Kindness, Inc.: A Nonprofit’s Mission to Spread Good Deeds
It's easy to be kind, and even easier when there's an organization standing by to support your benevolent gestures. On a mission to spread kindness around the world, Random Acts is doing just that on a global scale.
The nonprofit organization was founded as a way to not only inspire good deeds, but help support them through funding. Big or small, elaborate or simple, Random Acts helps others pay it forward by enabling them to cheer up people in need, offer support to those doing so, or on its largest scale, create and fund sustainable projects in various localities.
"It is a very simple and beautiful idea that the world would be a better place if everyone was kind to one another," Cinde Monsam, Executive Director, tells the Good News Blog. "We encourage and want people to participate with us in finding ways to do good for others."
Actor Misha Collins, star of the CW series "Supernatural," founded Random Acts in 2009 after realizing the power of galvanizing his Twitter army to assist with nonprofit endeavors. Originally dubbed "MinionStimulus," Random Acts has evolved and grown significantly over the years, and has since become an international campaign aiming to "conquer the world, one random act of kindness at a time."
Through its work, Random Acts has helped do-gooders with projects like purchasing hot water tanks for those in need during the winter, providing snacks and water to people waiting in lines, donating funds to families who have children with autism and high medical bills, cleaning homes of a cancer patients, and providing Thanksgiving meals to soldiers.
Anyone can be a part of the initiative; everyone is encouraged. To submit an idea, Random Act supplies budget and entry forms on its website for those who know what they want to do, and how they can accomplish it. According to Monsam, the organization receives about 15-20 proposals a month, and funds nearly 95 percent of them.
"I think people are shocked it's that easy to do something for somebody," Monsam remarks. "We look for acts that really can be life-impacting for people… yhe things we do are to provide the opportunity for someone to go online, give an act of kindness and also have an impact."
To date, Random Acts' most substantial project has been "Hope 2 Haiti," in which the organization raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support local projects benefiting the earthquake ravaged nation. In 2013, Random Acts completed construction of The Jacmel Children's Center as part of these efforts, a home for orphaned children which came to fruition with the support of thousands of people around the world.
Yet Monsam points out that even smaller missions make a difference. She references a project in the Philippines, where a couple of young girls built a playground for underprivileged youth.
"They cleaned up a yard, put in some equipment, built a table and benches," Monsam recalls. "It doesn't seem like much, but for these kids, who had no playground, not even an area that was safe for them to play, this had a huge impact."
There are other ways to be involved with Random Acts beyond the good deeds themselves. Donating money toward projects, fundraising, or simply using social media to get the word out serves a great purpose. In fact, the organization's main goal now is finding more do-gooders.
"We want to increase our supporter base, increase our ability to partner with other nonprofits, and build a base of people who are looking for us to support their act of kindness," Monsom says. "In all the successes that we have, I don't know that we've reached the pinnacle of our achievement, but we get closer every day. What's bigger is that we've been able to bring our supporters to a place that they understand they can do this… all people need kindness."
More of the Good News:
Movie Studio Gives Filmmaker $25,000 for Promotion, He Spends it All to Change the World
This 9-Year-Old Swim Champ did an Amazing Thing for an Ill Competitor
Mission Accomplished: Shoe Shiner Packs Up His Box After Raising $220,000 for Children
