While all of us at The Society enjoy our work including interaction with clients, travel agents, vacation home owners and property management firms, we have also embraced the opportunity to “give back”. Thus, VacationHomesForCharity.org was developed and is assisted by multiple staff that all enjoy lending their skills to assist those in need.

If you are affiliated or know of a charity or non-profit in search of additional fundraising opportunities, we invite you to visit the website of VacationHomesforCharity.org.

If you own a vacation home and wish to assist a charity or non-profit in need, please feel free to contact us.  We can explain in detail how our program operates, the various benefits to homeowners and of course the opportunity to “give back.

BTW: To date, VacatinHomesforCharity.org has been responsible for generating fundraising in excess of $150,000. Charities and non-profits from coast to coast have benefited.

Our Vacation Homes for Charity philanthropy has to date raised in excess of $100,000 for charities and non-profits. The program is a win-win for all involved. While revenue generation for charitable causes is always a noble gesture, homeowners and PM’s have commented on the increased awareness and up tick concerning inquiries when their property is featured at a charity event.

In the article “Second Chances: How to Squeeze More Money Out of Vacation Homes”, The Society and Vacation Homes for Charity are prominently mentioned. Anecdotally we have noticed an increased in web traffic over the weekend and into the week after the article was distributed. Be sure to review the article by clicking through on the link above or access via the blog post .

Over the weekend, The Society’s charity program, VacationHomesForCharity.org was featured in the Wall Street Journal in print and online. The article discuses ways for vacation home owners to “squeeze money out of their vacation homes”. One such way, of course, is through donating time at their homes to charity.

Not only does the donation do good for charities, but our program is able to cover cleaning costs and often times deliver incremental income back to the homeowner.

Excerpt:

Some companies offer online services that link vacation-home donors with charities that want to auction vacation time. VacationHomesForCharity.org is one such Web site. Run by The Society of Leisure Enthusiasts, a Denver company that provides marketing support to vacation homeowners and rental companies, the service lists donated vacation-home time free of charge and negotiates with charities to contribute a small portion of rental proceeds toward the owner’s cleaning costs. Property owners can mandate their own rules, such as bans on pets or smoking.

Read the entire article here: “Second Chances: How to Squeeze More Money Out of Vacation Homes”

Are you looking to promote a specific vacation home property? Maybe offering specials including discounted rates or free nights? Do you need assistance in copywriting and distribution?

The Society is able to assist our clients with various marketing opportunities including but not limited to:

• Copywriting for promotions, opportunities, brochure development, blogs.

• Distribution to targeted audiences.

• Special e-mail blasts to targeted market segments i.e. client-direct, travel agents, property managers, charitable organizations.

• Press Releases and distribution

The above services are only offered to those affiliated with The Society. If you may be interested in discussing options to have your messaging reach a targeted audience ready, willing and able to book, please contact Mike McFadden at Mike@thesociety.com.

The Society is offering management and vacation homeowner partners a substantial discount on their Global Bundle Distribution program if a home is donated to the VacationHomesforCharity.org program.

According to Mike McFadden, co-founder of The Society. “The partners who have signed on to our Global Bundle Distribution program understand the value of increased exposure across multiple distribution channels. We [TheSociety] are offering the promotional discount to support VacationHomesforChairty.org to allow our partner managers and homeowners to “give back” via their vacation home and receive a substantial discount incentive in the process. In this period of decreasing support and increased demand for charitable services, we at The Society wanted to provide a creative opportunity to directly support the charity and non-profit community.”

For information concerning the Global Bundle Distribution program and discount incentive, please contact The Society.

For charities and NGOs desiring to utilize the vacation home donations in their upcoming fundraising events, please create a charity profile and add your event.

We all read the daily headlines concerning the issues of the economy. While many of us have cut-back and we know others who have lost their jobs, we tend to forget about still others who we may not know, who need our assistance.

During periods of economic expansion, charities usually have increased donations while demand for their services stays flat. During economic downturns, charities are literally hit twice, first a reduction in charitable donations and second, an increase demand for their services. It is a most troubling trend and one that is most severe this season as the recession has literally gripped the country and the world.

One of the ideas behind VacationHomesforCharity.org was to put to good use an unused asset. For many, their vacation homes are vacant the vast majority of the year. We at VacationHomesforCharity.org felt such vacancy could 1) generate revenues for charities and 2) provide vacation homeowners a venue to “give back” without signing a check. It is a win-win for all participants.

The following note was sent by one of our vacation home donors:

“We are not wealthy, our vacation home was an inheritance and to be honest we rarely use it as it is 2,000 miles from our home. It is vacant most of the year. When a friend mentioned “VacationHomesforCharity.org”, I was intrigued to be able to use our vacation home for a good cause. As mentioned, we are not wealthy and our incomes limit the amount we can provide to our favorite charities. Yet, to be able to “donate” our home for a one week vacation was do-able. We have satisfaction that our vacation home is being put to good use and may make a difference for a charitable organization.”

While charitable needs are year round, fundraising events usually occur during the Spring and Fall months, when travel is at a minimum. Our April is becoming the busiest month to date for VacationHomesforCharity.org. April’s scheduled events include:

April 24 (Friday): The Osteogenesis Inperfecta Foundation annual fundraising event is held in New York at #5 Times Square literally above the famous ball which descends on New Year’s Eve. Guests will enjoy hors d’ oeuvres prior to their visit to Broadway to view Billy Elliot The Musical.

The highlight of the pre-theater reception will be a live auction conducted by Ms. Robin Wright of Sotheby’s Auction House for a one week stay at a vacation home designed by one of New York’s premier architects in the prestigious vacation community of East Hampton, New York coordinated by VacationHomesForCharity.org.

April 24: On the same night on the West Coast, Women of Vision presents Share the Light 2009 ~ Spring Benefit Auction and Dinner to Benefit Children Around the World. The event, hosted at the Governor Hotel in downtown Portland hopes to entice over 350 guests to join for an evening of dinner and exciting silent and live auctions.

April 27: Three nights later in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, the 4th annual Spring Soirée will be held at Restaurant 4580 benefiting teens living at Attention Homes. With our economy slumping, families are struggling and the number of teens needing our help has increased. Each of our programs, Broadway House and Chase House, is providing our at-risk boys and girls a safe home, counseling and therapy, life skills lessons, and access to education and employment. Both programs are at or near capacity. The highlight of the evening will be the auction for a stay at beautiful “Seaspray” in Manasota Key, Florida. The home’s name is most fitting with its beachfront location on the Gulf of Mexico. Manasota Key is due west of Port Charlotte, about 75 miles directly south of Tampa.
We do have charitable events scheduled throughout the year and demand for vacation homes for charity continues to exceed supply. Isn’t it time to “Do Good With Your Vacation Home”?

A highlight of the Spring Charity season is the Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) Foundation event in Midtown Manhattan. The annual event, a must attend on the New York Charity circuit will feature a vacation residence provided by VacationHomesforCharity.org. The home, a significant architectural tour de force is located in the prestigious vacation community of East Hampton, New York. The home, a private enclave is just minutes from the glorious beaches of the Hamptons and an easy bike ride to the finest gourmet dining and luxury shopping in the Village of East Hampton.

For charities hosting Spring and early Summer fund-raisers, vacation residences are a most welcome auction item as patrons begin to plan their summer getaways. It is not to late to 1) do good with your vacation residence and 2) charities, we are always able to provide support, even last minute to include a vacation home as a signature fund-raising opportunity.

It was quite refreshing during the depths of the stock market downturn, patrons coming out in force to continue to assist those in need. On a mild southern California Friday evening, luminaries from the entertainment and sports industries came together for Fight Night XI benefiting the Marconi Foundation for Kids and The Freedom Writers Foundation. The signature auction item was a vacation at The Villa dei Sogni (Villa of Dreams) a 4-bedroom villa with a private pool located on an enchanting hillside overlooking the Town of Bellagio and Lake Como in northern Italy raising over $10,000 during competitive bidding.

Barely 24 hours later, the annual Athletes First Classic raised money for the Orangewood Foundation, a program for abused and disadvantaged children. The highlight of the evening’s auctions was the opportunity to enjoy seven nights at the Casa De Golf, a spectacular 8-bedroom vacation residence located on the 18th hole of the Hacienda Pinilla Golf Club in beautiful Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The auction of Casa De Golf generated $30,000 in contributions for the Orangewood Foundation.

Do you desire additional exposure to qualified buyers?

In today’s competitive marketplace, many vacation homes are on the market. Whether your home is listed by a Realtor or is a FSBO, you desire to increase exposure to potential buyers.

Have you considered associating your home with VacationHomesForCharity.org?

• In addition to your home providing an opportunity for the charity or non-profit of your choice to benefit, you, as owner will benefit as well.
• As the homeowner, you will be provided cash to cover cleaning and other fees associated with the donation.
• Your home will be prominently featured as the “signature auction item” of the event. The exposure is invaluable.
• Having your vacation home associated with a “charity fund-raiser” provides respectability; knowing the owner has donated his/her home to assist in generating funds during this period of economic malaise.
• Participants at the charity event may be potential purchasers. Bidders can literally “try before they buy”, an opportunity usually not provided to prospective buyers.
• Your home will be prominently featured on multiple blogs.
• Opportunity to increase exposure via local and regional press/marketing opportunities.
• You set the expiration date, blackout dates, and other restrictions.

FYI: The Society offers multiple options to assist vacation homeowners to partner with charities to provide use of their home (on a space available basis) to benefit a charitable organization. Usually the use of the home is “auctioned off” to a bidder desiring a vacation opportunity while assisting their charitable cause. Owners of the home can pick a charity or we can assist them in partnering with various charities. Past charities include those associated with the fine arts, food allergies, cancer research, museums and assistance for the elderly.

For additional information, please review www.vacationhomesforcharity.org/give, which is the philanthropy of The Society.