I recently appeared on Little Give TV to talk about The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation, giving back, and how little actions can lead to big things.

In preparation for the appearance, the host said that one thing she always asks and that often throws off interviewees is about a small action that viewers could take to make a difference.  She said she now tells interviewees ahead of time so they are not caught off-guard.  As I prepared my answer, I thought about so many ways to help and thought a blog post listing out some various ideas how you can support our mission would be great.  So here are the actions you could take today to help!

Donating Funds

• Donate!  The most obvious and easiest thing is to donate to the organization.  Every dollar of every donation goes directly to helping families in crisis so all donations, big and small, matter.  Think $5 would not make a difference?  Well, if 10 people reading this each gave $5, we now have $50.  And that $50 may be something significant, like a tank of gas (or more!) so that a family could visit their baby in NICU or it may be a phone bill so that a pregnant person on bed rest could stay in contact with their medical team or it may cover the cost of an urn for a bereaved parent so they can place their baby’s ashes and have them near them.  Donate here!
• Donate regularly.  It does not have to be big, but monthly donations have a huge impact on us.  When we know that every month, we are going to receive a certain amount of money, it helps us to plan and budget.  Donations can be small every month, but the consistency pans out in the long run.  You can set up an automatic monthly donation here.
• Make some change.  Want to make it even easier?  Link your credit card to our round-up program and for all your purchases, it is rounded up to the nearest dollar and the cents are donated to us.  You can even set up a monthly limit to how much you want to donate.

Special Events

• Don’t know what to get someone for an upcoming birthday, Mother’s or Father’s Day, or other special event?  Have that person who has everything on your guest list?  Make a donation in their honor or memory and we’ll send them a card with your message!
• Have a birthday coming up?  A special anniversary or other commemoration?  Consider hosting a Facebook or Instagram fundraiser and have friends and family give back.
• Getting married?  Having a baby?  Instead of giving guests a favor, consider taking those funds and donating them in lieu of favors.

Shopping

• Wear your support of our mission on your sleeve (literally)!  Buying our branded gear allows you to show the world that you support families in crisis and the proceeds go directly to families in crisis.
• Read and learn!  Want to read more about any of the topics we cover (perinatal health, inferitlity, trying to conceive, pregnancy, pregnancy complications, NICU stays, loss and grief, and more)?  Check out our store listing on Bookshop!  Proceeds using that link will do directly to families in crisis!

Non-Financial Actions

• Follow us on social media!  And even more importantly, interact with us, comment, share, tag friends who might be interested.  All of that lets the mysterious algorithms work in our favor so that more people are seeing and learning about us.
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • YouTube
• Tag us!  Are you making a social media post about something relating to our mission?  Tag The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation in your posts and we are exposed to a wider audience.
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • YouTube
• Share your story!  Do you have knowledge or experience in the areas of infertility, pregnancy, pregnancy complications, reproductive health, NICU stays, loss and grief, or anything related?  Write a Friday Five on a topic and then share that with your networks!  Contact us to find out more!
• Share Resources.  Use and share our resource directory and include us in any resource lists you may have.
• Get news and updates.  Sign up for our newsletter to hear about updates, events, and ways to advocate.

Make a Connection

• Is your company or a company you know of looking to give back? Tell us about the company or make an introduction.
• Do you know someone who may be interested in donating?  Make an introduction or share information with them.

Have other ideas or suggestions about what ways to help?  Let us know!