As we reported yesterday, SCO Family of Services was the top vote getter in the recent $1 million donation contest sponsored by Lady Gaga and the Robin Hood Foundation.   Supporters cast a total of 1,057,101 votes for their favorites among five highly regarded organizations serving disconnected youth in New York City.  The remaining groups in order of finish were The Door, Hetrick-Martin Institute, Lawyers for Children and Safe Horizon.  They will receive grants worth $200,000; $150,000; $100,000; and $50,000 over a two year period, respectively.

“We are grateful to Lady Gaga the Robin Hood Foundation for providing SCO with this amazing opportunity,” said SCO Executive Director Gail Nayowith.  “We were honored to participate with four other terrific organizations we work closely with and so deeply admire. SCO will use the $500,000 we won to do whatever it takes to protect and serve LGBTQ, homeless and disconnected youth. We are committed to helping these young people build a strong foundation for a better future.

The Door, which drew the second largest number of votes in what was an extremely tight contest, is grateful for its $200,000 prize, but also sees the entire process as extremely beneficial. 

“This has been a truly incredible  two weeks for The Door, and, I imagine, for all of the organizations involved,” said Julie Shapiro, Executive Director at the Door.

“In terms of building our on-line community, it was great,” said The Door’s Communications Coordinator Amanda Peck.  “It forced us to put time and energy into reaching out to our network and getting them excited and involved.”

“Over the past two weeks that network has grown to include past Door members, families, current and former Door volunteers, the Settlement House community, youth in Europe, and troops in Afghanistan,” said Shapiro. “We came together as a powerful and focused team of advocates for the nearly 12,000 young people that call The Door home.”

“Participating in an online contest for a share of a charitable donation was a first for Lawyers For Children,” said Executive Director Karen J. Freedman, Esq. “The scale of Lady Gaga's generosity was overwhelming and the most beneficial aspect for LFC was our ability to connect with our supporters in an entirely new way, through social media.  We created new video and other visual communication tools and most of all felt the strength of a dedicated community working together to help LGBTQ and disconnected youth.  The only downside for LFC was the inability of the contest format to showcase the connections between the five organizations who work tirelessly together on behalf of this community. I would have liked the opportunity to better communicate to the young people we serve that despite the competitive format, we are a team of service providers willing and able to work together on their behalf whenever necessary.”

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