BlogHer - Is 2009 Your Year To Live Givingly? - Comments

Involve children in charity work

karenf773 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:42:03 -0600

I agree! Involving your children is an investment in their future as well. By letting them "help" with charitable donation and volunterism, you are helping your child to be kind and considerate of others. To think before they judge or act. To CARE period.

And lets face it, consderation and respect is lacking in the general population these days. A gift for the less fortunate is also a gift to the children.

Karen F.
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Help Your Kids Be Generous Too!

smishek — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:31:14 -0600

This is such a great post! But let's not forget to help our kids live givingly too!

If kids see you being generous - chances are they'll get in the habit of giving too. And how great would that be?!

Our family did a "5K Turkey Trot/Walk" on Thanksgiving morning to raise money for our local food shelf. All of us, from the ages of 55 to 3 years old had a blast getting together for a good cause. Plus, we went for some Starbucks coffee afterwards!

We're planning on making it an annual event. It's so important to be a role model and teach our kids to tithe either money or their time on a regular basis.

Money alone will never make you happy - giving will.

Cheers to generosity!

Sonja

Check out these 51 unique ways for 13 year olds and younger to make money...plus 51 creative ways to share their take! at www.millionaire-kids.com/jobsfor13yearoldsebook.html

Changing My Ways

Tracy Evans — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:57:01 -0600

Whenever I receive a charitable donation request in the mail I usually set it aside on the desk in my office. The pile builds up until I get sick of looking at it and throw it out. But no more. I am going to weed thru the pile right now and pick a few charities and make a donation.

The Moxie Report. Giggles. Gaffes. Girl Talk. From television producer, writer and mom Tracy Evans. http://themoxiereport.blogspot.com

Valentine's Day Gifts

rtolmach — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:31:19 -0600

Hi Beth

Another suggestion for a holiday charitable gift. Valentine's Day is around the corner. Why not a donation made in a friend's name to combat breast cancer, research heart disease, or shelter battered women? You can find these tangible charitable gifts at ChangingThePresent.org. You can even send a beautiful personalized greeting card, which includes a photo and description of your gift.

(full disclosure: they are a client of my firm)

Giving locally or giving to make the greatest difference

rtolmach — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:27:15 -0600

Letting people see the imapct of their giving is one of the core elements of ChangingThePresent.org, which offers thousands of tangible donation opportunities. (full disclosure: they are a client of my firm).

Hi Beth

Nice post, as ever.

I'd like to offer an alternative to the "give locally" advice.

Giving internationally makes you part of the community of mankind and helps extend compassion beyond your own backyard -- something the world could use more of. And if your intent in giving is to make the greatest postive impact (be it alleviating the greatest suffering, or increasing the greatest human potential, or making the greatest environmental impact), your money will clearly go further overseas. For instance, for $30 to $60 you can restore a blind person's eyesight with cataract surgery in India or Africa. That dwarfs the impact the same dolalrs would make in the US.

Letting people see the imapct of their giving is one of the core elements of http://www.ChangingThePresent.org, which offers thousands of tangible donation opportunities. (full disclosure: they are a client of my firm).

Is 2009 Your Year To Live Givingly?

Beth Kanter — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:18:24 -0600

Flickr Photo by Joe Lanman

Last week, I wrote a post asking "How Can We Make Charitable Giving A Year-Round Habit?" I'm not the only blogger to wonder after the holiday season of giving, what can we do on a regular basis to give back as One Ping Only describes in this post. So, I went through the calendar identifying holidays and seasons when you might give to a particular charity.

Stacey Monk who runs a nonprofit called EpicChange, points out that there are many benefits to the charities of regular contributions, even small amounts. "It's true too that many charities would benefit from a sustained, predictable source of income, so making a regular contribution of even $1 a day or even $5 a month makes a huge difference. It's difficult for nonprofits (or any business, for that matter) to plan when fundraising income is so variable, especially in tough economic times. To make a sustained commitment throughout the year, no matter what size, is a great gift for any cause you might support."

Giving money (and your time) is a great way to express your personal gratitude. but there may be some selfish reasons for giving. And, according to this article at SF Gate, charitable giving offers the donor significant and positive health and cognitive benefits. There's an added benefit, people who donate generate more dopamine, the "happy" neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, craving, and reward. Hmm ... maybe that's why some of us become "giving junkies" in the best sense of the word.

Here's a summary of advice from commenters on last week's post.

1. Mark the Date with a Fundraising Campaign

Have a birthday coming up? A special anniversary or milestone to celebrate? Why not use the occassion to raise money for a charity that has meaning for you. I'm turning 52 in a week (hint, hint), so when I received an email from Causes, a fundraising application on Facebook, inviting me to use its new birthday application to raise money for a charity, I couldn't resist. The application was easy to set up and it provided lots of tips along the way. So far, I've raised over $1,200 for the Sharing Foundation, a charity that helps Cambodian children. If Facebook isn't your cup of tea, you can do a fundraising campaign on your blog to celebrate your birthday.

But don't stop at birthdays. Tresha mentioned that for her cousin's upcoming wedding, they happy couple has designated a charity instead of opening up a gift registry. Everytime my husband and I look at our wedding china (that we haven't used in years), we shrug and say why didn't we do something like that?

Changing the Present, a donation portal, offers a registry service. You can create a profile and direct charitable gifts to a nonprofit organization for birthdays, weddings, births, and memorials. You can also make micro loans in honor of your wedding or as a tribute at Kiva.org

2. Link Your New Year's Resolution to Year-Round Giving Strategy

Beth P, who writes the First Giving Online Fundraising Blog, suggests, "Coordinate a New Year's resolution with monthly donations. For example, if you're trying to kick your caffeine habit or cut it in half, calculate the money you would have spent on the java and donate it to your charity of choice." Or you can set a specific percent of income goal like Paul Lamb who has set a goal of giving back 10% of his annual income to charity. "My 10% goal is something that I think is doable and relatively easy to measure. How will I measure it? I have put together a simple spreadsheet to complete on a regular basis. The sheet will track actual $ donations, time spent volunteering, and a more generic "nice things" that I do for people on a regular basis."

3. Make your monthly giving automatic

Many online donation portals, like Network for Good or Razoo have the ability to make recurring donations to an organization of your choice. If you have one or two charities that you want to focus on, this is a terrific way to incorporate giving into your monthly budget. And, it's probably a lot easier to give a small amount each month.

Mrs. W's Kitchen tithes 10% of her income. "Giving is important to me--and a requirement of my faith. I give 10% of my income--to my church and to different charities through the year, depending on how much $$ I have built up. I also teach Sunday School, and have been impressed by the kids' willingness to donate time & money. I suggested the idea of a garden this summer to give the harvest to our local rescue mission--they jumped for joy at the idea!"

4. Give in Your Own Backyard

As Laura Zimmerman says, "Love your locals." There may be a few charities right in your own backyard that could use your help. Giving locally makes you part of the community. Not sure what charities are in your backyard? Search by state at giving portals like Razoo or search by city and get reviews and ratings at Great Nonprofits.

What other tips or resources would you share to make charitable giving a year-round habit? If this your year to live givingly, what charities are you supporting outside the holiday season? Have you made a new year's resolution to give more to charity?

Beth Kanter, Blogher CE for Nonprofits and Social Change, writes Beth's Blog.