank you cards, which are earned by making charitable donations that help keep local children off the streets.

With such a large market that relies on public transportation in major cities across North America and Europe, it’s only a matter of time before this groundbreaking fundraising idea reaches its full potential here in the U.S. and beyond. For many major nonprofits out there, this may be the first of many alternative fundraising techniques that arise from ongoing technological advancements.

By Devin Noonan, Social Media Coordinator