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Vote Now, Vote Often, Help SAF Be a Winner in the State Farm Neighborhood Assist Program

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Helena, Montana (PRWEB) April 04, 2013

Student Assistance Foundation (SAF) needs your votes — today, tomorrow, and every day for the next three weeks.

As a finalist in the State Farm Neighborhood Assist grant program, Montana-based SAF is one of 200 causes from across the nation competing to receive a $ 25,000 grant for its “A Step Ahead” College Prep Camp for Montana youths in foster care. The 40 programs that garner the most votes will receive $ 25,000 each to support their cause.

Vote for “A Step Ahead” at https://www.state-assist.com/cause/5109/a-step-ahead-camp

today through April 22. Supporters can vote up to 10 times per day.

“Did you know that about 70 percent of foster youths across the nation want to attend college, but less than 13 percent of them enroll?” said Rhonda Safford, camp coordinator. “At SAF’s ‘A Step Ahead’ camp, we are committed to changing that statistic by giving these youths the tools and resources they need to succeed. Receiving State Farm Neighborhood Assist funds would go a long way to helping us do that.”

For the past seven years, youths in foster care from across Montana have gathered at a college campus to experience college firsthand. While at the camp, youths stay in the dorms and receive classroom instruction in areas including money management, relationship-building, finding and maintaining housing, and scholarship searches and applications. Plus, camp participants learn the purpose of Education and Training Vouchers (ETV) for youth in foster care and how to properly complete the application forms.

Finally, campers leave “A Step Ahead” with a free laptop computer to use as they work toward their education goals — a tool that camp organizers view as being essential to success in postsecondary education.

“Getting a college education is very important,” said past camp participant Aurelia Tait, who attends Cottey College in Missouri. “You can’t go anywhere in life if you don’t go to college. College opens up so many doors you didn’t know existed. ‘A Step Ahead’ camp helped me realize that.”

Safford encourages everyone to vote now and vote often.

“We need every vote we can get, and your support will make a big difference in the lives of our campers,” she said.

Student Assistance Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Montana corporation that provides students with knowledge and tools to finance and pursue their postsecondary education. Funds generated by SAF are returned to Montanans in the form of education grants and public benefit programs – to date more than $ 27 million. For more information, visit http://www.safmt.org or http://www.SmartAboutCollege.org.

State Farm Neighborhood Assist is a crowd-sourced philanthropic initiative that lets communities determine where funding is awarded, exclusively through Facebook. The initiative utilizes the State Farm Youth Advisory Board to vet submissions for causes and allows Facebook users who download the free State Farm Neighborhood Assist application to vote for the final 40 grant winners. The program has been inspired by the incredible number of neighborhoods that are coming together to solve a problem or improve their community.







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The Crucibles Bike Program in a Race to Win $25,000 through State Farm Neighborhood Assist's Facebook Challenge

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Oakland, CA (PRWEB) April 05, 2013

The Crucible, West Oakland’s premier industrial arts and educational space, has been selected as one of 200 finalists in the State Farm Neighborhood Assist™ program. Chosen from over 3,000 submissions, The Crucible’s “Bikes for West Oakland” project is live on Facebook, with all Facebook users eligible to vote for the cause up to ten times a day. The forty causes that receive the most votes by April 22, 2013, will receive a $ 25,000 grant to implement their respective projects.

“Bikes for West Oakland” embodies the heart and soul of The Crucible’s community initiatives. Comprised of Bike Fix-A-Thons, the Earn-A-Bike Program, and Art Bike Frame Alteration classes, The Crucible’s Bike Program builds viable job skills, helps community members gain access to goods and services, bolsters health, and sparks creativity. The program impacts over 700 youth and 2,000 community members in the West Oakland area each year. A $ 25,000 grant from State Farm would enable The Crucible to purchase materials, compensate instructors (many of whom live in the neighborhood), and expand the program to serve even more Oakland residents.

To support The Crucible’s “Bikes for West Oakland” initiative, visit the State Farm Neighborhood Assist Facebook page, install the application, and click on the “Vote” button up to ten times in a row. The voting phase is open from April 4 – April 22 and winners will be announced on April 29.

State Farm Neighborhood Assist is a crowd-sourced, national philanthropic initiative that lets communities determine where grant funding is awarded, exclusively through Facebook. The initiative utilizes the State Farm Youth Advisory Board to vet submissions for causes and allows Facebook users who download the free State Farm Neighborhood Assist application to vote for the final 40 grant winners. The Crucible is one of only three causes in Oakland that are in the running to win $ 25,000, and Bikes for West Oakland is one of only three bicycle-related causes nationwide.







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FPgirl Market Insights Program: Tweens Prefer Clothes Over Bling, and Rank Disney Channel As Their Fan Favorite

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Beverly, Massachusetts (PRWEB) April 09, 2013

FashionPlaytes, Inc. today released new data about how tween girls think about fashion, style, entertainment and brands as part of its FPgirl Market Insights Program. Tweens are playing an increasingly active role in how and who they engage with from a brand perspective and are commanding a larger percentage of the family spend on entertainment, technology, fashion and travel.

According to a recent Market Insights poll, nearly 50% tween girls consider clothing as their top fashion item over jewelry, bags or shoes. This data reflects the buying habits tween girls have shown on FPgirl’s e-commerce platform, both in terms of buying behavior but also in the types of fashion choices they make as they engage with the fashion design process. To date, girls have designed over 8 million outfits on FPgirl.com, including everything from dresses and skirts to tops and pants.

FPgirls also prefer Disney Channel over rival Nickelodeon by a nearly 4 to 1 margin, according to a recent poll. In commenting on their entertainment preferences, several girls mentioned the loss of shows such as iCarly and Victorious as a primary driver for their move to the house the mouse built, as well as the popularity of the shows Austin & Ally, Shake It Up, Jessie and Good Luck Charlie. Tween girls are also showing a growing interest in reality-based shows that run on networks such as the Food Network, Animal Planet, HGTV and specifically A&E’s Duck Dynasty. PBS Kids ranked last in the poll, with many girls noting that the content was geared toward a younger audience.

“The girls of Generation Z are clearly tapped into the world around them and can change their preferences and loyalties based on what they see and hear from brands they love, as demonstrated by the shift to Disney following the end of shows they watched on Nickelodeon,” said Andy Komack, Market Insights Program Director. “We expect brands to closely monitor and engage with this key demographic as the market develops to ensure they stay engaged with this highly elusive and in-demand group of girls.”

About FPgirl Market Insights:

FPgirl Market Insights pulls information from FPgirl’s 700,000+ member fashion design community, where girls regularly post information, interact with each other and provide unique input via the site’s polls. The program is designed to provide previously unavailable information on everything from what girls wear, how and where they shop, and how they like to be entertained. Insights uncovered through the FPgirl Market Insights program gives brands a unique and unfiltered glimpse into what makes these digital natives tick.

Subscribe to the Market Insights Program here. For more details or to ask about partnership opportunities, please contact insights(at)fashionplaytes(dot)com.

About FashionPlaytes and FPgirl:

FashionPlaytes is the creator of FPgirl.com, the online fashion and style destination where girls are designers and set the trends. The FPgirl community is filled with vibrant, talented, and supportive girls who create cool custom clothing, crowd-source designs, and share their insights about what it’s like to be a girl in today’s world. FashionPlaytes celebrates all girls, providing a fun, safe, interactive environment. Its engagement-driven ecommerce platform is fueled by girls, for girls.

Media Contact:

Halley Spong

Connect2 Communications

halley(at)connect2comm(dot)com

919-539-7862







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CU-Boulder Students Invest $30,000 in Startup Through Real-life Venture Capital Program

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Boulder, CO (PRWEB) November 26, 2013

Elihuu, a startup company whose slogan is “meet your manufacturer,” has met an investor — a group of University of Colorado Boulder graduate students.

The students last week put $ 30,000 into Elihuu, an online software platform that connects product designers with manufacturers who can make their wares.

The students turned venture capitalists direct CU-Boulder’s Deming Center Venture Fund (DCVF), which was launched by a donor in 1997 and is a program of the Leeds School of Business.

Selected from across campus to be part of the fund, the students manage everything from scouting new companies to vetting business plans, negotiating the terms of agreements, making final decisions on investments and supporting investees with ongoing resources and advice.

“I think it’s brilliant and that they’re doing all the right things,” said Dorian Ferlauto, founder and CEO of Elihuu, which is based in Denver as well as Oakland, Calif. “I really didn’t know that there is a university fund like this run by students. It’s very unique and I think it’s a great thing in this area where there are a lot of startups.”

The $ 30,000 investment will go toward development and expansion of the Elihuu tool, which Ferlauto says is similar to a matchmaking website except it’s for designers and manufacturers working to line up with the right business partners.

One appeal to the students as they carried out their research on the company is that Elihuu supports the cutting-edge “makers movement.” The makers movement, which is growing in popularity, is comprised of people like artisans, techies and inventors who create small-scale products on their own.

While investee companies benefit from seed money from the DCVF, the student directors gain professional experience and unique insights that could give them an advantage as they pursue their own ventures.

“By going through the capital investment process and by being on the decision-making side, the students know what questions will be asked of them as entrepreneurs,” said Bret Fund, faculty director of the DCVF and assistant professor of management and entrepreneurism. “They themselves will build better companies or be better able to do whatever they want when they move forward.”

Nearly all DCVF alumni have landed employment in technology companies, venture capital firms or other professions related to entrepreneurship, according to the team.

About 10 to 12 CU-Boulder graduate students from business, law and engineering fields are part of the DCVF at a time. They apply for a position on the interdisciplinary team and serve for about 18 months.

“Students almost never get the opportunity, even through internships, to make venture capital decisions,” said Julie Simmons, director of legal management for the DCVF and a graduate student in both law and business administration. “The fund is completely ours to direct. We bring in the deals, we make the relationships and we make the decisions. The challenges are ours to figure out and the successes are ours to celebrate.”

Some of the student directors receive externship credit from the CU Law School for their DCVF participation; however, many students earn no credit from their respective degree programs.

Investments by the DCVF typically are in technology startups. In addition to Elihuu, the fund’s portfolio currently includes Birdbox, an online platform that organizes individuals’ social media content; Flixmaster, a cloud-based video editing and publishing tool; and SpyderLynx, a mobile marketing and technology company.

The student team works with five faculty directors and a board of professional advisers

Since 2009, the DCVF has deployed more than $ 200,000 in investments. Returns on DCVF investments typically come when bigger companies buy the startups. At that time, the DCVF’s ownership and the value of that percentage based on the acquisition is calculated. The acquiring company pays the DCVF its share.

One goal of the DCVF is to accrue enough in returns to put a percentage of profits back into the CU-Boulder campus and programs in addition to maintaining the fund.

“There are a lot of mock competitions out there that give students the chance to think through scenarios and put their skills to the test,” said Chris White, director of outreach for the DCVF and a graduate student in both law and business administration. “But I think this is the only situation where students are investing real money. The possibilities are incredibly real.”

For more information about the Deming Center Venture Fund visit http://cudcvf.org/.

-CU-







SAF Still Needs Votes to be a Winner in the State Farm Neighborhood Assist Program

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(PRWEB) April 19, 2013

The instructor looks over a sea of young, eager faces and asks, “How many of you have been in more than five foster care homes in your life?”

All of the youths’ hands go up.

Then the instructor asks, “How many of you have been in more than 10 foster care homes in your life?”

The hands stay up.

Finally, the instructor asks, “How many of you were told that you wouldn’t amount to anything?”

All of the hands remain in the air, but the gazes of many of the teenagers drop. They shift their focus to the floor, remembering the hurtful words they hoped wouldn’t shape their future.

This was the scene at nonprofit Student Assistance Foundation’s first “A Step Ahead” College Prep Camp for Montana youths in foster care.

Eight years, and more than 120 campers later, SAF is more committed than ever to the free, five-day camp, and to giving Montana foster youths the tools they need to make their dreams of higher education a reality.

Each year, campers gather at a college campus to experience college firsthand. While at the camp, youths stay in the dorms and receive classroom instruction in areas including money management, relationship-building, finding and maintaining housing, and scholarship searches and applications. Plus, camp participants learn the purpose of Education and Training Vouchers (ETV) for youth in foster care and how to properly complete the application forms.

Finally, campers leave “A Step Ahead” with a free laptop computer to use as they work toward their education goals — a tool that camp organizers view as being essential to success in postsecondary education.

SAF was notified recently that “A Step Ahead” has been selected as a finalist in the State Farm Neighborhood Assist grant program. We are one of 200 causes selected from 3,000 applicants from across the nation competing to receive a $ 25,000 grant. The 40 programs that receive the most votes will receive $ 25,000 each to support their cause.

Take a few moments each day — even on the weekend — until April 22 to vote for “A Step Ahead” at https://www.state-assist.com/cause/5109/a-step-ahead-camp. You can vote up to 10 times per day, and we would encourage you to do so. Invite your friends and family to support our cause as well. Every vote counts!

Student Assistance Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Montana corporation that provides students with knowledge and tools to finance and pursue their postsecondary education. Funds generated by SAF are returned to Montanans in the form of education grants and public benefit programs – to date more than $ 27 million. For more information, visit http://www.safmt.org or http://www.SmartAboutCollege.org.

State Farm Neighborhood Assist is a crowd-sourced philanthropic initiative that lets communities determine where funding is awarded, exclusively through Facebook. The initiative utilizes the State Farm Youth Advisory Board to vet submissions for causes and allows Facebook users who download the free State Farm Neighborhood Assist application to vote for the final 40 grant winners. The program has been inspired by the incredible number of neighborhoods that are coming together to solve a problem or improve their community.







FPgirl Market Insights Program: Gen Z Girls Prefer Gaming Over Lifestyle Apps and Admire Zendaya Colemans Sense of Style

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Beverly, Massachusetts (PRWEB) April 24, 2013

FashionPlaytes, Inc. today released new data on what tween girls think about fashion, style and entertainment as part of its FPgirl Market Insights Program. The data looks at Tech Trends and Fashion Influences and delivers a unique understanding of how tween girls view the world of mobile apps, as well as how they identify their style with celebrities.

Tech Trends: In a world of mobile apps, FPgirls skew heavily to arcade-style games, preferring Temple Run and Subway Surfers over other games, and even other app types. 56% of the over 2,600 voters selected these apps above others such as Instagram, Pandora, Angry Birds and Kik. Although 1 in 5 of the girls selected Instagram as their favorite app, and commented on their love for texting via Kik, the results show an overall high interest in gaming-related apps instead of the lifestyle/ entertainment category.

“We have been exploring how tween girls find and use apps through a series of surveys and polls,” said Andy Komack, FPgirl Market Insights program director. “When we ask girls in an open forum to volunteer apps that they love, they lean heavily to games. When they vote on top apps, the same pattern emerges,” adds Komack. “We are currently working with our community of girls to understand how they find and use apps in the world of fashion. The information we have gathered so far is fascinating, and points to interesting ways that they perceive apps.”

Fashion Influences: FashionPlaytes also gave a sneak peek at their celebrity series of data in the Market Insights program, where Zendaya Coleman was a clear winner in terms of providing fashion inspiration for girls.

“As you might imagine, tween girls rapidly evolve their tastes and preferences,” says Komack. “In an earlier poll, girls clearly stated that they derive fashion inspiration from themselves, instead of from celebrities. At the same time, girls do obviously follow celebrities. We have seen that our girls have moved fluidly between Taylor Swift, Victoria Justice, Lucy Hale, Zendaya Coleman and others in terms of who provides inspiration.” The data about Zendaya Coleman leading the poll is also closely aligned to an earlier poll about favorite TV channels where FPgirls heavily skewed to watching the Disney Channel, where Zendaya reigns, with 70% of their vote.

About FPgirl Market Insights:

FPgirl Market Insights pulls information from FPgirl’s 700,000+ member fashion design community, where girls regularly post information, interact with each other and provide unique input via the site’s polls. The program is designed to provide previously unavailable information on everything from what girls wear, how and where they shop, and how they like to be entertained. Insights uncovered through the FPgirl Market Insights program gives brands a unique and unfiltered glimpse into what makes these digital natives tick.

Subscribe to the Market Insights Program here. For more details or to ask about partnership opportunities, please contact insights(at)fashionplaytes(dot)com.

About FashionPlaytes and FPgirl:

FashionPlaytes is the creator of FPgirl.com, the online fashion and style destination where girls are designers and set the trends. The FPgirl community is filled with vibrant, talented, and supportive girls who create cool custom clothing, crowd-source designs, and share their insights about what it’s like to be a girl in today’s world. FashionPlaytes celebrates all girls, providing a fun, safe, interactive environment. Its engagement-driven ecommerce platform is fueled by girls, for girls.

Media Contact:

Halley Spong

Connect2 Communications

halley(at)connect2comm(dot)com

919-539-7862







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