That's right, the Mustaches will be running the asylum this coming Saturday, March 20th at Atomic Cowboy! 'Stache Bash is both a celebration of a month of hard work by our Growers, and a grueling competition; one which pits Mustache against Mustache, brother against brother in a no-holds-barred death match to determine whose Mustache is the Sweetest!

This year's 'Stache Bash competition rounds will be:

1. Parade of 'Staches/Mustache Look, Touch, & Feel
2. Guinness Foam Retention Test
3. Mustache Stare-Off
4. Mustache Lift/Mustache Toss

The pre-Bash starts at 7:00 pm, and the mustache festivities will begin around 7:30 pm. All friends and family (no small children who frighten easily) are welcome to join us for the brutal ballet of Mustache-on-Mustache violence!

Grow Checkpoint #3

Fellow Growers, come join in follicular brotherhood this Thursday at Broadway Oyster Bar and participate in a Famous Mustache ID competition. Enjoy some oysters and beer at the last Mustache checkpoint before 'Stache Bash next Saturday, March 20.

This year's 'Stache Bash will be held at Atomic Cowboy but we still have a week and a half of growin' left to do so get you and your mustache out there and raise some cash.

If you are a mustache admirer, you can give to our Growers here.

'Stachedly yours...

Grower Checkpoint #2

Come join us this Tuesday, March 2nd at O'Connell's Pub (map) for Checkpoint #2. We will be drinking beer and eating burgers, sharing in Mustache solidarity. Also, if you didn't get any Mustache for Kids St. Louis business cards, tattoos, or buttons at the last Checkpoint, we have a few left.

May the 'Stache be with you.

Check out the the St.Louis Leadership Board And join our grow, starting February 18th, by creating your own fundraising page (see previous post for instructions)

Setting Up Your Fundraising Grow Page at DonorsChoose.org

To Create your Fundraising Grow Page (5-7 min):

Step 1:
Go to www.DonorsChoose.org and click “MY ACCOUNT” in the upper right corner.


Step 2:
Sign in as a “I am here to support classrooms in need,” so that you can set up a Giving Page.


Step 3:
Fill out your contact information (which DonorsChoose.org will only use to mail you student thank-you notes, if you fund a classroom project.)


Step 4:
Click on “Submit and Create a Giving Page.”


Step 5:
Select "Mustaches for Kids," and then create the title of your Giving Page. You’ll need to include your name in the title, and you can also use your Mustache name, like, Joe ‘The Walrus’ Romanelli.
Make sure to join the “Mustaches by City” Giving Group (STL, duh), and then associate yourself with your city. If you cannot find your city listed, please email us at: info.mfk.stl@gmail.com.


Step 6:
Fill out your message, encouraging family, friends and co-workers to sponsor your Mustache!
Also, click “Add” to add a picture of you, with or without a ‘stache!


Step 7:
You have a number of options: let DonorsChoose.org autofill your page with projects or manually select eligible projects. If you choose to manually select, click on “Search for Projects,” so that you can add classroom projects to your Giving Page. Try and select projects for schools in Missouri, but anything goes.


Step 8:
Search for projects by finding projects by City or County.


Step 9:
When you find a project you’d like to add, click on the project, then click on “Add to Giving Page.”
On the following screen, you will click “Add to selected Giving Page.”
We suggest adding 10 – 15 projects when you’re starting your Giving Page.


Step 10:
Scroll to the top of your Giving Page set up. Click on “View this Giving Page (permalink).”


Step 11:
Bookmark your UNIQUE LINK to your Giving Page.
This is the link you should use every time you ask people to donate for your Mustache.
So you should not send people to www.DonorsChoose.org to make donations – you should send them to your unique link! UBER CRITICAL OR THE DONATION WON'T GO TO YOUR STACHE!

DONE! Sit back and have a beer.


FAQs
Below are answers to some commonly ‘stached questions. Email info.mfk.stl@gmail.com if you have any further questions.

Giving Pages
What if I don't want to set up a Giving Page?
We strongly encourage you to set up a Giving Page, so you can track your donors and donations. Your Giving Page allows you to view all donations made for your ‘stache. If you have donors give straight to www.DonorsChoose.org, or if they give to one of the general M4K chapter pages, you will have no official way of knowing that they donated!

How can I tell how much money my 'stache has raised?
In the upper left-hand corner of your Giving Page, you can see how much your ‘stache has raised, how many donors have contributed, and the number of students reached by their donations.

How can I tell if people donate through my Giving Page?
After you have set up your Giving Page, you can log into your account anytime at www.DonorsChoose.org, and click on “My Giving Pages.” Towards the bottom of the page, you can click on “View all of my donations,” and see a list of your donors and which projects they funded.

How do I handle cash or check donations?
When a Mustache sponsor gives you a check, you will need to log into your donor account, fund a project on your Giving Page with their donation, then follow the instructions to mail the check to DonorsChoose.org. You can then forward the tax-deductible receipt that you receive via email to the donor.
When a Mustache sponsor gives you cash, you will need to log into your donor account, fund a project on your Giving Page with your own credit card or check. You can then forward the tax-deductible receipt that you receive via email to the donor.

What if other Growers choose the same project(s) I did on my Giving Page?
It is ok if you have the same projects as other Growers on your Giving Pages. Your Giving Page will only record donations given on your unique Page!

What happens if/when a project on my Giving Page is fully funded?
When projects on your Giving Page are fully funded, they will stay at the bottom of your Giving Page, as record of the number of projects you had funded. You will want to make sure that you always have several unfunded projects on your Giving Page at any given time.

How do I log onto my Giving Page to add more projects?
To add more classroom projects to your Giving Page, you can go to www.DonorsChoose.org, click on “Sign In” in the upper right-hand corner, then click into your Giving Page. You can then click on ADD MORE PROJECTS.

For Teachers:

I have friends who are teachers, how can I help them to post projects on DonorsChoose.org?
DonorsChoose.org is available to all public school teachers across the country. If you have friends who are public school teachers, please encourage them to visit www.DonorsChoose.org and click “Sign In.” DonorsChoose.org will walk them through the process from there!

Everything you need to be a grower...

St. Louis Mustache Growers, shoot us an e-mail (info.mfk.stl@gmail.com) and we can send you all the great materials you need to know to start growing and start collecting donations through DonorsChoose.org. Next, set up your fundraising grow page at DonorsChoose.org. May the 'Stache be with you!

Welcome to MFK St. Louis!!!!!!

Mustaches for Kids is a volunteer-run organization started in Los Angeles in 1999 to help charities and now raises money for DonorsChoose.org, an education nonprofit that helps public school students. DonorsChoose.org allows public school teachers, many of whom work at underserved schools, to submit proposals for projects and supplies that would otherwise be unfunded, and donors from all over the country fund projects that they choose. Teachers ask, you choose, students learn..

Each year, participants ("Growers") raise money for DonorsChoose.org by growing sweet, sweet Mustaches four weeks out of the year (This year's grow season: February 18, 2010 - March 20th, 2010). They shave their faces, except for the Mustache, a minimum of one time per week. The Growers solicit donations from friends, family, co-workers, and people in the community. At the end of the Growing Season, Mustaches for Kids hosts a Mustache Contest where the facial hair is evaluated by an independent panel of judges, and one Mustache is declared to be the "Sweetest," accompanied by fame, prizes, and adulation.

Over the past 10 years, Mustaches for Kids has spread with chapters all over the world, a steady expansion that is not unlike the measured, deliberate growth of a Mustache. Mustaches for Kids has enjoyed the efforts of an impressive number of Growers who, collectively, have raised over half a million dollars for children's charities and other organizations like DonorsChoose.org.

This year, the St. Louis chapter of Mustaches for Kids will donate all of the money we raise to teacher-submitted projects to improve America's public schools via DonorsChoose.org. Please visit DonorsChoose.org to learn more about this amazing charity.