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A Moo-ving Experience

Key Economic Concepts:

• Communities and Cities
• Role of Government
• Scarcity

Description:

Students gain an understanding about non-profit organizations and the role they play in our economy. Students then learn about a relatively new type of fundraising effort, known as CowParade©, for non- profit organizations that has been successful in a number of cities around the world. Students adapt CowParade for their own community.

Lesson Objectives:

Students will:

• Identify nonprofit organizations
• Identify the role of nonprofit organizations in an economy
• Recognize the need for fundraising among nonprofit organizations
• Examine a unique type of fundraising event that is being duplicated in cities around the world

Introduction:

What would you think if you saw a herd of full-size, painted sculptured cows on the streets of New York City? Or in downtown London? If you have ever heard of CowParade©, then you would think those cities were holding a fund-raising event for local nonprofit organizations such as charities. In this lesson, you will learn about nonprofit organizations and some of their fundraising efforts.

Resources:

•"Official site of CowParade©": Contains information on the public art event.
www.cowparade.com ^[1]

•"Cow outline": Interactive art activity http://newyork.cowparade.com/fun/color.php ^[2]

Process:

Do you know what the Red Cross, Boys and Girls Club of America and Sierra Club all have in common? All of them--and thousands of others--are nonprofit organizations. Under the Internal Revenue Tax Code, a nonprofit organization is defined as any corporation, community chest, fund or foundation that is organized and operated exclusively for religious, scientific, public safety, literary or educational purposes. nonprofit organizations must be operated exclusively for the public, rather than the private, interest. Corporations such as McDonald's or Wal-Mart may donate money to many nonprofit organizations and even provide similar charitable services (such as the Ronald McDonald houses). But they are not classified as nonprofit organizations because they are operated for the benefit of the owners or stockholders of the corporation. Nonprofit organizations include charities, churches and other associations and foundations.

Activity One

See if you can identify the nonprofit organizations in this interactive Drag 'n Drop activity.

 Activity Two

Nonprofit organizations are involved in many different areas. See if you can correctly match some well-known nonprofit organizations to current news releases from the organizations in this interactive matching activity.

 As you can tell from the above exercise, there are many different nonprofit organizations and they are involved in many different activities. But one feature common to most nonprofit organizations is their need to raise funds to provide services and activities, many of which they provide free. Even when nonprofit organizations charge a fee or set a price for their services, the amount charged usually covers only the cost or a portion of the cost of the services provided. For-profit businesses and organizations charge a price that covers the cost of the good or service plus an amount above the cost to generate a profit. This means that nonprofit organizations are constantly on the lookout for new and interesting ways to raise funds. 

A relatively new type of nonprofit fund-raiser was developed in 1996 in Switzerland, and it has been adapted in many cities around the world. This is CowParade©, an art exhibit of full-size cow sculptures painted and decorated; the sculptures are placed in cities for several months and then auctioned off with the proceeds going for charities. Read about CowParade© at the website www.cowparade.com ^[1] . Click on some of the cities that have already sponsored a CowParade© exhibit in their city and see close-ups of the cow sculptures they featured. Notice how the cows are painted to relate to each particular city. For example, the New York exhibit had "A Cow for the United Nations" and "A Moo York Neighborhood" theme, while the Houston exhibit had a "Houston, You have a Problem" theme. Look at the various charities that received money from the sculpture auctions. The New York auction raised $1,351,000 to benefit several charities. The highest bid was $60,000 for a sculpture called Tiffany Cow and the average bid was $18,257.

1. Why do you think the price for Tiffany Cow was higher than the average bid? [Greater demand from the bidders drove the price up.]
2. Why do you think people bid on the cows? [As a way to donate to charity and because the cows are unusual and unique.]
3. Can you think of any local fund-raisers held by nonprofit organizations in your area?

Conclusion:

List three nonprofit organizations in your community. What services or functions do these three organizations provide? Discuss whether your local government would provide these services if the three nonprofit organizations did not exist.

Assessment Activity:

Construct an advertisement that shows a CowParade© fund-raiser for a local nonprofit organization in your community. Give an example of how the cows might be painted or decorated to represent your local community or state (for example, a cow might be painted with a desert scene for Arizona or with apples representing the Big Apple for New York City). To get an outline of a cow to use for your local example, see http://newyork.cowparade.com/fun/color.php ^[2]

Older students who are ready for a challenge may research a nonprofit organization in their community. Their research should include an interview with the president of that organization. During their interview, students should focus on the services or functions that the organization provides, the fundraising activities or events they sponsor, and how can a person get involved.

Links Used:

1. ^{^ ^} "www.cowparade.com" - (www.cowparade.com)
2. ^{^ ^} "http://newyork.cowparade.com/fun/color.php" - (newyork.cowparade.com)

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