Boston Fundraising Company Raises Awareness of Local Causes this Holiday Season

Nov. 9, 2011 - PRLog -- We eat local. We shop local. Why does Boston send its philanthropic dollars to New York?
Local technology startup Cauzoom http://cauzoom.com today announced the launch of “Support Local Causes” - http://cauzoom.com/localcauses/ - an awareness campaign directed at raising the visibility of small, grass-roots causes in the Greater Boston area this holiday season.

The campaign will take place on the web, in social media, and at events around Boston between now and the end of the year, encouraging the public to think locally when they think about donating money. “Neighborhood nonprofits and community organizations are working extremely hard, doing more with less, and having the greatest real impact,” said Michael Sattler, founder of Cambridge-based startup company Cauzoom. “But when people think of whom to support during the holidays, they often think of well-funded nonprofits located elsewhere. Local organizations get bypassed. We think that should change.”

The campaign will spotlight local groups like Archventures of Boston - http://archventures.org/ - a Jamaica Plain organization that does construction for other nonprofits around Boston. Founder Stephen Cote uses pro bono architectural services and volunteer labor from local builders, but supplies still cost money. “I spend the bulk of my time with a hammer in my hand,” Cote says. “I don’t have a lot of time left over to think about our visibility.” Cauzoom is helping Archventures fund projects online.
The “Support Local Causes” campaign offers new ways for the public to help. The website lets people contribute small amounts directly to specific projects, or purchase gift cards from businesses and trigger contributions that way. The public can also propose their own causes at http://supportlocalcauses.org/ Supporters are encouraged to tweet, post, and talk about their favorites online. Bumper and window stickers are also available.

“Boston takes care of its own. We always have,” Sattler says. “And now technology lets us do that in new ways. We should keep our support local whenever we can.”

About Archventures
Archventures a grassroots design-build nonprofit offering remodeling and new building services for nonprofits, using a participatory, community engaging approach.

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Cauzoom is an online community funding site providing cause-related communities with the latest in social media tools. Cauzoom creates community cause marketing campaigns for businesses who recognize the value of associating their brands with the causes their customers care about.