In the United States, the holiday season has arrived. I have been busy tying-up loose ends and preparing for both the holidays and some volunteer projects.
First, I wanted to share my nonprofit favorites for 2023. I do make financial donations each year, as well as work with nonprofits to help them raise funds and communicate in more effective ways online. And, I volunteer.
If you are looking for worthy nonprofits, I recommend those in the list above. My “favorites” list changes each year, but there are a few repeat appearances, and some fresh faces. As you may have read, my father passed away in September. Hence, I share a couple of nonprofits in Arizona to which I have donated in his memory. If you have questions about any of the organizations listed, use my blog’s secure contact form to reach me.
This year’s volunteer projects have focused on advocacy. For Citizens’ Climate Lobby, I continue to curate the X (formerly Twitter) feed @cclatx, since 2017. Please check out the website I made for the Austin Metro Chapter, Voices of Austin. If you have an opinion you’d like to share, use the website’s secure contact form to reach our media team.
In addition, I have been a ONE Campaign advocate for a decade, and this year in Washington, D.C., I received a “ten year” pin for my commitment to ONE and its work to end poverty and preventable diseases. To read more about the ONE Power Summit, follow the link. As noted above, my work with ONE is focused on advocacy rather than on my better known professional expertise in nonprofit fundraising. I became involved upon meeting the late Michael Gerson at a ONE gathering in San Antonio.
You may recall a few years ago, I had my DNA tested and I learned I have a small percentage of African DNA! That was exciting news, and made my longtime volunteering for ONE Campaign even more meaningful. Greetings to any ancestors I may have in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Read more about DRC on the website of the World Bank. My mother’s side of the family lived and worked in the tobacco fields of North Carolina in the United States during the 19th century, by way of background.
Update: Thanks to the Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library for hosting me and ONE Campaign on December 1. I share a few photos to recap World AIDS Day 2023 above. You can take action online, too. It’s easy! Here’s a link to email your elected representatives.
My original post: If you are in Central Texas on World AIDS Day 2023, please join me at the Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library on December 1 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. I would welcome your help writing to your elected officials on ONE’s attractive printed cards, asking them to reauthorize a very worthy and effective program called PEPFAR, and I have swag to share and interesting videos to show. I would love to see you there. As I note on Facebook, I know two people who died of AIDS early in the pandemic, one a member of my extended family. I would like to see this deadly disease ended globally.
My third longtime volunteer commitment is to TechSoup. After leading the local nonprofit tech club from 2016 to 2021, I became even more familiar with TechSoup and I recommend it highly. Today, I am a TechSoup Ambassador. This is also an advocacy role, one focused on tech education. TechSoup’s mission is to build a dynamic bridge that leverages technology to enable connections and innovative solutions for a more equitable planet. Please sign up to attend their free online educational events, and be sure to check out the YouTube channel for recordings.
Last but not least, thank you for following Carolyn’s Nonprofit Blog. The year is not yet quite finished, but thus far more than 13,000 have visited its pages from more than 130 nations. Wow! I deeply appreciate your interest.
Be safe and well, and here’s wishing you a successful fall fundraising season.
Carolyn's Nonprofit Blog 
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