War, poverty, death, and disease. If you turn on the TV, it's likely you will be bombarded by a laundry list of our world's problems. What you're unlikely to find is a story of the brave men and women fighting that war or a front page headline about the charity who rallied thousands of volunteers to help our nation's most impoverished communities, or a feature on the individual who, in the face of death, made a positive impact on the lives of others. Mainstream media offers us plenty of problems, but the CLASSY Awards are dedicated to telling the stories of those who fight for solutions.
The CLASSY Awards is the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the country, recognizing the most outstanding philanthropic achievements by charities, businesses and individuals nationwide. Founded in 2009 by StayClassy, a leader in online fundraising for nonprofits, the goal of the CLASSY Awards has been to put those going above and beyond for their communities on a pedestal. This year, we want to emphasize the story behind the charitable achievements.
From now until July 1, America can visit www.classyawards.org to nominate charities, businesses and individuals for their remarkable achievements in the community and abroad. StayClassy will publish each submitted achievement as an article on the CLASSY Awards Achievements Page to put a national spotlight on these amazing stories.
"The stories behind everyday charitable achievements often go untold," said Scot Chisholm, CEO of StayClassy. "The success of the CLASSY Awards has given us a national platform to let America know about amazing contributions across the country. Whether they win a CLASSY Award or not, our goal is to make sure each charity, business and individual is applauded for their accomplishments."
The 3rd Annual CLASSY Awards competition will culminate with a red-carpet awards ceremony on Saturday, September 17th in San Diego, CA, where the winners of the national event will be announced onstage. It will feature a host of celebrity presenters, chart-topping music talent, nonprofit and technology leaders, and thousands of CLASSY Awards supporters. AOL News said it best, "Hollywood has Oscar, Broadway has Tony and now philanthropy has CLASSY." With the help of CLASSY Awards Sponsors like Qualcomm, NBC Local Media and Bridgepoint Education, more than $150,000 in cash and prizes will be donated to support the charitable efforts of the 12 National CLASSY Awards Winners.
"The CLASSY Awards was a fantastic way to galvanize our volunteers and spread the word about the work of our organization, " said Lindsey Hyde, President and Founder of Strong Women, Strong Girls. "As a result of our experience, we have received national press recognition, connected with a new community of innovative organizations, and created new partnerships. It has been a powerful and positive experience for all of us!"
Despite it being the 3rd Annual, we continue to be astounded by the inspiring efforts of people and organizations across the country. To date, CLASSY Awards nominees have impacted the lives of more than 100 million people, and raised $4,531,947,000 through their achievements for their causes! If that's not a story worth telling, we don't know what is.
Nominations for CLASSY Awards are open until July 1. If you know a charity, business or individual who has made an impact on your community - tell us their story and we'll tell the world. For more information, visit www.classyawards.org or email awards@stayclassy.org.
About the Author
Pat Walsh is the Founder/CMO of StayClassy.org, a leader in online fundraising for nonprofits.StayClassy is a revolutionary new Social Fundraising platform that offers powerful fundraising and communications tools to nonprofits without any upfront charges. StayClassy helps nonprofits leverage the power of social media to raise more money faster, and grow their donor base among an active, engaged community of people dedicated to giving back. The CLASSY Awards is just one way StayClassy supports the philanthropic community. Email: pat@stayclassy.org
