Virginia A. Spiegel



We have donated over $190,000 to the ACS.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Fiberart For A Cause (FFAC) start?
How has FFAC raised more than $190,000 for the ACS?
What are the current or coming Fiberart For A Cause fundraisers?
How much of the money raised by FFAC goes to the ACS?
How is this possible?
How does the money raised by FFAC go to the American Cancer Society?
What can I do to help?
Who should I contact if I have questions about FFAC?

1. How did Fiberart For A Cause (FFAC) start?

My sister, Nancy Spiegel Rosman, is chair of the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life in her town, Forest Lake MN. What is the ACS Relay For Life? Our Dad is a colon cancer survivor. All donations through Fiberart For A Cause are credited to the Forest Lake Relay For Life, but go directly to the American Cancer Society.

I was a minimally participating team member until April 2005 when I decided to try to increase my donation to the ACS by offering a few fiberart postcards online in exchange for donations. My hope was to have three of seven postcards acquired by patrons and raise $90.

Eventually I was making fiberart postcards full time to sell online for FFAC. Karen Stiehl Osborn asked if she could help me keep up with demand by making and donating some postcards in memory of her Dad.

Artists and patrons worldwide, including many members of the online group, Quiltart, soon adopted the FFAC cause as their own. Fiberart postcards were donated and purchased at an amazing rate with over $10,000 raised for the ACS in just four months.

This success led to an invitation by the FFAC Honorary Chair, Karey Bresenhan, to exhibit and sell fiberart postcards at the International Quilt Festival - Houston in November 2005 where an additional $20,000 was raised in FOUR days.

Although the postcard project ended in 2006 after raising over $100,000, FFAC has continued fundraising with other fiber-related activities.

2. How has FFAC raised more than $190,000 for the ACS?

Over $18,000 was raised by Collage Mania 2009.

$6250 was raised through the 2009 Invitational Reverse Auction.

An ongoing fundraiser is my eBook, Art, Nature, Creativity, Life. To date, it has raised over $5500.

Linda Matthews of Creative Textile & Quilting Arts is donating all proceeds from a $5 donation for her downloadable multi-media workbook about machine wrapped cording. Over $200 raised to date.

Tomme Fent developed a CD of her Quiltart Grab Bag Challenge in 2008 and is donating all proceeds to the ACS through FFAC. Over $600 raised to date.

Lynn Krawczyk, curator of the Breaking Traditions art quilt exhibit in 2008, focused the theme of the exhibit in 2008 on all the good in the world and entrants donated the $10 entry fee to the ACS through FFAC. Over $1000 raised.

Over $13,000 was raised through Collage Mania 2008.

A very generous percentage of sales of Mistyfuse during January 2008 was donated by Iris Karp of Attached, Inc.

2008 Promotion Partners included Quilts, Inc, Attached, Inc. (Mistyfuse), and Flourish!,

Over $8700 was raised through the 2008 Invitational Reverse Auction.

$510 was raised online one day in 2007 through a trial run of Collage Mania.

Over $6000 was raised through the 2007 Invitational Reverse Auction.

Over $58,000 was raised through fiberart postcards at the 2006 International Quilt Festival-Houston. This was the final postcard project for FFAC.

Over $12,000 was raised by an online sale of fiberart postcards by Karey Bresenhan with the remaining donated postcards from IQF-Houston.

Over $18,000 was raised through fiberart postcards at the 2006 International Quilt Festival-Chicago.

Over $3400 was raised through the 2006 Invitational Reverse Auction.

$300 was raised through the Little Treasures Exchange coordinated by Carol Fletcher in 2006.

Over $20,000 was raised through fiberart postcards at the 2005 International Quilt Festival-Houston.

$10,800 was raised through the 2005 online exhibition of fiberart postcards

Over $2900 was raised through the 2005 Reverse Auction

3. What are the current or coming Fiberart For A Cause fundraisers?

Please bookmark the Fiberart For A Cause main page which will always have information about the current and coming FFAC fundraising activities. All of the big FFAC fundraisers (The Postcard Project, The Invitational Reverse Auction of Fiberart, and Collage Mania) have been retired. Fundraising will continue on a much more low-key basis with my eBook, the FFAC store, and fundraisers by supporters of FFAC.

4. How much of the money raised by FFAC goes to the American Cancer Society?

100%

5. How is this possible?

Reverse Auction and Collage Mania:
Artists donate their work and ship it directly to the buyer.

Fiberart postcards: All the postcards were donated by generous artists worldwide. Karey Bresenhan, Director of International Quilt Festival - Houston and Chicago, donated the booth space (photo) and all the materials to prepare the fiberart postcards for sale. Karey is a cancer survivor, Honorary Chair of FFAC and our fairy godmother.

Little Treasure's Exchange/Fundraiser:
Quilting Arts magazine provided the pattern and instructions online and Carol Fletcher, designer of the Little Treasure and cancer survivor, hosted the event. Many businesses and individuals donated prizes.

My sister and I are "do-gooders" by nature, but we have decided to focus our efforts, time and money on fundraising for the American Cancer Society. There are many worthy causes to support, but this is a disease that has, unfortunately, left few families untouched.

6. How does the money raised by FFAC go to the American Cancer Society?

All money raised through FFAC goes through the Forest Lake, MN Relay For Life (See #1 above).

The American Cancer Society has been repeatedly and consistently in the top ten Good Stewards identified by charity watchgroups.

7. What can I do to help?

You can:

Watch for upcoming FFAC fundraising events and support them as a donor or patron.

Add a tag line to your e-mail signature: "Fiberart For A Cause Team Member, supporting the American Cancer Society"

Add a FFAC button to your website or blog (directions here).

Provide publicity or a link through a website, blog, online list or write an article about FFAC or a FFAC event.

We can all use our talents and gifts to make a difference.

8. Who should I contact if I have questions about Fiberart For A Cause?

Please contact me, Virginia A. Spiegel, if you have any questions or suggestions. I look forward to hearing from you and hope you will join Fiberart For A Cause in raising funds for the American Cancer Society.

The American Cancer Society's toll-free number, 1-800-ACS-2345, connects a caller directly with a trained cancer information specialist who can answer questions, listen to concerns or refer the caller to local programs.

For more information, www.cancer.org
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