covid-19 — Blog — RANDI RUSSO

LOS ANGELES, CA, March 15, 2020 – LA-based artist Randi Russo is doing something special for those in need. She is currently running a unique kind of fundraising campaign. Formerly called “March Gladness 2020” – which has now been renamed “Get & Give 2020” – Russo will be donating 20% of sales from any of her paintings purchased from now until April 15th to a charity of the buyer’s choice from a list of 20 non-profit organizations chosen by Russo herself. The organizations range from causes dedicated to human rights (including some specifically engaged in women’s causes) to animal rights to climate-crisis causes to cancer research and to other health-related organizations, most importantly including one run by the CDC Foundation in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Russo said, “I have combined selling my art with raising money for charities in the past but usually it’s in conjunction with an event such as an art opening or studio open house.” She added that, “however, this is an online campaign.”

On the artist’s blog and on her social media accounts, Russo introduced her March Gladness 2020 campaign back on March 2nd, and it became apparent within several days that it had become the right name at the wrong time, but as she then emphasized, “its mission is [still] important.” Her solution: rename it as the Get & Give 2020 Project and move forward. She stated, “I feel so much more comfortable with this name… and it gives me a chance to do something else: extend the campaign until April 15th.”

The purpose of this campaign is two-fold. It not only helps the selected non-profit organizations, but it also reinforces Russo’s belief that artists and their art deserve respect from buyers. On her Facebook page, she addressed the value of a work of art beyond its price tag. In order to help her followers understand why she uses donations instead of putting paintings “on sale,” she explains that it is to keep the integrity of the art intact. “Not only [do] I care about these 20 important organizations which do good in the world, but I also care about valuing artwork and valuing artists who create the work.” Russo said, “It is [also] important to protect the collector who supports artists directly (financially) and indirectly (emotionally). It’s imperative that I protect their investment in my work by protecting the value of my work.” Finally, she asks her readers to “Help lift artists up! Don’t bring them down,” and added, “I hope the donation to charity is an incentive... maybe I’m not receiving as much income but the integrity of the work is maintained.”

To date, Habitat for Humanity, the Hirshberg Foundation of Pancreatic Cancer Research, and NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health) have all benefited from this project.

For more information and a list of the selected charities, go to www.randirusso.com, or contact the artist directly at rr@randirusso.com

What’s in a name? Maybe not much, but words do matter. This is not a typical COVID-19 announcement, as in the grand scheme of things, what I call my latest project (formerly called “March Gladness”) is not so important. However, its mission is important.

Over the past few days, I have been thinking about the name “March Gladness 2020” for my charitable giving campaign. I am sure it is obvious that the name was a tongue-in-cheek reference to NCAA’s March Madness. But with the current atmosphere, being tongue-&-cheeky feels uncomfortable. It is a serious time and I feel like authentic living needs to match the times we’re in.

When I came up with this idea, it was March 2nd. In a matter of 10 days, the world took a deep, dark turn, and now it seems odd to me to use the phrase “March Gladness” — it feels awkward because there’s not much to feel “glad” about right now (and I’m not the kind of woman to get all pollyanna and try to glue a “happy” word that just doesn’t fit my experience). Grateful (for my health and much more), yes; but glad… hm. Also, now that March Madness is canceled, it feels strange and off-putting to me to keep it under this name.

I am now renaming the campaign “Get & Give 2020.” I feel so much more comfortable with this name. It simply is what it is: You get yourself (or a loved one) some art made by me, and by doing so, you also give to a worthy charity 20% of your purchase price (don’t worry— your donation comes out of your purchase; I give that 20% to a charity of your choice as opposed to keeping 100% of the profits). You have a list of 20 charities to choose from (see blog post below for a list with links to each one, plus a more complete explanation of the “rules”). That’s where the 2020 comes in — OK, so a little tongue-in-cheek is not too offensive, I hope!

Regarding the charities, I did update it to include one which is addressing the COVID-19 pandemic (the CDC Foundation has a response fund) and an organization which is helping those affected by the devastating tornadoes that plowed through Tennessee earlier this month. There are other organizations on the list that also have a covid-19 action plan, amongst other dire situations that need our help.

And with this new name, it gives me a chance to do something else: Extend the campaign. Instead of it just being for the month of March, I will extend it another two weeks. So from now until April 15th, the Get & Give 2020 project will be active.

So far, the Hirshberg Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Health) have benefited. I am so honored to have your support and so happy to hear that my collectors are happy with their art! No purchase is too small or too big (some works start as low as $65).

So please, visit me on Facebook and Instagram to follow the progress and to watch videos showing available smaller works that are not on the website. I will be updating this throughout the campaign since there’s LOTS of art to share! For medium to large-scale works, you’re already in the right place, as the bulk of them are up here on the website!

xoxo

Randi