SMART (Schools, Mentoring and Resource Team)’s Post

Step into educational excellence with your year-end gift to Dramatic Results! 🌟 In the face of challenges, we've expanded our SEED Project, empowered educators through cutting-edge professional development, and brought arts integration into schools. Your support enables us to use hands-on art programs that explore STEM subjects, preparing learners to be empathetic, resilient, and critical thinkers. Our programs follow innovative methodologies like Design Thinking and Social-Emotional Learning, fueling collaboration and creativity. As we look forward, our commitment remains strong—to quality, adaptability, and a broader impact. Your gift propels us toward a future where education is not just about knowledge but about fostering well-rounded, empowered individuals. By giving to Dramatic Results, you're contributing to: ➡️ Training educators with state-of-the-art tools and techniques. ➡️ Elevating programs that boost creativity and critical thinking. ➡️ Enhancing our research-backed approach, adjusting based on real-world outcomes. ➡️ Providing STEAM and arts integration into our schools. Donate Now: https://ow.ly/vNlA50QkqLj

Want to learn more about Original Design? Check out this interview!

Continuing from yesterday’s discussion about staying ahead of the competition, I wanted to share a standout example I heard about earlier this summer while working with a small mid-western college. Brace yourselves - it’s an ingenious concept. A group of current students (spanning various programs and years) were asked to record a few short thank you videos on their phones. Not only did these videos capture genuine gratitude, they also shed light on how donors’ contributions had tangibly improved college life. Here’s where it gets brilliant. The Development Department seamlessly weaved these videos into their thank-you emails to donors. It’s quite the departure from the norm (let’s face it, most thank-yous are standard text or physical letters). Here’s the kicker - the true magic lies in the personal touch. Donors got to hear STRAIGHT from the students about the real impact of their generosity. Guess what? This dynamic approach paid off big time. The college's revenue skyrocketed by 100% year over year, smashing their targets and setting the stage for another triumphant year of fundraising. Kudos to them for proving that innovation and genuine connections can rewrite the fundraising playbook. #FundraisingSuccess #PersonalizationMatters #DigitalAgePhilanthropy #FundraisingStrategy 

To most of you Birmingham-Southern College won’t mean anything, but for me, it was home. A place where I was challenged not only physically through college athletics, but academically as well. A place where I forged friendships that have continued far past my four years on The Hilltop.  I couldn’t be more grateful for the liberal arts education that constantly pushed me outside of my comfort zones, and for the professors who were there to lead us with such compassion and care each time we walked into their classes. Unfortunately 2024 will be this schools final class. After years of financial struggles, and an unforeseen letdown from the Alabama state treasurer, BSC will be closing its doors. If at all possible, it would mean so much not just to me, but the students and faculty at BSC for any kind of donation. Students and faculty are going through the tough process of transferring schools, and finding new teaching positions, so any amount of donation may help make their transitions smoother, and ensure the remaining students have the best final months that they deserve. While it’s painful to know Birmingham-Southern will no longer have its doors open, I’ve been reflecting on a paragraph from an article written about the closing of BSC by Kyle Whitmire for Al.com. Kyle writes: “Pain isn’t meaningless and it isn’t useless. It’s a reminder and a motivator. That hurt you feel is because this thing you’ve been a part of was important”. And maybe “important” is the word to sum up my time there. The education, the life lessons, the people, the relationships, the memories. They were all important.So just as BSC taught us, no matter where we go in life, and no matter what may come our way we will move Forward, Ever.  https://lnkd.in/dMVMusgA

Looking to raise funds for your classroom STEM dreams? Check out this interview with Covey Denton.

Can your classroom feel like a home? Our children at Vidyun set out to achieve a mammoth belief - to create an experience that feels like home, As educators, we often struggle with how to best invest and motivate our children to ensure they reach their potential, and at Vidyun, we took a pause and thought - why not let children drive their own culture? Why not have them exhibit ownership, agency, and accountability to create learning experiences they truly enjoy sitting through? On the day our children worked on this project, we stood back and watched in awe; of the values our children showcase when they take charge of their own learning. Children lifted each other up, literally, to accomplish this and ensure everything they have made is put up on the walls. When you walk inside our small room, you will see the walls covered in #Values of the week, a #Reading Corner in the side, a #Focus Wall to exhibit their learnings, and a #Creativity Wall for them to express through art. Hidden through it all are their conscious choices. Of choosing ownership over passive learning. Of actively building relevance over detached learning. Of creating friendships instead of holding grudges. Our children constantly remind us to be better, for them, for all of us. If this is what active self-direction can create in a matter of weeks, we cannot wait to explore what more it has in store for us. Come join us in this transformative experience. Drop us a message and let’s chat more. Support us here on our fundraiser:  https://lnkd.in/g39ka4Za #StudentLeadership #Agency #Ownership #Responsibility #Transformation Vishnu Satish Devki Gandhi

Happy Birthday, Welman. - A Candid Note from A Co-Founder Today is Welman’s 8th birthday!! That means we are somewhere around the 3rd grade mark. Man, 3rd grade. It’s the time when math gets harder, you’ve bumped up to the older kid category at field day, and you’re officially now a pawn for state testing. On our birthday I usually talk about our humble beginnings and how we’ve grown. But we are 8 now, and there are a few birthday wishes I have that I’d like to share. Birthday Wish 1: I hope you know how much we love you. Welman exists because of you and for you. Educator focused, community driven, and with all the respect to Mama Nature. Welman is not about stuff. It’s about people exchanging ideas, offering support, giving their time, spreading joy and finding common ground to uplift the common good. Ok, and free stuff. Birthday Wish 2: Keep fighting the good fight. Welman shouldn’t have to exist. Teachers should be paid more with infinite access to resources and support. The planet should be loved on through responsible policies, intentional business practices, and careful consumerism. #nomoresingleuseplastics Birthday Wish 3: Stay involved. Vote for initiatives and laws that support teachers and protect our planet. Hone your critical thinking skills and ask hard questions. Education should not have sides and students should not be measured by what they know but rather by what they think, wonder, and create. Public education should not just be the only option for some but a great option for all. Earth doesn’t need more carbon footprints. Birthday Wish 4: See the world for what it could be, not for what it is today. Let hope and curiosity drive you to make this world better and brighter. Get mad, get sad, but don’t give up. Find a buddy and be part of a solution. Birthday Wish 5: A second bathroom at Welman HQ. Seriously, with 5,000 educators served just this summer…phew. Happy Birthday, everybody! Here’s to 8. Love & glitter & beautiful oopses, Vanessa #nonprofit #education #environment #sustainability #artseducation #artsandcrafts #fortworth #fortworthtx #happybirthday #teachers #savetheplanet

What would happen, if for one day, we came together as one college, united by one purpose? That’s the question we ask ourselves on #CornellGiving Day. Giving Day is a celebration of community and philanthropy, one that challenges each of us here at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business to reimagine impact. Last year alone, we raised 13 million dollars that provided crucial support across Cornell! This year, Giving Day falls on 3.14 – Pi Day, a reminder of the infinite potential of our students, our faculty, and our community of alumni and supporters. When we are coming together as one college, our impact is 3x stronger, empowering our students to lead the way in industries from economics, to agriculture, to hospitality, to marketing and beyond. So what does it mean to make an impact on Giving Day? At the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management, Giving Day supports tomorrow’s business leaders in their quest to do business for good. 📚It fuels scholarship support and open doors for more students, making it possible for talented individuals from any background to attend Johnson. 🏢 Your support empowers students to impact change and thrive in an evolving marketplace at our stellar centers and institutes. At the Cornell Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management, Giving Day supporters help to enrich programs like the Grand Challenges Dyson. 🌎 With your help, this dynamic, engaging learning opportunity gives students the tools and resources they need to apply their knowledge to society’s most pressing issues and prove that “our business is a better world.” And at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration, Giving Day funds Hotel Ezra Cornell and other student-led programming. #CornellGivingDay is an extraordinary opportunity for collective impact, but we can’t do it without YOU. Please consider joining us on 3.14. Let’s be a piece of something bigger, and show the power of our collective business community! https://bit.ly/3wKVnTz

Did you know only 45% of students from low-income households who graduate from high school enroll in college, compared to 72% of their peers from higher-income households? And while Colorado is one of the five most educated states in the country, we’re in the bottom five at helping Colorado students graduate high school and get into college.   Minds Matter Colorado (www.mindsmatterco.org) is on a mission to prove that it’s access, not ability, that limits college choice for many qualified students. So we connect high-performing students from low-income households with the relationships and resources they need to expand their post-secondary educational horizons. Our approach combines three years of mentorship with committed volunteers (like me!), weekly college-prep instruction, and access to summer programs at colleges across the country. As a result, 100 percent of our graduates complete high school on time and are accepted to four-year colleges and universities with scholarships.   If you'd like to support Minds Matter, consider donating through the link below for #GivingTuesday. All donations go to ensuring my mentees and students like them receive the funding needed for things like summer program tuition, college application fees, SAT / ACT test prep, and more!  https://lnkd.in/gGk7w_5z