Testimonials

Make It Better Events 

Philanthropy Awards:

“When they won our PA, Bernie’s Book Bank included the distribution of their 2 millionth book in our video. Three or 4 years later they are at 9 million and 130 locations.” —Susan Noyes

“We are still using much of the original footage of the video ‘award’ that we received from Make It Better, and it has been instrumental in helping us grow our program. We are now in 25 cities, with nearly 200 corporate partners and 5,000 tutors. Thank you for helping us expand and thrive!” —Seth Weinberger, Executive Director, Innovations for Learning

“[The Grant Making Team] really wanted assurance that we had tightened and polished up our messaging and that we had the tools in place to go to our donors and solicit major gifts. We showed the video to the interview team. They were visibly moved by the video and it seemed to provide them with the final bit of evidence that we were primed to launch a [$100,000 matching grant] campaign.” —Kelly Austin, Communications Manager, James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy

“We raised an extra $500,000 because of the Philanthropy Award and video. This video is so powerful for us. It tells such a great story.” —Andrew David, Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund

“We showed the video at our annual spring benefit, which raised a recording breaking $1.7 million!” —Donita Travis, By the Hand Club for Kids

“The video is the first piece of information I share with everyone and the grants for which we apply. This video is priceless in our efforts to communicate our message.” —Sherry Arthur, By the Hand Club for Kids

According to John Daily, GLASA increased fundraising by 64 percent.

“I cannot think of a better gift to give a young nonprofit than a way to effectively communicate their mission. We showed the video at our latest fundraising event and it was the most successful event ever.” —Robin Lavin, SPARK

“When I got the call that we had won this award, it was the best gift I could get. Since the day I met the folks at Make It Better, they have been there with us supporting us in everything that we do.” —Neli Vazquez Rowland, A Safe Haven

“I’m really grateful for what Make It Better has done for the James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy, and cannot say enough how much it means when we’re able to show (the video) at our events and our conferences and our talks to really share how important it is for students to have another opportunity and know that people care about them.” —Joi-Anissa Russell, James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy

“It was amazing to be able to win the award. (Make It Better’s video) gives us so much momentum to draw youth into our organization.” —Virginia McCray, BUILD, Inc.

“The effect of the award has been phenomenal. The program has grown over the past three to four years; the numbers (of participants) have increased dramatically.” —Roneal Hall, Crushers Club

Best of 2019 Celebration Cruise:

“Thank you so much for organizing this wonderful event and having us on the cruise. It was a glorious night with absolutely beautiful sights!” —Amy Forman Taub, MD, Advanced Dermatology

Virtual Events:

“Once again, a very successful partnership with Better Media…Also, BTW loved the Celebrating Women on the Rise 2021 online event that just took place! You are all doing great work.”  —Beau Blanchard, Corporate Development Manager,  California Film Institute & Mill Valley Film Festival

“Truly appreciate your partnership with us around the important topic of Family Philanthropy.  We look forward to continuing to build our relationship from here!” —Amy Hughes, Illinois Market Executive | Managing Director Bank of America Private Bank 

Susan Noyes, Natasha Romanoff, Lesley Cesare and the rest of the Marin Magazine Make It Better Media Group did an absolutely phenomenal job of providing our Green River Sustainable, Low-Carbon Investing company a platform from which we were able to deliver a very successful webinar about Sustainable Investing. They absolutely exceeded our expectations, and this was particularly valuable during the challenging times we’ve all had to navigate in 2020! —J. Patrick Costello, CFP®, Founder of Green River Sustainable Investing

Media Sponsorship: 

“The 10th Anniversary YWomen celebration … grossed over $300,000 for YWCA Evanston/North Shore and 600 people in attendance grew closer to our important work. None of this success would have been possible without the support of our sponsors. With your help we were able to step it up a notch, to take on a larger space and to produce a film that effectively told YWCA’s story. On behalf of everyone here at YWCA Evanston North Shore, I say thank you. Your support is deeply appreciated.” —Trimmy Stammel, YWCA Evanston/North Shore

“Our Make It Better partnership really played into The Cove School strengths. Cove has a very strong community (parents, teachers, community partners, etc.) with much pride and excitement about the work we do. As a result, they really engage on social media and sharing with their networks. The Make It Better story was a great opportunity for The Cove School ‘enthusiasts’ to get the message out about our school and its programs. It also gave The Cove School the tremendous opportunity to tell our story to the fabulous Make It Better audience.” —Stephanie Pritzker, The Cove School

“We were thrilled to have Make It Better as our media partner for the event as well. We had a great turnout of over 450 guests, and were able to raise over $100,000 through the luncheon. Thank you again — we are grateful to have partners like you in this work.” —Meghan Doetschman, UNICEF USA

$10,000 Matching Grant:

“I found out yesterday the Chicago campaign for Puerto Rico with LuminAID ended up raising $100,000 — or 10,000 solar lanterns. Thanks for your support both by Make It Better promotion and personal donation. Sometimes a lightbulb idea can make a real difference.” —Amanda Hanley, Co-Founder, Hanley Foundation

“We are confident the Matching Grant Challenge helped Ingenuity raise over $430,000! Remarkably, Ingenuity secured nearly $13,000 on the night of the event and donations are still trickling in. Thank you.”  — Breana Hernandez, Development Manager, Ingenuity

Philanthropy:

“The unexpected, anonymous donation of $25,000 that Above and Beyond received as a direct result of the Earned Media press coverage from Better.net was a wonderful shock to us all! This marked the first time in our existence that we have received such a significant sum from somebody that we didn’t know. It is a testimony to the irresistibly persuasive ask that the Better Organization made on our behalf, and coupled with their powerful reach they have markedly improved the lives of over 100+ homeless and disenfranchised substance abusers! We cannot thank you enough!” — Dan Hostetler, Above & Beyond Executive Director

Dear Better, I wanted to once again thank you for your amazing leadership of the Heroes Breakfast and your tremendous generosity. We are so grateful for all that you have done to help push us in new directions, challenge our thinking and imagine bigger, bolder possibilities. You remind us what we can be when we remove our own boundaries of how we have done things before. Your impact on the Red Cross will be long lasting and far reaching. -Heidi Mucha, American Red Cross Illinois Region

 
“We are so thankful to Make It Better Media for their ongoing commitment to Side by Side and the young people that we serve in the Bay Area. Their sponsorship of our signature Gala enables thousands of youth and their families to receive the mental health support that they need, especially in these challenging times.” -Noelle Moss, Side by Side

Reader Testimonials:

“As a faithful reader of Make It Better, I’ve always found the content to be relevant and engaging. I was quite impressed with the new layout and design of the January/February issue. The images and readability flowed so nicely — it was a subtle yet impactful change. And I know I’m a bit bias, but I really enjoyed seeing the photos and write-up on Navy Pier’s first Celebration ExPIERience. Everything looked fantastic. Nice job!” —Lesley M. Cheers, Director of Communications and PR, Navy Pier

“Dear Susan: You and your team have created a very fun, interesting, insightful, and truly a gift to everyone on the North Shore and beyond.” —Reid Wettersten

“I love your magazine and look forward to reading it every week, always informative.” —Michele Glass Grossman

“I love reading Make It Better every month. It is an extraordinary magazine with well written articles that are highly relevant to its readers.” —Samuel K Skinner, Greenberg Traurig LLP, Former White House Chief Of Staff and US Secretary of Transportation

Advertiser Testimonials:

“When we ran our new chef feature in Make It Better magazine the phones rang off the hook. Everyone we saw said, ‘I saw your picture in Make It Better!’ We were elated with the response.” — Karen Stefani, Team Lead of Operations, Stefani Restaurant

“The consistent presence with our brand imagery in MIB, and stellar positioning in the magazine, has been a significant contributor to our brand message rolling out so smoothly on the North Shore and in the city with our multiple locations.” — Michael Caputo, Regional Marketing Manager, MyEyeDr

“We were thrilled to have Make It Better as our media partner for the event as well. We had a great turnout of over 450 guests, and were able to raise over $100,000 through the luncheon. Thank you again — we are grateful to have partners like you in this work.”— Megan Doetschman, Senior Development Officer, UNICEF USA

“Much of Lake Geneva success in booking hotel rooms and overall tourism on the lake we credit to Lake Geneva’s custom Better Letter with Make It Better.”— Joe Tominaro, Director of Marketing & Development, Visit Lake Geneva

“We began our relationship with Make It Better about 5 years ago and we did it specifically because we wanted get to know our neighbors and to get a better understanding of what charities we could work with that best serve our mission. (Make It Better was) really successful in pairing us up with the (Northwestern University) Settlement House and we’ve been working with them both for the last five years … We consider them really important to the way that we operate our business and they’re just fun to be with. We are so really lucky and proud to be acquainted with them and we look forward to a long future together with them.” —Anthony Perry, A. Perry Homes

“As a new business in a Skokie area, putting our advertising budget to good use was extremely critical when we were just getting started. We had only been in business for four months before we decided to run an ad in Make it Better. We were struggling to figure out a way to reach our clientele and get the word out that we are in business!

“We had actually never heard of Make It Better until they featured us as a new business in the area. The feature was a short two sentences but we had several people called our bakery [Nothing Bundt Cakes] telling us that is how they heard about us and clipped out the two sentences in the magazine and brought it into the bakery. Several months later, Susan, the founder of Make It Better, came into our bakery as a customer and we chatted about the Magazine. We decided to take a leap of faith and advertise with Make It Better.

“The day Make It Better hit homes we had people calling our bakery asking questions about our products and immediately had an increase in foot traffic with people bringing the coupon into the store. Every person that came into the bakery was truly interested about our product and loved everything we had to offer. We saw instant growth and recognition of our bakery in the community. When we marketed outside the bakery we constantly heard ‘I saw you guys in Make It Better.’

“Whether you are a new or established business, we would recommend advertising in Make It Better. If you are looking for a magazine that truly reaches our North Shore community in a classy and sophisticated way, you cannot find a better magazine to run an advertisement. They are easy to work with and the staff is wonderful!”

—Britnee Simons & Sarah Schoo (owner/operator & co-operator), Nothing Bundt Cakes in Skokie

“For good news, inspiring stories and beautiful ideas galore — Susan Noyes and her team just make everything – Better.” —Sue Markgraf, Adventurer in Charge, GreenMark Media

“Make It Better has consistently supported Children’s Home & Aid through numerous events and activities. With their marketing presence, we have been able to spread our message and draw in a wider audience, ensuring that we can help more children and families.” -Elizabeth Startz, Children’s Home and Aid
 
“Make it Better provided a platform on which Northwestern Settlement could share more about the work we are doing, the importance of philanthropy, and our vision for how we intend to make life “better” for the families, children, and communities we serve.” -Danielle LaPointe, Northwestern Settlement House

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