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Join us at the Ideas We Should Steal Festival 2024

The Philadelphia Citizen’s Ideas We Should Steal Festival® presented by Comcast NBCUniversal, returns for its seventh year on November 14 and 15, 2024. We scoured the country for the changemakers and innovators whose transformative ideas could fuel much-needed progress in our city. The mission: to share powerful ways we can work together to create a city that meets today’s particular challenges and opportunities, so that all Philadelphians can thrive. Passes are available now. Secure your spot!

 

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Ideas We Should Steal Festival 2024

A 24-Hour Marathon of Giving Local

The director of Austin’s annual event that raised $10 million for 700 local nonprofits — in one single day — talks about how it works at The Citizen’s 7th annual event on November 15

Ideas We Should Steal Festival 2024

A 24-Hour Marathon of Giving Local

The director of Austin’s annual event that raised $10 million for 700 local nonprofits — in one single day — talks about how it works at The Citizen’s 7th annual event on November 15

Several years ago, Patsy Woods Martin, a fundraiser at Austin’s United Way came across The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of the 50 most and least charitable cities in the country and didn’t like what she saw: Austin — a city with one of the strongest economies in the country — ranked 48th on the list, well below Texas’s other big cities of Dallas (number 4) and Houston (number 5).

After a bit of research, Martin concluded that the problem was not one of stinginess, but one of knowledge: People in Austin just didn’t know how to meet the needs in their community. So in 2007, she started I Live Here I Give Here (ILHIGH), a nonprofit whose mission is to make Austin the number one most charitable city in America through a combination of marketing, nonprofit training, mentorship and fundraising.

In 2013, ILHIGH launched Amplify Austin, a 24-hour online giving event that doubled its goal and raised $2 million for local nonprofits. This year, the annual event raised $10 million for more than 700 Austin area nonprofits, including through small donations from individuals.

ILHIGH’s current executive director, Piper Stege Nelson, will join us on November 15 for the 7th annual Ideas We Should Steal Festival to talk about Amplify Austin, and how Philadelphia might replicate the efforts to support our local nonprofits.

Listen to her speak about her work below, and then secure your seat to the Festival.

 

MORE ON THE IDEAS WE SHOULD STEAL FESTIVAL 2024

Header: Celeste Quesada, I Live Here I Give Here Board Member. Courtesy I Live Here I Give Here.

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