Generosity is Contagious

Generosity is contagious. VERY contagious.

We know this is true. So why does it always surprise us when we watch it multiply before our eyes?

Tuesday, we witnessed Ryan Westbrooks’ excitement as his dream of attending the START Conference came true. It was due to a generous anonymous donation made on his behalf. We celebrated with him and encouraged him to take great notes and represent the #STARTExp well. For many, it was another example of the acts of generosity that have been contagious in the group. But for one person, it was the birth of an idea.

Casey Lewis loved watching Ryan’s excitement over receiving a gift that meant so much to him. And in true STARTer fashion, he got a big idea, and instantly decided to take action. He started talking to a few people he trusted and they quickly joined forces to formulate a plan.

What if we could do this for someone else in the group?

What if we could include airfare, lodging and a ticket to the conference?

What would it take to make this happen?

We are so excited to announce The Generosity Project – A Start Conference Scholarship. It is the first project of #STARTJoy, which is a movement being developed by FrankenSTART. The goal is to spread joy, scholarships, and awards for STARTers hustling on their dreams. It is an extension of the Start Experiment, but just like FrankenSTART, it is completely independent from The Lampo Group and Jon Acuff.

Our goal with this first project is to join together as a group and raise $1,000 in seven days. This will cover the cost of awarding one scholarship to the Start Conference. What would it take, you ask?

Only 100 people (out of 3,390) willing to donate $10 each, will make a dream come true for a fellow STARTer.

UPDATE! We thought it would take 7 days to fund one scholarship. You proved us WRONG. It took only 90 minutes. So, we know you want to do MORE! Let’s do it. Let’s go for 5 SCHOLARSHIPS. #DriveFor5 Let’s show everyone what it feels like to #STARTjoy! 

Knowing what we know of the people in this amazing Experiment, we are absolutely convinced we can do this. We have made it super easy for you. To help fund the scholarship, you can donate through our GoFundMe campaign. If you want to attend the START Conference, please use the  Google Form to submit your completed essay to be eligible for consideration. It contains three questions, and we simply want to know about you, and why you want to go to the START Conference.  You can see all of the details of the scholarship process listed below.

We can’t wait to see how generosity multiplies through this awesome experiment, and the many #STARTJoy projects to come.

The Generosity Project – A #StartConference Scholarship

Purpose:
Join together as a community and help a STARTer get to the Start Conference in Brentwood, TN on September 13th and 14th, 2013.

Deadlines: Fundraising takes place 8/24 through 8/31

Applications received: 8/24 through 8/27 at 11:59pm

Submission guidelines:
Applicants answer three questions and complete the application via this Google Form.

Winners will be selected by a group of five panelists who will review submissions. All names will be removed and replaced with a number for anonymity. The panelists will choose five finalists, and then the Start Experiment group will choose a final winner. The winner will be announced on 9/3/2013 at noon CST.

Winner receives:
Scholarship towards Start Conference ticket, hotel accommodations, and airfare/transportation (Meals and incidentals not included)

Jon Acuff has also generously offered to schedule a 30 minute coaching session after the conference with the winner!

Contest funding:
Donations will be collected from the Start Experiment members through GoFundMe.
Minimum suggested donation: $10
No donation required to enter scholarship contest.

Additional details:
Money raised will be used to fund the winning prize package. If the minimum of $1000 is not raised, we will refund the money given.  No purchase necessary. No cash value.  To qualify, you must be willing and able to travel during the timeframe listed above. Winner must reside in the continental U.S. The winning package is not transferable.  If the chosen winner is unable to meet these qualifications, the scholarship will be awarded to the runner up.

Donations received fund #StartJoy, which awards scholarships and other gifts to people who hustle and are chasing dreams.  All excess funds go to other scholarship awards, gifts, and projects for #StartJoy in the future. FrankenSTART and #StartJoy are completely independent of The Lampo Group and Jon Acuff. Members of The FrankenSTART team are not eligible to apply.