Meet Ellen: She’s a School Record Holder for Swimming and Our Social Media Whiz

She is a learning and organizational change major but she spends more time in the pool than in the classroom. Ellen Stello, a rising junior at Northwestern University, recently finished up her summer internship with the WeevU social media team and we are so sad to see her go! Ellen has been named captain of the swim team for this upcoming school year, and plans to make this her best season yet! She is a gluten free, Friends addict who loves cheese and peanut butter, and last year she set a record at her school for the 200 yard butterfly.

Ellen has a ton of interests outside of swimming, including a passion for fashion. She has a career goal of working with fashion marketing and global fashion management.

Ellen found out about WeevU through Northwestern’s athletic program, NU for Life. Kkim, a recent Northwestern grad and a WeevU team member, helped Ellen get connected to the rest of the WeevU team and the director of NU for Life.

We have been so lucky to be able to have Ellen as a part of our social media team. She has done so much to help build and maintain our nonprofit relations as well as manage our social networks. She has also generated and promoted a lot of really great content for our social media networks. Ellen says that her favorite thing about working at WeevU is the people. Ellen is inspired by Matt and Steph’s hard work and passion for helping nonprofits.

So far, Ellen has had many great moments in 2015. Ellen’s sister got engaged and has set a wedding date for next summer. Ellen is looking forward to helping with the wedding planning and going dress shopping with her sister. Right now Ellen is on an end-of-summer adventure in England visiting her boyfriend’s home.

Ellen is really excited for WeevU to launch and to see Matt and Steph’s dream become a reality. We have been so lucky to have the chance to work with her and we are really excited to see what the future holds for her!

WeevU Friday Recap: 7.21.2015

This week we caught up with Eva and Rachel at the Chicago Community Trust. They are an incredible organization that has one goal: to make Chicago the most philanthropic city in the world. Their model is intriguing since they have developed advocates that are on the ground to leverage their outreach. After listening to a podcast this week from YELP, we really connected both of these models. Yelp’s goal is to create an incredible experience for their users by allowing them to voice their opinion and be recognized for doing so. The Chicago Community Trust does so in a similar way, but recognition doesn’t come from just voicing opinions. The Chicago Community Trust finds people that are passionate about their city and makes them their on the ground advocates.

This is how we are aligning our business at WeevU. Referrals are true leads that can change the momentum of your business and/or nonprofit. At WeevU, Yelp and Chicago Community Trust, we are similar but all hold different names for them.

Don’t forget to check out these upcoming events in the Chicagoland area!:

• The World Chicago 2nd Annual CITCA Summer Reception takes place this August 11th. Register today for the opportunity to network with trade commissioners, foreign diplomats and civic leaders from around the world.
• On August 8th, head over to The Abbey for Rock the Night for The Night Ministry to see live music and to give back to a great organization!
• In just a a week, THE Breast Cancer Fundraiser will be hosting their 4th Annual Chicago Breast Cancer Fundraiser at Parliament. Join us for an evening of live music, dancer performances and hear from a special honoree.

Future of Chicago Non-profits Uncertain

As Illinois officials continue to cut nonprofit funding with the burden of a $1.6 billion budget deficit, Illinois nonprofits are scrambling to make hard decisions about reducing their staff and locations. President and CEO of Donor’s Forum, Eric Weinheimer, notes that “this is the reality…our sector does what government no longer can… we shelter, feed, clothe, educate, and keep our communities healthy.”

Illinois prides itself on its humanity and engagement in the charitable sector. In fact, Illinois’ charitable sector consists of 525,000 employees and $20 billion in wages. This leaves charities with an increased pressure in the importance of fundraising right now in order to keep working towards all their individual missions.

As a part of Illinois’ nonprofit sector marketing tactic, the Donors Forum created the “Building Stronger Illinois” campaign. The social return on investment is as follows: For every dollar invested in the Arts and Culture areas yields $27 in socioeconomic return, $58 in the Environmental area, and $45 in the Youth Development area.

According to this research analysis, Illinois currently resides last in the country for fiscal health. This conclusion stems from the state’s statistics on cash, budget, long run, service level, and trust fund solvencies. This is extremely concerning for all of the nonprofits, charities, and philanthropies that we support and are partnered with.

So how can we help these wonderful nonprofits and philanthropies?

The answer lies with WeevU! At WeevU, we empower nonprofits, and grow communities. We want to alleviate much of the stress of state budget cuts that nonprofits are facing with our all-encompassing social media platform. WeevU can help these organizations build, connect, and market their events and mission to find better success. So please join our mission and help us #weevchicago!

-Ellen Stello

WeevU Friday Recap: 7.17.2015

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

-Albert Einstein

We met with some incredible nonprofits and people this week. For our first Friday Recap, we would like to highlight I.C. Stars co-founder and executive director, Sandee Kastrul. Sandee is an incredible story teller. Immediately, Sandee’s passion for education came out when explaining her model of how I.C. Stars has gotten to where they are today. Sandee has had ups and downs, as many nonprofit professionals do. After hearing her and many other executive directors’ stories, we are beginning to tie everyone’s success to grit. In short, grit is the key trait you need to be an influential  leader and game changer. Grit lets you see the light at the end of the tunnel. Grit empowers you to go past your fullest potential. Grit creates luck. Grit sparks change. Sandee has grit and you can feel it through her stories and passion. We suggest to check out I.C. Stars and see how you can get involved.

If you’re looking to get involved in your community, check out these great upcoming events in the Chicagoland area:

• This August, The Breast Cancer Fundraiser is hosting their 4th Annual Chicago Breast Cancer Fundraiser, complete with a silent auction and live ballet inspired art and entertainment. We invite you to buy your tickets to this incredible fundraiser sooner than later!
• Girls in the Game presents “Brush Back” Book Launch with Sarah Paretsky and Guests from Girls in the Game. To learn more about how you can support Girls in the Game, be sure to head to their website!
• Open Communities presents the 2015 Justice Project: The March Continues in Winnetka Village on July 26th. This event will be a family-friendly event that seeks to redefine what it means to be a “community”, beginning in the northern suburbs of Illinois.
• If you love the arts, you’ll love the Ridgeville Park District’s “Shakespeare on the Ridge” on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. Admission is free and attendees are welcome to bring a picnic dinner to add to their experience.
• Tomorrow (July 18th), the Yellow Tractor Project invites you to join their Board Members in an evening of theater and fun. “Join the Club” and support the Yellow Tractor Project!

We hope you find an event or activity that speaks to you and the causes that matter most to you. If you have an event you would like us to promote or highlight, please drop us an email at steph@weevu.com. Have a wonderful and safe weekend!

Meet Mia!

A nature enthusiast and adventure seeker, Mia Jenssen is a tree hugger spending her college years in the windy city. She loves to get out of the city as much as she can to enjoy hiking, kayaking, and mountain climbing under the sizzling sun, pushing her boundaries. The serenity and isolation she finds in the wilderness is unmatched elsewhere. A sophomore at DePaul University, majoring in Geography and Public Relations and Advertising, with a minor in Art History and Architecture, Mia has a wide range of passions.

Mia’s favorite person in the entire world is Charlie Chaplin. She admires and tries to emulate his understanding, humor, and spontaneity in life.

Mia found out about WeevU through DePaul’s experience page. WeevU jumped out to her on a long list of available internships opportunities with nearby companies or startups that involve marketing and advertising.

We are so lucky to have Mia on our Social Media Team, adding her own ideas and flavor to our advertising needs. Her job is to help market and promote WeevU and it’s dream of pushing nonprofits to reach their full potential. As we have all found, social media is key in the world of nonprofits.

Mia’s favorite part about working at WeevU is being a part of such a passionate team that is trying to make a difference in the community and further. She is also exploring what life after college could look like. A huge advocate for WeevU herself, she sees it being a big component in the world of nonprofit organizations. Although we are starting small, she truly believes in the future success of WeevU and all of the good it can do.

Mia’s best moment of 2015 is getting the WeevU Internship! She also enjoyed her spring break trip down to North Carolina where she hiked the Appalachian Trail for a week and tried her first Southern BBQ ribs…both a success. Her future aspirations include being the star of the next Avengers movie…specifically one with invisibility powers for an edge over opponents.

We love working with Mia here at WeevU! She shares with us our passion for nonprofits and giving back in order to grow the nonprofits of Chicago!

Meet Bria!

Originally born on the West coast, but having the road be her home, Bria Smith has traveled more than any average 20 year old we have known. Although, she has lived in several different states, it wasn’t until she came to Chicago that this big city captured her big heart!

Lucky for us Bria is a part our dream team here at WeevU, functioning as executive director as well as Matt and Steph’s right hand woman. As a junior at DePaul University, studying public relations and advertising, Bria fits in tremendously! By working mainly on customer service and sales and ALSO managing the multiple internal teams at WeevU, she describes this experience as ‘overwhelmingly incredible’. She feels so blessed to be working with Matt and Steph, whose dreams are finally coming true along with her dedicated fellow interns. She expresses how she loves working with such a passionate team that believes in WeevU so much and puts in extra effort because they all know they’re making something amazing that will be wildly successful.

Besides starting this new internship at WeevU and working towards her dream of working in the nonprofit sector, Bria has had a lot of wonderful moments to celebrate about in 2015! She has found a new and comfortable apartment in Uptown where the WeevU team has already held a fun bonding night. Pushing the boundaries and breaking the rules, Bria Smith is a superhero at WeevU. We’re so lucky to have a leader like her, fighting by our side to make Chicago the most philanthropic city in the world!