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April 2010
"Generosity during live is a very different thing from generosity in the hour of death; one proceeds from genuine liberality and benevolence, the other from pride or fear"
Horace Mann
A Billionaire's Pact with God
Albert Gubay pledging most of his fortune to charity
FORBES - Albert Gubay has fulfilled a divine pact he made at the start of his entrepreneurial career. He put his business empire, worth around $1.1 billion, into a charitable trust. The 82-year-old British retail entrepreneur made a "deal" with God several decades ago when he barely had enough capital to get his business ideas off the ground. He promised to share half his fortune with the almighty in return for some divine help with his finances. read more...
The Case for Stake Holder Engagement
Grantmakers must work more closely with their grantees
STANDFORD SOCIAL INNOVATION REVIEW - Grantmaking initiatives often fail when foundations remain isolated from grantees and form the communities they both serve. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s 10-year $20 million Neighborhood Improvement Initiative did not develop “healthy, trustful relationships” with stakeholders, and the project failed. On the other hand, the Cherish Every Child project directly engaged their audiences from the start and experienced extraordinary success. Grantmakers must work closely with grantees and community leaders to understand the problems, to create better solutions, and to build more effective organizations.read more...
Fear of Philanthropy (avert your eyes)
How much is enough?
SETH GODIN - Peter Singer is famous for posing a stunningly difficult question, paraphrased as, "If you are walking by a pond and you see a child drowning, do you save her? What if it means ruining a very fancy pair of Italian shoes?" Okay, if we assume the answer is yes, then why not spend the cost of those shoes to save 20 kids who are starving to death across town or the world? There's really no difference... But there are two issues that Singer fails to recognize: proximity and attention. read more...
How Do You Calculate How Much You Are Worth?
A new type of valuation to calculate worth
KARDIA PLANNING - Often this question is answered with another question, “That depends, who wants to know?” If the Internal Revenue Service is asking, we attempt to make everything appear to be worth as little as possible. If, on the other hand, it is our banker who is asking, we amazingly become worth considerably more as we attempt to paint the most optimistic, best-case-scenario picture to our lender. What are God's valuation methods? read more...
Rethinking Ways to Give Wisely
Why philanthropic advisors are necessary
BUSINESS WEEK - Individuals in the U.S. give away more than $200 billion a year, yet the vast majority of those decisions are made ad hoc. Few donors have any idea whether they are giving to the best organization in the area they want to improve, or whether their giving is even doing what they want it to do. With new resources and organizations you can make wiser giving decisions. read more...
Are Philanthropy Advisors As Important As Financial Advisors?
A case for the difficulty of giving wisely
EXCELLENCE IN GIVING - If we pay researchers to advise us on how we invest money for significant ROI, why would we not do the same when investing money to see the world changed for the better? EIG's Director of Research Paul Penley compares the growing field of philanthropy advisors to the strata of financial advisors to answer this question. With over 1.6 million U.S. nonprofits effective philanthropy is more complex than one may first surmise. The growth of philanthropic advising will likely be determined by people’s awareness of that complexity and their desire to engage in effective giving. read more...
Fundraising Out of Sync with Giving Habits
Organizations need to focus on new giving habits of younger generations
PHILANTHROPY JOURNAL - Technology is changing the way people give. Younger generations prefer to give in new ways. Nonprofits must adjust their fundraising strategies to reflect those giving patterns. Giving through electronic and social media is becoming more popular, yet most nonprofits gear their fundraising to donors born before 1945. This segment of people generates strong results but is shrinking each year. read more...
The Tax Form Tax
IRS form 990 doesn't give complete picture
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW - It's tax time. USA Today reports that the average American using form 1040 spends 21.4 hours doing his taxes. 86 million people use outside preparers, and the total cost is "$107 billion, or about 1% of the economy — a titanic waste." The IRS form 990 that nonprofit organizations file every year to report income and expenses does a lot more financial and social damage. Watchdog agencies use Form 990 numbers to calculate simplistic efficiency ratios and draw sharp distinctions between good and bad charities. Without an adjustment to accounting standards for nonprofits or the Form 990, the public will continue to make "purchasing" decisions based on inadequate data about organizational efficiency.
read more...
The Second Half: Cliff and Rose Ratkovich
An inspiring story of real adventure and real significance
HALFTIME - Cliff ran a large home-building business and Rose was a marketing executive, but together they are now pursuing a fascinating ministry that combines their unique abilities. HopeBuilders engages hundreds of volunteers in southern California to rehab homes for those in deep need. Their international initiative is “building better shacks” for the poorest of the poor. read more...
CBS - 60 Minutes featured the Global Orphan Project's work in Haiti last night in a story called "The Lost Children of Haiti." The story's about what's happening to the thousands of children orphaned by the earthquake and struggling for survival.
Click here to watch video
 The Generosity Plan
Sharing your time, treasure, and talent to shape the world
Many of us have the desire to make a difference. But when it comes down to it, how many really know what steps to take and how to fit philanthropy into our lives. The Generosity Plan shows readers the unexpected benefits and joys of generosity in our daily lives. This smart, practical guide to philanthropy illuminates the power of giving by helping readers to discover what inspires them, clarify what he or she can afford to give, and direct that generosity toward a better world.
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