I Live Here, I Give Here

Ambassadors are community leaders who agree to share our message with their family, friends, and networks from 7pm on March 4 to 7pm on March 5. Ambassadors will also use our easy online fundraising tool to boost donations to the their favorite nonprofit of choice. This event is to celebrate our Ambassadors and the work they will be doing for our nonprofit community. 

RSVP to Blaire@ILiveHereIGiveHere.Org 

Your +1 is welcome! 

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Full disclosure: I have a love/hate relationship with silent auctions. I’ve headed up 5 auctions in my Non-Profit career, and anyone who has ever organized one knows what I mean. They require a ton of hard work and impeccable organization skills, but in the end, it's worth every minute invested. There are the exciting moments that come along while we're gathering unique and exciting items, there's the high you get when you make a huge "ask" and have it come through, and there's always the creative part when we finally get to work on the table displays. And then there is the most amazing moment when you realize that all of your hard work over the last 6 months has come together to raise a ton of money for your cause! That is, hands down, the best part. And it makes all the tough logistical stuff worth it.

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I cannot believe a year has gone by. Voting is open for the Big Give -- already! As events go, the Big Give is... well... BIG. And the work we put in behind the scenes is no different. From the moment we close the books on one year's celebration, we start planning the next. We grow from year to year and strive to make it bigger and better. This year, I have to say, we've outdone ourselves. Instead of a single prize of $10,000, we're offering both the Whole Foods BIG prize ($10,000 for agencies with a budget over $500,000) as well as the Heritage Title little prize of $5,000 for those agencies who have a budget under $500,000. We get to spread even more love amongst two fabulous Partners this year! The coolest part about giving away these grants, is that in order to spread the love, we're going to need YOUR HELP.

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It's the beginning of a new era here at I Live Here, I Give Here as we bid farewell to our friend and co-worker, Mackenzie Martin.  She has been an asset that we could count on since our humble beginnings.  She's been a fabulous co-worker, a joy to work with every day, and a great friend to me.  We wish her nothing but the best as she moves to Fort Worth and starts the next chapter in her life. As with all things, all ends bring new beginnings.  We welcome Maddy Moffet as our new Director of Community Education and Special Events. I'm very excited to work with this fresh, eager young woman.  She will take on the BIG Give! See Jane Give, and Give Back Jack with a fresh perspective and make them her own.  Welcome to the team, Maddy!

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The Wall Street Journal just came out with a Travel Guide for a weekend in Austin. I agree with many of their highlights, sounds like a wonderful long weekend. It got me thinking about all of the fantastic places that I like to go, see and do. So, I decided to chronicle my perfect weekend in Austin, in a three part blog. (note: This weekend would not take place on a football, wedding or festival weekend…because that’s a whole different animal.)

My perfect weekend in Austin would depend on the weather, obviously. But, let’s pretend that this particular weekend is in the very beginning of spring…where it’s sunny and 70. All three days. Perfect start to a perfect weekend.

It’s Friday afternoon, and my boss just let me off early! Thanks Patsy…you’re the best. (this is imaginary, remember) I’d start my weekend off by heading over to Dry Creek Cafe and Boat Dock (don't be fooled by this name, there are not boats and unless you want Fritos, no food) to watch a perfect Texas sunset with my friends.  We’d listen to that Owen Temple “Dry Creek” song on the way, just for old times sake. I’ve been going to this place since before I was really allowed to, and it looks the same.  The deck looks a little like it might collapse at any second, but DON’T WORRY I’ve seen 75 people up there, so I have confidence that it will hold us. I’d have to bring my own koozie and be sure to pick up my cans when I’m done, or risk getting yelled at. I’d also know that the only soft drink options are Caffeine Free Diet Coke that looks like it’s been there since 1960. When we were done, we’d head over to Fonda San Miguel for some amazing interior Mexican food and margaritas. This place can get a little pricey, so we’d sit in the bar and have appetizers. It’s way better people watching, and super fun to sit on the cute benches and chat. They also have a great cookbook, which I never cook from because I live around the corner. After we’re stuffed full of ceviche, tostadas and queso flameado, we’d want to stay north because we’re already there. So…we’d head to Lala’s on Burnet Road and Justin Lane. This place is my favorite, and not always popular with some of my friends, but this is my imagination, so they are all SO excited to go! It’s Christmas 365 days a year. There’s plenty of legends about why, but my favorite is that Lala’s husband died on Christmas and she never redecorated. There’s also plenty of stories about old bar fights and maybe even a murder or two…it’s got major character.  My Dad told me (because he used to go there when he was a LOT younger) that it used to have sign out front that read “Lala’s: A place for the debonair.”  When you’re parking, look inside the barber shop because there’s an actual barbershop quartet that practices there sometimes. I’ve heard that they might take requests through the glass window.  But, don’t stay in the parking lot too long, because you’ll miss hearing one of the best juke boxes in town. Lots and lots of Sinatra and Patsy Cline. The scene is a mix of regulars, neighborhood folks and hipsters.  The people are friendly, and funny and it’s a great place to play pool, have a drink and get together with friends. And, they have rolling chairs, which is the marker of a debonair establishment in my book.  We won’t stay out too late, because we have a big day ahead of us on Saturday. What a great end to the work week!

Stay tuned for my perfect Saturday and Sunday...

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This is such an exciting time for us at I Live Here, I Give Here! We’ve experienced tons of progress and change in these last several months. Everything is shiny and new – especially, as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now if you made it to this page, our braaaaaaand new website! We’ve been diligently working on this project for most of 2010 and as you can see, what we came up with is a ton of cool, new features for you to cruise! In early 2010, we made it our objective to purposefully create a site that can be utilized by the greater community — donors and our Non-Profit friends alike. We went in with the goal to house all of the information that a new, prospective donor could want or need to kick-off their very own personal giving plan, as well as the leg-up that agencies need to spread the word about the brilliant work that they do every day. And we aimed to do it in a fun, user friendly, contemporary, interactive and well-designed way.

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