Our 2014 Charity Picks

We feel lucky every day. Our community has provided us with a great place to live and work. Our kids can grow and learn in safety and comfort. We're surrounded by opportunities personally and professionally.

For that, we are eternally grateful, and we like to give a little bit back to our community. We work hard to research the charities we choose to support and to make sure they're doing the greatest good with their contributions.

Here are the charities we selected for 2014

Episcopal Relief and Development

Episcopal Relief & Development works to save lives and transform communities worldwide. They rebuild after disasters and empower people to create lasting solutions that fight poverty, hunger, and disease. They working in 40 countries impacting the lives of nearly 3 million people around the world.

ERD has a high rating on Charity Navigator. While we typically seek a higher rating, it's very close to the highest it can be and we have close personal ties with the organization.

One thing we love about this program is you get to donate specific needs to the communities you're supporting. This is certainly the first time we've donated a cow and chickens. We also funded farming tools and community gardens, prenatal and postnatal maternity care, and 1 year of education for 5 girls.

Tiger Flight Foundation

A little closer to home, the Tiger Flight Foundation, base in Rome, Georgia inspires kids to be "Pilot in Command" of their own lives. All donations go toward the motivational and character development programs.

My relationship began with Tiger Flight as a volunteer pilot. I had a young man in my plane and as we taxied out, he said, "I've never been in a plane before." I asked him what was his favorite place to visit. He told me he'd never been out of Rome, GA. He was nervously excited as we started rolling down the runway.

We had barely left the ground when he could no longer contain his excitement and he looked at me almost teary-eyed and said, "I feel like I can see the whole world from here!" I thought, "from here kid, the whole world is in front of you . . . and I think you'll see it."

First Small Business, Big Difference for the NBCF a Success!

If you followed our Small Business, Big Difference program, you know that our first Small Business, Big Difference to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation ended Februrary 18th, 2012.

Thus, there are two pressing topics:

First, I'd like to apologize for taking this long to get these results out there. I know it's been a while, but I've been a little busy. On February 17th, 2012 my wife delivered our first child and we've been enjoying some family time.

Second, when we set out to start the Small Business, Big Difference program, we knew it'd take a few tries for it to catch on. We figured our first attempt would produce modest results; however, we were so excited that we were able to generate such interest in the program that we rounded our donation up to $100.00.

We'd like to thank everyone who donated or participated in the program and we'd like to thank the NBCF for letting us raise funds for them with the Small Business, Big Difference program. We're looking forward to working with them again in a future promotion.

Small Business, Big Difference - NBCF Approved

Last week I wrote a blog post introducing our Small Business, Big Difference program to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. This week, I got in touch with them and they gave us the go-ahead to run the fundraiser. We're very excited about the news!

So, we want to make sure you know how you can help! There are three ways that you can help us raise money to give to the NBCF.

Spread the Word

• Tell people about this fundraiser and encourage them to do the same.
• Share the link to the Small Business, Big Difference - National Breast Cancer Foundation fundraiser.
• Like our Mobile Magic Developers page on Facebook.
• Follow @MobileMagicDevs on twitter.

Get the App

• Download the Jane Austen Quote of the Day Widget application.
• Enjoy the application! We'll donate all ad revenue from the Jane Austen widget during the promotion period of Sunday, February 12th, 2012 and ending Saturday, February 18th, 2012.
• If you love the app, buy the Jane Austen Widget Upgrade for less than a buck and we'll donate that too!

Want to Give More?

You're more than welcome to give as much as you want! You can visit the Mobile Magic Developer's Small Business, Big Difference for NBCF fundraising site powered by StayClassy.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact us through our facebook page or twitter account. We'd love to address any concerns you may have.

National Breast Cancer Foundation - Small Business, Big Difference

James and I recognize that we get a great deal of benefit out of writing mobile applications with Mobile Magic Developers. We enjoy the time together, the camaraderie, the learning experiences, and the opportunity to bring a little joy to a much larger audience. Along the way we've had a lot of support from friends, family, and the numerous customers who've downloaded our apps.

We wanted to find a way to give something back as an enthusiastic "Thank You" from the Mobile Magic Developers team to you. We've decided we're going to try something we call Small Business, Big Difference. Periodically, we're going to choose one of our applications and for a period of time, all proceeds from that application will be donated to a charitable organization. That includes sales and ad revenue.

For our inaugural Small Business, Big Difference attempt, we've decided that we'll donate all revenue generated by our Jane Austen Quote of the Day Widget available on the Android market to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. We've even added a new background for your widget just for this occasion!

Why the National Breast Cancer Foundation

We reviewed dozens of charitable organizations dedicated to promoting breast cancer research, helping breast cancer survivors, and comforting those fighting with breast cancer today. We considered each organization's rating on Charity Navigator and the NBCF scores on Charity Navigator were remarkable including a maximum score for accountability and transparency, 83.1% of revenue dedicated to program expenses, and a solid plan for growth.

We also felt strongly for the foundation's mission to save lives through early detection by providing education and mammography, particularly to women in need. The NBCF works with almost 100 clinics in all 50 states to provide free mammograms and diagnostic services to underserved women. Each sponsored facility is required to have the capacity to provide continued treatment to women after an abnormality is found or breast cancer is diagnosed.

How You Can Help

Your role is easy. Download the Jane Austen Widget from the Android market, use the "Share" buttons to share your quotes on Twitter and Facebook, encourage your friends to get the app. If you really like it, purchase the Jane Austen Widget Upgrade, the ads will go away and we'll donate the proceeds from your upgrade too.

The program will run for 1 week starting Sunday, February 12th, 2012 and ending Saturday, February 18th, 2012. Download the free application today and help us spread the word about the application and the promotion. The more people who have the free app, the more ad revenue we'll be able to donate. Don't buy the upgrade though until the week of Valentines Day so we can donate your upgrade too.

We hope to make this program a huge success because we're already looking into our next charity (hopefully promoting children's literacy with proceeds from our educational apps for kids). We're excited about this opportunity and with your help we can prove what a big difference a small business can make.