www.nextpittsburgh.com: Don’t let the name fool you: Wicked Pittsburgh is a charitable organization.
The new artist collective supports local nonprofits while helping creative types promote and sell their wares. So far, Wicked has donated to 10 charities thus far, including 412 Food Rescue, Allegheny County Parks Foundation and Meals on Wheels.
“We aren’t here to make money; quite the contrary. We’re here to give it all away. Then search for more and give that away,” says Wicked co-founder Mike Schwarz.
3 comments:
This sounds like a great opportunity for not only the charities that benefit, but also the artists themselves to get their work out. Whenever I read articles like this it makes me wonder why I didn't think of it because it makes something so good sound so simple and easy. I think this is a great opportunity for any artist looking to get their work out there in the world. Combining passionate artists with passionate organizations seems like an unbeatable combination for success. Its great that there are both online opportunities for artist to sell their work as well as in person events that can help benefit. I would like to learn more about what these events entail. Are they put on by the organization or are they events like local craft sales and community gatherings. Overall, this organization makes making art for a good cause sound easy. I would love to hear how this business continues to grow.
I think Wicked Pittsburgh is doing some really great things for the community. They’ve basically created an online marketplace like Redbubble or Etsy, where individual artists can post their artwork for sale, but instead of keeping some profit they distribute their funds to local charities. Non-profits like this are very special to me, as I used to work for United Way. United Way is similar, in that they are a non-profit that works to raise money to support close to 30 other non-profits. Places like Wicked Pittsburgh and United Way take on the important task of helping to fund non-profits that have a large impact on their communities. In the future I want to open my own non-profit, focused on providing a space for underprivileged kids to learn to create and explore their talents, and I sincerely hope places like United Way and Wicked Pittsburgh keep up the great work, because for all of us dreaming of starting our own non-profits one day – we know we’re going to need to get funding from somewhere.
This is absolutely lovely! As a former Boston undergrad myself, I miss that city so very much. Pittsburgh, to my surprise, has really come to feel another home though. I love that this artist has combined his love of both places, and chosen a very powerful and straightforward mission to serve through this project. I also think it is very important to see that our generation is generally not self-centered and naive. Many people still disparage the arts as just a hobby and not a "real job", but here Schwarz and Nellis are using their love for art to help other artists grow their businesses, while also giving back to their community in financially supportive ways through charity donations. This is the kind of love that art inspires, and is pretty damn needed right now if you ask me. Art is meant to be shared, inspire, and promote growth. I also appreciate that this article breaks down the percentages of how Wicked Pittsburgh is contributing, so that the readers can see the impact and donate towards the cause.
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