After 30 years in the corporate world with both PwC (Sports and Tourism US Practice Leader) and the Tampa Bay Lightning (EVP Finance & Strategy) I left corporate life several years ago to focus exclusively on philanthropy. Five years ago, I created the A+C Foundation, which is a community foundation made up of Athletes, Artists, and Angels supporting the Causes they are passionate about. A+C develops, launches, and manages all aspects of foundations, and our past and current clients include Ryan Callahan (Tampa Bay Lightning); Carlos Carrasco (Cleveland Indians); Jose Altuve, Lance McCullers Jr. and Joe Smith (Houston Astros), Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Eli Ankou (Jacksonville Jaguars), and NBA on TNT Sports Reporter Allie LaForce.
While all of these organizations are doing amazing things, there is one charity I am particularly proud of--Grady Goat Foundation. It's not only that Grady Goat is my wife's foundation (she epitomizes the aforementioned "Angels" category), but this foundation has done so much with no direct celebrity platform behind it. Grady Goat has funded charities such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs, United Cerebral Palsy, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, Wheelchairs for Kids, Children's Dream Fund, High Risk Hope, Best Buddies, Apple-a-Day Foundation, and Mariano Rivera Foundation. All of this funding through weekend Goat Yoga Classes organized by my wife and a team of helpers, which have been attended by over 10,000 participants, including a recent World Record Goat Yoga Class!
Project GOAT, which stands for Global Offensive Against Trafficking is an art-based awareness and fundraising campaign for the fight against human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. 50 to 100 (or more) life-size goat castings will be painted or otherwise embellished by artists and, in many cases, represented by celebrity athletes, actors, musicians, and others. The idea for using goats for this campaign stemmed from a Bill Gates blog post entitled "Can Goats Empower Women," which described how women in the poorest parts of India are learning and creating careers caring for goats and marketing goat-related products--careers that may be saving them from a life of forced labor.
The way the program was conceived is as follows: (1) We identify a celebrity or brand to serve as each GOATs “ambassador,” which displays their decorated goat at their place of business, events, at their homes or simply online. For example, former NY Yankees star Johnny Damon will be the ambassador a Yankees-themed GOAT, we are working with former Rays and Chicago Cubs Manager Joe Maddon on a classic car themed GOAT that he would likely display—in one of his restaurant, and Buccaneer Wide Receiver Chris Godwin will represent a Bucs-themed GOAT, and Sons of Anarchy TV series actress Kristen Renton will represent a very cool tattooed GOAT wearing a SOA "cut." (2) We work with that ambassador to come up with the theme/vision for their GOAT and find an artist to bring that vision to life. (3) When completed, the GOAT would be displayed from 6 months to a year online or a high-profile location (preferably both). (4) A sign adjacent to each GOAT will describe how the public can support the fight against human trafficking by simply posting a photo of the GOAT and tagging @gradygoat and the ambassador’s brand (e.g. their business or their own charitable foundation), which results in a single entry in a sweepstakes where they have a chance to win that GOAT art at the end of its exhibition. The sign will also direct people to the Grady Goat Instagram profile page or website, where they can learn more about that GOAT, the artist, and the rest of the Project GOAT pieces, and donate to their favorites. Each donation results in additional chances to WIN whichever GOAT they donate to. 100 percent of the money raised is going to charity. However, if a goat’s ambassador has his or her own charity, they can choose to have it receive 50 percent of their GOAT's proceeds. We have tentatively identified organizations such as Operation Underground Railroad and Polaris Project as the organizations that will be funded from Grady Goat Foundation's share of the proceeds.
We are excited about the support we have already received by both artists and celebrities for Project GOAT. Photos of each will be posted on the Project GOAT Instagram page (@_projectgoat) and website (www.gradygoat.org/projectgoat). We have an opportunity for an overall underwriter/sponsor for the entire project, where that organization's name and logo would appear on an acrylic plaque on the base of each of our GOATs, on press releases, social media posts, the website, etc., as well as individual GOAT sponsorships available which will allow individuals or companies to determine where their statue will be displayed and how it will be painted or embellished. If you have any thoughts on a particular brand, celebrity, or charitable foundations that might make great partners in the Global Offensive Against Trafficking, please share this with them or let us know!
Rob Canton, Founder & CEO, A+C Foundation
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