subject: Robert Mondavi And The Spirit Of California Wine Charity [print this page] One of the great things about trying to raise money to support local communities in California is that so many incredible, exciting, and successful businesses are based in the Golden State. We've got Robert Mondavi working at the forefront of Napa charity wine efforts, along with a number of other high-caliber vineyards and wine makers working with local communities to invest back into the people and resources that will benefit local businesses as well as the broader wine community in California. This drive for local organization and community involvement is relevant for everyone trying to do something for their local neighborhood.
Find the right business and the right owner, and you've got a patron for your charity. They might not be able to spend $10,000 on new books for your at-risk youth reading center, but you can bet they'll help you get deals with the catering company for your launch party. You might not be able to get the ear of the state governor, at least not immediately, so that you can explain the environmental problems your local wetlands are having with the way the power plant does its routine maintenance. But your patron might be able to help you fundraise and host a successful membership drive so you can increase local awareness and work on coming up with solutions so that eventually politicians will have to listen to reason.
The point is that in California, businesses small and large know that their roots and their success are built on the communities that staff them. They're going to give back if you help them find the right way to do that. The Robert Mondavi winery is an illustrative example of this fact. Even in its early days, the Robert Mondavi winery was intimately involved in and invested in the local community, and Mondavi and his wife donated to local learning institutions and wine organizations, setting the stage for what was to come. His son's wine company is now closely affiliated with a charitable wine seller that built its entire business around giving a portion of all proceeds to important charities. The online wine distributor is based in California, and leverages the quality of Robert Mondavi Jr.'s wines to support efforts to combat breast cancer, autism, and illiteracy in California and across the country.
This demonstrates how much you can do for the cause that you care about once you find the right businesses to support your efforts in California. You need to find a business owner that is passionate about his or her business and about giving back, hopefully specifically in the form of your specific cause. You also need to find someone with a product that you can in some way relate to your cause and what you want to do for the local community. Even if the link is something as simple as a personal love of wine, as is the case with the Robert Mondavi winery involvement, that connection is important for the story you'll tell, the way you'll connect with other supporters to actually have an impact on that community.
