MINNEAPOLIS/SAINT PAUL, MINN. – July 5, 2012 –  GiveMN, a Minnesota nonprofit that enables individuals to donate to thousands of nonprofits online at http://www.givemn.org/, is proud to announce the winner of the “Unsung” video contest—Sarah Jacobs. Sarah wins a $1,000 giving card from GiveMN, which she plans to donate to Madelia Community Hospital Foundation through GiveMN.org. Sarah also wins $500 cash from Shanachie Entertainment as well as a “grab bag” of artist merchandise from Mint Condition and Shanachie Entertainment. The contest entrant with the most YouTube video views and winner of the “People’s Choice” award is Dayna Matthews. Dayna wins a guitar signed by Mint Condition. The guitar was provided courtesy of Guitar Center.

GiveMN partnered with Minnesota R&B band Mint Condition and their record label Shanachie Entertainment to sponsor the “Unsung” video contest. Individuals were invited to create a video to honor their own unsung hero—be it a mother, father, friend or mentor—using Mint Condition’s song “Unsung” which was written by Mint Condition Keyboardist Lawrence Waddell in honor of his own unsung hero—his mother.

GiveMN, Shanachie Entertainment and the manager and band members of Mint Condition wish to thank all of the contest entrants for taking the time to share such amazing videos of their heroes.

“We are extremely touched that all of the video submissions encapsulated the emotions we tried to convey with the song,” said Waddell. “We learned about parents, children, spouses, mentors and soldiers who have lived distinguished lives and left incredible legacies—all of whom were unsung. Thank you to each and every person who entered the contest for sharing these very personal and heartfelt tributes.”

GiveMN Giving Cards

Buying and redeeming a GiveMN giving card is easy. The purchaser picks the donation amount, and the recipient chooses their favorite cause to which the amount is gifted. The purchaser can specify the date the card will be emailed, or they can print it out. The card is redeemable online, includes GiveMN’s low 2.9% transaction fee, and is good for one year from the date of purchase. The purchaser of the giving card may write off the amount as a donation (the recipient cannot). GiveMN email giving cards are available for individual purchase online at https://givemn.razoo.com/gift_cards/orders/newhttps://givemn.razoo.com/gift_cards/orders/new. Physical giving cards can be ordered in bulk by contacting GiveMN at info@givemn.org.

Bulk GiveMN giving cards are perfect for:

• Employee appreciation. Recognize employees for strong work performance, employment anniversaries, birthdays or other occasions
• Giveaways. Give a GiveMN card to communicate your organization’s commitment to community
• Provide leverage for employee giving. Reward employees’ giving by matching your employees’ contributions with a gift in their name to the charity of their choice

Check out more of our fantastic contest entries, these are amazing tributes to "Unsung" heroes:

• Entrant: Tom Poch - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCFUtmomB8k&feature=youtu.be
• Entrant: Charmane Hayman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N174MN1IuXA
• Entrant: Jillian Nordquist - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s_Gu00GgwE&feature=plcp
• Winner: Sarah Jacobs - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA147RXyTTI&feature=autoplay&list=ULhA147RXyTTI&playnext=1
• Entrant: Kia Price - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZgDF9MZyhA
• Entrant: Pam J. Reed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeZ1KCpdQuQ&feature=plcp
• "People's Choice" Winner: Dayna Matthews - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nK5Q9RtlrE&feature=em-share_video_user