December's e-Giving News

I am amazed that another year has gone by and here is the latest and last e-Giving news of 2009! May you find it useful, helpful and resource laden! Enjoy and see you in 2010.

You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself. ~Harvey Firestone

Celebrities & Giving
Alicia Keys: Singing for Success and Giving Back. Grammy-winning musician, trend-setting pop star, and unfailing philanthropist Alicia Keys shares that, "[giving back] is a necessity for success. It's part of it. To be successful-not just at a job or a career, but as a human being-a portion of me has to be paying attention to the rest of the world. If I'm only wrapped up in my own life, my own issues or problems, then I'm not being fair. And I'm definitely not being successful." Music may be her passion, but here she reveals her true purpose as co-founder and spokesperson for the Keep a Child Alive nonprofit. http://bit.ly/4Iihw3

Corporate Giving
Philanthropy is a Sound Business Strategy. According to Giving USA, American corporations gave $14.5 billion to charity in 2008. Corporate gifts are critical to not-for-profits in supporting their work in education, the environment, disaster relief, community services, and the arts. http://bit.ly/8BucE4

Individual Giving
Reasons to Be Giving in Tough Economic Times. Need another reason to be giving? Here's a compelling list of reasons why you should do good, especially in challenging economic times, including: because it's good for business and your self esteem, people with less give more, it's a wise investment and more... http://bit.ly/8BjeU3

Politics & Giving
Wealthy Ask to Extend Estate Tax for Philanthropy. United for a Fair Economy, a nonprofit group in Boston that works to lessen income inequality, is pushing Congress to renew and increase the tax that applies to large estates when people die - which is set to expire at the end of the year. The tax is a small price to pay to support government services like education and research that allow people to become prosperous in the United States. It also encourages philanthropy, they said, because people with large fortunes can make gifts to nonprofits without paying taxes on them. http://bit.ly/6tJ17x

Nonprofit Resources
Five Fundraising Tips to Add to your Checklist. Is your nonprofit about to launch a year-end online fundraising campaign? If you answered yes, then check out this fundraising checklist before you hit the "send" button to your entire list. This blogger is an amazing resource for nonprofits, definitely check it out! http://bit.ly/7jsSc6

Other Giving
One Day's Wages. According to UNICEF, approximately 3 billion people live on less than US $2/day and 1.4 billion people live on less than US $1.25/day - the definition of those living in extreme poverty. In the midst of these staggering statistics, what can one person do? What can a person's "one day's wages" do in the face of such staggering statistics? http://onedayswages.org/

Giving Trends
Nonprofits Fare Poorly in End-of-Year Giving Season. A Chronicle poll of 395 nonprofits conducted over the past week finds that one-third of nonprofits expect donations to decline by 10 percent or more by year's end. Another 21 percent also expect donations to decline, although by smaller amounts. Nonprofits of all sizes seem to be affected. http://bit.ly/5eyNnq

Giving for Thought...or Discussion
Busting the Overhead Myth. An interesting discussion of overhead costs and the myth that the percentage that organizations spend on overhead is a good proxy for effective nonprofit organizations. The article presents excellent arguments that the popular, yet artificial, use of overhead rates as a proxy for effectiveness is actually ineffective! http://bit.ly/8CbHMy

Keep giving back and watch all the gifts that unfold for you in 2010.

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