A beautiful giver

When I think of charity, several words come to mind: help, hope and money. For small businesses and organizations in the non-profit world, raising money is what helps them provide for others.  One of those people who believe giving is important is Shikha Vasaiwala.Who is Shikha Vasaiwala? Shikha Vasaiwala is founder and CEO of Glamour Gone Good, Inc. and is committed to women's and girls' empowerment and advancement. As a social entrepreneur, Shikha specializes in not-for-profit brand strategy, cause marketing, and strategic partnerships.In 2007, Shikha launched actress and cancer survivor Fran Drescher's women's cancer charity, Cancer Schmancer, dedicated to ensuring Stage 1 diagnosis of women's cancers. Previously, Shikha served as Director of Programs at Do Something, Inc., where she managed social change programs for teens, including the 2005 Kids Tsunami Relief Fund, through which she distributed over $475,000 to NGOs rebuilding schools, children's camps and health clinics in India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.   What is Glamour Gone Good?Many large beauty and fashion brands have heavily marketed charity programs, but we rarely hear about what small businesses are doing to help their communities. Moreover, salons and spas are essentially untapped resources that interact with women on a daily basis.Glamour Gone Good, Inc. is a volunteer-driven organization that is engaging glamour industry professionals in charitable giving activities to raise funds for the Glamour Gone Good grants program, which funds three national charities dedicated to empowering women and girls to reach their fullest potential.Why is beauty important to you?Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we can all generally agree that the act of giving is beautiful. Glamour Gone Good is reaching out to the very individuals who earn their livings by making people look and feel beautiful and engaging them in the beautiful act of giving.Just think…if a cosmetic makeover can make a woman feel so good, how good can a life makeover make a woman feel? Thanks to the Glamour Gone Good grants program, we can now find out because the funds raised by our favorite glamour-makers will help make over the lives of women and girls in need. And, isn’t that a beautiful thing?What challenges do you find with charity and giving in a small business world?All charities face the same challenge of focusing on their core missions while also finding ways to stay in business by raising enough funds to finance their annual budgets. Glamour Gone Good was born in the height of the recent American recession, which has impacted its ability to fundraise to a certain extent given that it was a brand new charity with no proven history of success.Luckily, Glamour Gone Good’s mission is to engage fashion, beauty, salon and spa industry professionals in charitable fundraising activities. So, it does not have to depend on traditional sources of fundraising like foundation grants and major individual donors. Average donations to Glamour Gone Good range from $100 to $1,000, which is very manageable for small businesses.Also important to note is the fact that Glamour Gone Good is a volunteer-based organization. So, it does not need to raise funds to fund salaries and expensive office space. With a very humble operational budget, Glamour Gone Good is able to ensure that the vast majority funds it raises go directly to its own grant beneficiaries each year.When, why and how can people give?We encourage people to give to Glamour Gone Good all year!By donating to Glamour Gone Good, donors are contributing to the Glamour Gone Good grants program, which supports three phenomenal women’s and girls’ charities. Our current beneficiaries are: (1) Dress for Success Worldwide, (2) Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS), and (3) Sister to Sister: The Women’s Heart Health Foundation.Moreover, by donating to Glamour Gone Good, donors get the satisfaction of knowing that their charitable contributions are part of this collective effort to encourage the glamour industries to become more socially responsible and philanthropic via everyday business transactions.Of course, all donations are considered tax-deductible charitable contributions to the fullest extent of the law, as Glamour Gone Good is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

 There are multiple ways to give. Our favorite ways include:

1. Make a donation via credit card or check: http://glamourgonegood.org/donate.html
2. Host a small fundraiser in your community:  http://glamourgonegood.org/girls-night-out.html
3. Visit our virtual shop where 10% or more of sales from all purchases benefit Glamour Gone Good:  http://glamourgonegood.org/shop.html
4. Donate and raise funds for Glamour Gone Good through your own online fundraising campaign on Crowdrise (http://www.crowdrise.com/glamourgonegood) or Facebook Causes (http://www.causes.com/causes/533795)

There are many ways to give to charity. But if you are blessed financial, even in the least bit, do your part in helping our universal family and give back. Show Glamour Gone Good and other small businesses that you care. Any donation can have a drastic impact to those in need of it. So let's do our part in helping each other do the good work.

"If you have much, give your wealth; if you have little, give your heart." Arab Proverb