The Gift Goes On

Friday Night I will be attending a big fundraising event called The Gift Goes On. My business partner Johnny is in charge of this event on behalf of the community outreach efforts of Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. In years past the event has raised as much as $350,000. It does this through tickets purchased and then silent and live auctions. There are some great items that people will spend a good amount of money on to have. Things like Masters tickets, a week in a vacation home in Costa Rica, paintings, etc. There are things for $10 and things for $80,000. This year there is an autographed electric guitar signed by all the members of The Eagles. Pretty cool.

I bring this up for two reasons. First, Johnny and I worked together to create some new funny videos for each live auction item. Hopefully will be entertained during the live auction even if they have no plans to bid on anything. Whenever I get a chance to work on creative comedy, I love it. Its a place of passion for me. Second, with the economy being the way it is, there has been fear around the event failing this year. Nobody has money to give, we won't raise as much is all I hear. They may happen, but I think that people still have money to give, they just have to be more on board with the cause. Stacey and I are giving as much as we've given, but we're very focused and specific about who we give to.

The organizations that will survive this downturn are those that continue to inspire and engage with stories of change. What I am learning is that non-profits can't do what they've always done to raise money. Churches are in the same boat. We give our money to what perks our passion and what we consider relevant and truly impactful. We have plenty to give away because most of you reading this are very blessed. To quote John Ortberg, "At the end of the game it all goes back in the box."