Archive for May, 2008

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Driveway Moment

May 31, 2008

NPR has a thing they call “Driveway Moments.”  It’s when you’ve arrived at your destination but can’t get out of the car and go inside because you want to hear the end of the story you’re listening to.  I had a driveway moment this week, thanks to Craig LeMoult at WSHU out of Fairfield, CT.  Here’s how his story started (click to download and listen to the whole thing):

“For the last few years, high school students in Norwalk, Connecticut have been visiting a spot in the city where day laborers gather each day to wait for work. And in volunteering to help, and getting to know the laborers, the students found that many of them had medical problems that weren’t being addressed. Wednesday morning, they did something about it.”

On this particular day in May, students had arranged to make available to the day laborers a medical van staffed by local medical professionals where they could discuss HIV/AIDS and mental care, an area for dental care, and one to help with insurance.  Why mental care?  The students had surveyed the laborers and found that half reported struggling with depression, mostly as a result of family and friends back home.

As the survey implies, these students didn’t jump right into the medical fair, they’ve actually been visiting the day laborers twice a month for two years.  They starting small, bringing coffee and breakfast, then coats, hats and blankets in the winter.  When they heard complaints from workers who weren’t getting paid, they brought Connecticut Legal Services in for a wage clinic.  All right there where the workers congregate every morning, eliminating the need to find these resources, arrange transportation, miss work or find a translator.  And the students are planning another, bigger medical fair in September.

The Brien McMahon high school students are led by Bob Kocienda, who runs the Center for Youth Leadership.  I’m blown away by their involvement and dedication to these day laborers.  What an inspiring group! 

If your (kids’) high school doesn’t have a Center for Youth Leadership or a Bob Kocienda, try telling your motivated teen to Do Something. 

Update (6/27/06):

Bob Kocienda was kind enough to pass along the full report on the students’ survey findings and the health fair hosted by the Center for Youth Leadership.  I don’t know how to upload that report but if you’re interested in reading it just email me at sharon.l.schneider at gmail.com

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Posted in Inspirational Kids | Leave a Comment »

“25 Ways to Help a Fellow Human Being Today”

May 29, 2008

Thanks to Kristen at the 29-Day Giving Challenge for the suggestion to check out “Zen Habits” blog.  I loved the recent post on “25 Ways to Help a Fellow Human Being Today.”  As the author Leo Babauta reminds us, the Dalai Lama said “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”

A few of my favorites from the list that focus on compassion:

  • “Comfort someone in grief. Often a hug, a helpful hand, a kind word, a listening ear, will go a long way when someone has lost a loved one or suffered some similar loss or tragedy.”
  • “Help them take action. If someone in grief seems to be lost and doesn’t know what to do, help them do something. It could be making funeral arrangements, it could be making a doctor’s appointment, it could be making phone calls. Don’t do it all yourself — let them take action too, because it helps in the healing process.”
  • “Create a care package. Soup, reading material, tea, chocolate … anything you think the person might need or enjoy. Good for someone who is sick or otherwise in need of a pick-me-up.”
  • “Lend your voice. Often the powerless, the homeless, the neglected in our world need someone to speak up for them. You don’t have to take on that cause by yourself, but join others in signing a petition, speaking up a a council meeting, writing letters, and otherwise making a need heard.”

Some commenters on the post lamented the fact that such a list was even needed.  But as the mother of a 4-year old and a 2-year old, I get daily reminders that the major instincts of the human id seem to be more focused on self.   I never want to pretend like this stuff is easy. 

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Men vs. Women: motivation to give to charity

May 26, 2008

I’ve never read “Town & Country” magazine in my life.  I thought it was about house stuff, like “Better Homes and Gardens,” or something.  But my doctor’s office had this special June 2008 issue on women’s philanthropy and was gracious enough to let me borrow it.  I was right that it’s aimed at women but it seems to be more highbrow than I had imagined, based on the expensive jewelry ads and extensive coverage of black-tie galas.  (Maybe the fact that I didn’t know this tells you more about me than about the magazine.)

Anyway, the issue.  I’d give you a link to it but they have absolutely no content on line except for the horoscopes. (Which I think tells you something about the magazine.)  The cover has Ashley Judd in a purple dress, if that helps.

The main article is called “A Woman’s Guide to Giving: How to Find Your Cause and Make an Impact with Your Money.”  The magazine also did a survey of almost 2000 readers to find out about how these women give their time, talent and treasure. 

According to the survey results, 73% of the Town & Country readers thought there is a difference between how men and women approach giving.  The most fascinating part of the survey is the free-range quotes from respondents, included on page 153. 

  •  ”I really admire Melinda Gates.  This is a woman who could be spending her time doing anything and has chosen meaningful philanthropy.” [Any admiration for Bill, who is leaving Microsoft for the same thing?  Do women perceive that Melissa led the way?]
  • “Women = Heart. Men = Tax Deduction” [Is this a slam on men or women or both or neither?  Consider it a rorschach test.]
  • “Fundraisers often expect men to give more; therefore, men are catered to.” [Not clear if this means the woman wants more "attention" from fundraisers (which implies an ego motivation) or that her concerns are different with regard to the charity (which implies merely a different decision-making process from men).]
  • “Men typically give based on who is asking.  Women on who is benefitting.” [Men seek prestige?  Women are pure altruists?]

Lest you think women are not business-savvy or discerning in their decision-making, the women surveyed also had these comments:

  • “It’s important to me to know how the charity is run.  It can have the best intentions, but without effective management, it will fail.”
  • “Philanthropy is just a tool in the service of creating change. The real solutions come from people, not from money.”
  • “I continued to support United Way during its time of negative publicity, since I ascertained that the improprieties were at the central, not the local, level.  I hate to see the charity suffer because of some people who have acted inappropriately.”

Makes me wonder if the conversation at Tactical Philanthropy (and the article on which it is based) is too broad when it asks “Why do people really give to charity?”  In there an implicit assumption we’re talking about men?  Are there actually identifiable gender differences in the way people give?  Are women a reliable source for identifying those differences?  If not, who is? 

Since, according to the survey, 99% percent of women make the decisions about the groups the household supports, either jointly with their spouse (71%) or alone (27%), it’s definitely worth figuring out. 

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Posted in Giving Money | 9 Comments »

Should you give money to panhandlers?

May 23, 2008

The debate has come up in San Francisco once again*. Let me summarize:

  • Position one “Don’t support panhandlers”: Panhandlers are often not really homeless, and they use the money to buy alcohol, drugs, and support other vices.  The services they claim to need are provided by local agencies, but they don’t go to those agencies because they want the money for other things.  Further, panhandlers are bad for local business and tourism, as they make people uncomfortable.  Rather than give change to these people, you should support local agencies working to help the homeless.
  • Position two “Follow your compassionate instincts”: Painting all panhandlers as addicts is a terrible stereotype.  Giving money to the poor is part of many religious traditions, and we should have compasion for our fellow human beings.  These efforts to curb panhandling are part of an unjust “war on the poor,” which is especially atrocious in light of the government’s contribution to creating poverty in the first place.

The San Francisco effort is to turn parking meters into “Homeless Meters” where the change is given to local agencies providing services.  When the same idea was launched in Denver in 2007, coverage was positive, but the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the meters have raised only $15,000 since then. 

But here’s my question: forget for a moment government policies that create or alleviate poverty.  For the moment, poverty exists and panhandlers are out there.  So what do you say to your children when passing panhandlers on the street?  Panhandlers holding signs that say “please help” or “Will work for food” or something else that tugs at your heartstrings?  I’m waiting for they day when my kids ask me “Mom, why is that man asking for money?”

This is one question I don’t have an answer for.  In all sincerity, I ask, what do you say? 

*I found this article when Stacey Monk referred me to alltop, which led me to the blog PhilanthroFlash.  I’m happy to say that The Philanthropic Family was recently added to the nonprofit page on alltop (scroll way at the bottom).  Great way to track all your favorite nonprofit sites in one place.

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Posted in Giving Money, Involving the Next Generation | 8 Comments »

Seth Godin and Marcia Stepanek

May 22, 2008

A week or two ago marketing guru Seth Godin had a blog post about how to make charity auctions successful. He said the trick was to reward generosity (over-paying) rather than bargain-hunting (underpaying).

I attended a dinner last night and sat next to a wonderful woman named Marcia Stepanek, Founding Editor-in-Chief of Contribute Magazine.  She made a similar observation about why people shop at big box stores (myself included) when they know it might not entirely jive with the rest of their values, like wanting to support the local economy.  Marcia said she’s observed that, across the socioeconomic spectrum, people value finding a deal, bargain hunting.  Somehow, this value trumps others when it comes to purchasing decisions.

My husband and I struggle with this all the time.  But if anyone is in a position to put their values to work through their purchasing power, it’s us.  So I’m going to start looking for ways to buy fair trade, support my local economy and make other decisions that may cost me a bit more money but will not create cognitive dissonance.

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I Do Foundation

May 22, 2008

How do you start a philanthropic family? If you want to embed the culture of giving into everyday life, shouldn’t it also be built into the big celebrations of life? Why not start with your wedding?

The I Do Foundation is a great resource for ideas to infuse your charitable impulses into your family traditions right from the start.* Probably the biggest feature of the I Do Foundation is the ability to create a wedding registry at well-known national partners (like Target, Home Depot, JC Penney). When guests buy wedding gifts through the I Do Foundation site, part of the funds go to a charity chosen by the couple (at no additional cost to the couple or their guests).

Selecting your Charity

The I Do Foundation does have a set of “recommended” charities (mostly focused on social justice issues) but couples can nominate any charity to receive their donations-as long as it’s a 501(c)(3) public charity that doesn’t promote violence or hate.

But how does a couple begin to select the charity that should receive donations from their wedding?  Grant La Rouche, Executive Director of the I Do Foundation, tells the story of one couple who wanted to honor the bride’s mother, who had died of breast cancer.  You might think they chose a breast cancer charity.  But they didn’t want to focus on the thing that killed her.  She had breast cancer, but that’s not the person that she was.  Instead, they chose to donate to a charity she felt passionate about, one working to save the manatees.

In the absence of a special charity like this, it may be a great opportunity for the couple to start thinking about their shared identity and passions.  I would encourage a couple, rather than picking a charity that only one of them is involved in and passionate about, to pick something that resonates with both of them, something they can see getting involved with, together.

Beyond Charitable Gift Registry

A gift registry that includes funds for charity is a great way to get your guests in on the gig. Want to go deeper? How about these ideas:

  • Go green on wedding supplies, like using recycled paper for invitations (which can have a very boutique, cultured look)
  • Give a donation to charity and provide a small acknowledgement card for each guest rather than buying tchotchkes with ribbons that match the bridesmaids’ dresses (hey, the font color can match the bridesmaids’ dresses instead.)
  • Donate flowers to a nursing home after the wedding; use plants rather than cut flowers for centerpieces and find a great place to plant them afterward (like your new home together).
  • Ask the caterer to donate unused food to a local food pantry or shelter
    Use service providers that somehow include a charitable purpose: for example, serve fair trade coffee, or put folks up at a local B&B (where profits stay in the community rather than heading back to corporate headquarters).
  • If you think you’ll never have a daughter or you might but she won’t want your wedding dress (come on, let’s not fool ourselves that the mermaid tail will still be hot in 30 years), the I Do Foundation will accept your cleaned dress and sell it through a consignment partner. The charity of your choice will get 20% and the I Do Foundation keeps the rest to support its work
  • Bridesmaids not attending another black tie event soon? Maybe they want to donate their dresses, too. There are charities that take these dresses and give them to high school girls who can’t afford to buy one. The I Do Foundation has a link to one in Chicago called “The Glass Slipper Project.”
  • For couples who are older and more established, there is often no real need for sheets and towels. Maybe some guests would like to donate to a charity of your choice in lieu of gifts.

These are just some ideas, many of which can be implemented with the help of the I Do Foundation. Here are some other resources you might want to explore further:

Technically Speaking

The I Do Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity, but they call themselves a “public foundation.” The gift registry partners make grants to the I Do Foundation, which in turn grants the money out quarterly to the recipient charities chosen by couples. The I Do Foundation receives an additional 4.75% of the value of gifts purchased through the charitable gift registry, up to $200. They also receive grants from individuals and foundations to support their operations. The executive director tells me that the annual operating budget is about $350,000 and they granted out about $1 million last year.

Footnote: Social Entrepreneurship Idea

*I see a whole niche industry on the horizon: wedding planners that specialize in helping couples create a charitable event. As Grant La Rouche, executive director of the I Do Foundation, told me, “weddings are local,” so it seems like a great business for someone to find all the local resources to help couples make their wedding a celebration of life and humanity. Surely some enterprising wedding planner in a major metropolitan area has already done this? Leave me a comment if you know of any…

 

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Financial Literacy: Save, Spend and Give.

May 17, 2008

Financial literacy (being smart about money) is something close to my heart.  Before I started working with private foundations with millions in assets, I didn’t even know what a hedge fund was (okay, honestly, I’m still a little foggy.)  And I look at my CEO, for whom this is his sixth company, and wonder how he learned to be an entreprenuer, to get financing, to start a company.  It feels like the wealthy in this country have a knowledge base that the average person doesn’t. 

The beautiful thing about Financial Literacy is that it often seems to include learning to donate a part of our income to help others. Maybe you’ve come across the idea of having kids split their income (such as it is) into three pots: Save, Spend and Give.  The idea is that you can teach them some financial skills, and make charity a habit at an early age.  Many religious traditions encourage parents to teach their children to “tithe” at a young age, but this concept is not related to any particular religion.

I’ve come across two different organizations that provide a structure to help parents set up and follow-through with the Save, Spend, Give idea: Moonjar and Money-Savvy Kids. Both have won a ton of awards. Interestingly, they’re both decidedly secular and focused on good money habits, not on encouraging tithing. 

Moonjar

According to their web site, “Moonjar moneyboxes were created as a tool for children and families to incorporate strong financial values and practices into their daily lives.”  It’s basically three colored boxes, one for each category, that are kept together with a yellow band.  A Moonjar, just $8 or so, includes a passbook to record “deposits” and a guide for parents to understand how to use the Moonjar.

One mother shares the impact of Moonjar on her son:

“Moonjar has helped him to be conscious. He knows that he cannot spend money on just anything because there are people in the world who are really in need. Two or three dollars… many people in other parts of the world are very poor and desperately need those dollars, and so he simply should not spend his money unwisely. He has learned to use his money for good things and he is learning to allocate his money.”
– Felicitas Estrada
Student and Mother of Daniel (10) Sunnyside, WA “

I actually got my kids and my nieces each a MoonJar for Christmas last year, but I think they’re a bit young.  I haven’t even put Charlie’s together.

Money-Savvy Generation

My first introduction to Money-Savvy Generation was something called The Stanford Marshmallow Study. Here’s the punchline: four-year olds who can resist eating one marshmallow now for the promise of getting two later turn into more successful adults.  The ability to delay gratification turns out to be a critical life skill.  (Since reading this study, I keep asking my four-year-old daughter if she wants one lollipop/cookie/skittle now, or…and the answer is always “yes!”  Sigh. I’ve got some work to do.)

Founder Susan Beacham describes the origins of the organization this way: “My dream is to teach money management basics to elementary school aged children, a segment of our educational system virtually untouched because of the perceived complexity of the subject matter. Stated differently, I wanted to get ‘out in front’ of money management behavior before bad habits set in.”

If you’ve visited a children’s museum or gift shop, you’ve probably run across the Money-Savvy Pig.  It actually has four chambers, differentiating “Save” (for things you want to buy in the next 12 months) from “Invest” for things you want long-term, like a car, or college. 

Money-Savvy Pig

Money-Savvy Generation has done academic evaluations of the impact of their curriculum, and they are making progress in getting into schools to reach kids whose parents may struggle with finances themselves. 

I especially love that some of the larger financial institutions in the Chicago area (they’re based in the Northwest suburbs) are sponsoring the introduction of the Money-Savvy curriculum into the public schools.  Teaching kids strong financial habits and getting name recognition for when those kids grow up and start to save and invest–now that’s strategic philanthropy.

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Posted in Involving the Next Generation | 4 Comments »

Teachable Moment

May 14, 2008

I found this post by Matthew R. Lee, a father of two boys who is also a cancer researcher.  His son recently asked if he had a cure for cancer. 

“We’ve had several conversations over the past few weeks about the purpose of suffering and why so many seem to suffer without answers. What he was really asking is why do bad things happen to good people and who decides.

“This weekend I’m taking him to Relay For Life, one of the American Cancer Society’s flagship events. I hope he will gain a wider perspective on suffering, hope, and the importance of perseverance. To see how powerful it is to give to those we don’t know, simply because we can.”

What a wonderful response. How empowering for his son.  Not just a clinical answer, but an answer that says “we’re working on it, and you can help.”

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Panera “Dough-Nation” program

May 14, 2008

In thinking about Mother’s Day I had hoped to find a directory listing restaurants that participate in food rescue programs.  Food rescue is where restaurants donate unused food to a food bank or other charity at the end of the day rather than just throwing it out.  (My mother pointed out that this is a new term and this used to be known as “gleaning,” an ancient Jewish/Biblical practice you can learn about here.) I couldn’t find anything like a directory, but I’m happy to say the DC Central Kitchen led me to the Panera Bread site, where I found this:

Day-End Dough-Nation

“Through the Day-End Dough-Nation program, unsold bakery products are packaged at the end of each day and donated to local food banks and charities. Over the past few years, we have donated more than $12 million worth of bread products to non-profits served by America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization.”

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29-Day Giving Challenge

May 11, 2008

I am person #220 to join the “29-Day Giving Challenge.”  I just learned about this project from another WordPress blog and think it’s absolutely fantastic.  Here’s the gist: when you join the challenge, you agree to give something away every day for the next 29 days.  It can be money, time, things, wisdom, love, or anything else you can think of.  Anything that comes from your heart. 

How it works

You join the 29-Day Giving Challenge network on Ning (a friend gave me a recent Fast Company magazine describing the explosive growth of Ning networks so, unlike me, you probably already belong to at least one other Ning network).  Then you can write entries about your experiences each day, sharing your gifts and seeing what others have done. At the end of the challenge, on day 30, you write a post explaining what you did and what you learned.

Why bother? 

Here’s how they explain it:

“Why? Because to see the world change, we have to do something to change the world. Plus, the best way to attract abundance into your life is to be in a perpetual state of giving and gratitude. Be an important part of the global giving movement that inspires more generosity on our planet.”

Some Inspiration

One woman gave books to the local library.  Another gave her husband a haircut.  One person gave her friend copies of “Planet Earth” to watch. Some people talk about listening to friends who need an ear, and other acts of kindness.  Not a lot of people giving money, although some do.  In part it seems to be about discovering how much we really have to give, even if we don’t have money. 

The woman who started the challenge, Cami Walker, is a former Marketing professional now working with women entrepreneurs.  She started this challenge in March of 2008.  I have a feeling that by March of 2009 she’ll have thousands of members.  I hope you’ll be one. 

Now I need to go think about what I’m going to give tomorrow. 

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Posted in Giving Money, Giving Things, Giving Time | 2 Comments »

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