Published December 23, 2008 @ 03:52PM PST

Over the course of the last month, I've seen several requests floating around online from groups looking for the best charities to support as part of their holiday giving/fundraising/service drives. Most end up going based on personal recommendations or finding something that supports a cause in which they are interested. After all, the holiday season only lasts so long, and figuring out which programs and organizations are the best ones to support can be a daunting task.  Last week, The Wall Street Journal published an article highlighting again how difficult it can be. This story focused on how charity rankings can sometimes tell less than the full story. It illustrates a couple of challenges within certain popular charity ranking systems and the daunting task faced by dono... Read More

Published December 17, 2008 @ 01:30PM PST

Last week, in a Wall Street Journal article, Shelly Banjo and Kristen McNamara described a trend among the very wealthy: formally targeting their charitable giving in order to achieve greater impact. They wrote, "As wealthy families reassess their investment portfolios and look to preserve their wealth, they are also rethinking their charitable giving. A growing number of families are writing so-called mission statements to guide their giving." They also explain some of the thought behind this practice of formally guiding family and foundation fortunes: "[There are] other factors for philanthropic families to consider: What's the process for making giving decisions? How long will they be involved with certain organizations or issues? How will families evaluate the effecti... Read More

Published December 12, 2008 @ 02:23PM PST

Today's post is written by Steve Reiher, VP of Marketing at Operation Kids. Earlier this month, the “Operation Kids: Rebuilding Dreams in New Orleans” campaign made a gift of $122,000 to New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School (also known as Sci High), fulfilling our commitment made in 2007 to raise a total of $240,000 for the school. The funding will be used to provide advanced elective classes in such areas as geology, environmental science, engineering and robotics, computer literacy, film and photography.  It follows earlier donations that included funding to build an outdoor activity area for the school and to provide summer science internships for 25 Sci High juniors and seniors.  The “Rebuilding Dreams” campaign also made gifts this m... Read More

Published December 05, 2008 @ 03:16PM PST

This holiday season is going to be very different for a long of people, given the state of the economy. Layoffs, uncertainty and tight credit markets. Every day seems to bring more bad news. Today, we learned that the unemployment rate is skyrocketing and more jobs were lost last month than any time in the last 34 years. Many families, mine included, are looking for ways to make things a little brighter this year for someone less fortunate. But how do you know who to help? Where does your money make the most difference? I'd like to make a suggestion. The Christmas Box Lifestart Initiative is a program that we've endorsed for their work to improve the lives of children and teens whose lives have been marred by abuse or neglect. Earlier this week,I attended a monthly meet... Read More

Published November 26, 2008 @ 10:06AM PST

It's hard to believe the Thanksgiving season is upon us once again. Everyone I talk to says the same thing ... "Where did the year go?" "How can it be the holidays already?" Which is inevitably followed by some expression like, "I just don't have enough time anymore." For anyone who has ever uttered the words, "I don't have enough time...or money," may I recommend a great read for the holidays? Author and activist Lynn Twist talks about this feeling and other misunderstandings about resources including wealth and talent, in her book The Soul of Money. I must admit that when I first started reading the book at the urging of a respected colleague, I was in the middle of three other heavy reads on strategy, finance and global politics. When I began the book, my initial thought was... Read More

Published November 11, 2008 @ 10:25AM PST

For the few months I have been attending courses that constitute the University of Utah's Non Profit Leadership Academy certification. The program has served to remind me of two very important characteristics of not-for-profit efforts: First, it is not easy to do it right. While the creation of a charitable organization is not difficult, doing it "exactly right," is. There are a great many steps and rules to follow and rightly so, particularly with a public entity. Every charitable organization should be committed to understanding the rules charities must follow and then guarding its compliance in every way. Second, I am reminded that there are a lot of good people in the world who want very much to make a difference. Their passions range from recycling to the arts with a seemingly ... Read More

Published November 06, 2008 @ 11:39AM PST

About a month ago, I talked about a program that Operation Kids is endorsing and for which it is raising awareness and funding. The Christmas Box Lifestart Initiative is an initative developed by New York Times bestselling author, Richard Paul Evans, in conjunction with his foundation, The Christmas Box International. Over the last month, we have helped raise nearly $10,000 to help put together Lifestart Kits for youth aging out of foster care. This money will be used to provide nearly 100 youth with the kits - something akin to what you would put together to send with your college-bound child - provide much-needed basic supplies to help these youth make it on their own. It might sound like a lot, but those 100 youth represen... Read More