Help Us Give Away $500 to a Local Non-Profit

I was recently honored and humbled to receive the 2017 “Friend of the Foundation” award from the Community Foundation of Western Nevada, a philanthropic organization that is near and dear to my heart.

Quick fact: Did you know in its 19 years in existence, the Community Foundation has awarded $100 million in grants locally? Now that’s impressive.

Anyhow, back to the focus of this post — which, by the way, is not about me or my award. It’s about you.

You see, as part of this award, I was given the opportunity to make a $500 contribution to a philanthropic cause of my choice — the only stipulation being that it’s a 501(c)(3). This is a great opportunity — but also, a huge challenge, because every cause I support personally and that we support through the Estipona Group is entirely worthy.

This is where you come in.

As a team, the Estipona Group last year began performing good deeds equal to the number of years we’ve been in business. So in 2016 it was 23 deeds for our 23 years in business, this year it’s 24. And so on.

RELATED: Estipona Group Named Finalist for Governor’s Points of Light Award

So I thought: Why not give the $500 to one of the non-profit organizations we’ve already come to know and love and support through our good deeds?

But that means I’d be forced to choose one worthy organization over another. And that’s no fun.

So instead, we first decided to narrow the field, randomly selecting four non-profits — those designated as 501(c)(3)s — from the last few years. This yielded the following options.

And they are:

• Northern Nevada Volunteers of America
• Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern Nevada
• Women and Children’s Center of the Sierra
• Project 150 Reno

But we hate popularity contests, especially when non-profits are involved; no one wins when you pit worthy causes against one another. But we CAN win by pitting worthy ways of SELECTING a worthy cause against one another.

Still with me? Good.

I’m asking you to choose HOW I choose. We’ll be running a poll on our Twitter page from Nov. 7 through Nov. 14, with four choices.

In this Twitter poll, you’ll be voting on the method you’d like me to use to randomly select which non-profit gets the $500.

The choices are:

1. Random Thing Picker
2. Darts, balloons — and me valiantly (likely, desperately) trying to hit one
3. Pin the tail on the worthy-Reno-non-profit
4. Estipona Cake Walk (4 chairs, 5 Estiponies, the last chair left has the name of the winning non-profit taped to the bottom!)

And of course: We’ll Facebook Live the winning picking mechanism. Because sharing is caring.

So help me choose, won’t you? Learn more about these four amazing non-profits, vote in our Twitter poll, and help one local philanthropic organization earn $500.

RELATED: Estipona Putt-Putt Classic Raises $2,000 for New Community Foundation Fund to Benefit Reno Homeless

Oh, and while you’re at it, learn more about the Community Foundation of Western Nevada, too. Their mission is “Connecting people who care with causes that matter.”

And we think it’s remarkable that so many of our friends care as deeply as they do — and that there are so many worthy causes who stand to benefit.

Now go vote!

Edward Estipona is president, CEO and founder of the Estipona Group. He’s known to randomly spew malaphors, and for some inexplicable reason, reports he enjoys climbing uphill on a road bike much more than descending. Email him at Edward@estiponagroup.com.