By Meghan Kelleher, Lemonade Day National Development Manager

The Lemonade Day National Headquarters team is gearing up now to launch our year-end national fundraising campaign on #GivingTuesday, November 27.  Our “Build the Future of Entrepreneurship” campaign will run through December 31. 

What is #GivingTuesday and Why Does It Matter to Lemonade Day?

Now in its seventh year, #GivingTuesday is designated as the Tuesday following Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday and kicks off the charitable giving season. (Source: www.givingtuesday.org/about).

Lemonade Day will implement this campaign using CauseVox, which is a fundraising platform designed especially for non-profit organizations.  Online contributions in any amount will be most welcomed and appreciated and will help Lemonade Day to continue to grow and impact as many kids as possible. 

Lemonade Day leaders are pursuing an ambitious goal of bringing the Lemonade Day youth entrepreneurship experience to every child in North America at no cost to those who register to participate.  Kids who register and who host a lemonade stand learn valuable business and character-building lessons that serve them for life: business planning, product development, marketing and promotion, customer service, financial management, and charitable giving.  Young entrepreneurs can participate in Lemonade Day as part of a community-wide event in a licensed market, on a military base, in a group, or on their own with support from a parent or other adult mentor.  All young lemonade business owners are encouraged to spend some, save some, and share some of their profits with a cause that matters to them.

Funds raised for Lemonade Day at the national level support the development and delivery of teaching tools designed to help kids “build the future and stir up success” one lemonade stand at a time.  Lemonade Day has produced printed and digital workbooks for kids and their mentors that are free to access and use. In addition, Lemonade Day has created Lemonopolis, an online, interactive technology platform with a curriculum outlining steps for running their business. 

Click here to see sample pages from our workbooks,  mentor guide and My Journal!

Click here to watch a video about Lemonopolis!

I am pleased to report that Lemonade Day has already secured several supporters for our #GivingTuesday initiatives that will complement our year-end campaign.  Here are just a few examples:

• Several Lemonade Day #GivingTuesday volunteers will be hosting their own fundraising pages through our campaign so that they can personalize their pages and share the links with their networks and social media followers

• Hailey Hertzman and Katie Vonder Haar, founders of Ooh La Lemon and 2017 Lemonade Day National Youth Entrepreneurs of the Year, have offered to donate a portion of the proceeds from their online sales to Lemonade Day

• Telemundo in Houston, through the leadership and advocacy of J.C. Perez, has agreed to help promote our campaign

• A generous benefactor has offered to match any funds we raise through year-end

Building Relationships

Not only do we want to raise more funds so that we can expand the reach of our Lemonade Day youth entrepreneurship program, but we also want to build relationships with new followers and fans all over North America.  Collectively, we can make a positive difference in the lives of millions of kids with the support of millions of adults.

#GivingTuesday has benefited numerous charities all over the world.  Please participate in our campaign in any way you can.  I welcome your comments, questions, ideas, and interest in getting involved.  Please email me at meghan@lemonadeday.org or call me at 281.972.4195.

To watch the official Giving Tuesday 2018 video, click here!