Monday, November 20, 2006

JS Online:Philanthropy for sale?

JS Online:: "Americans have proved time and time again that we are a generous, charitable people. Our nation rarely sees a tragedy, local or overseas, that isn't worthy of our compassion.
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As we enter the gift-giving season, we open our wallets and run up our credit cards to give to those we love; we sacrifice some of what is ours for the sake of others. And many of us will send donations to charities that touch us.

But as Lucy from the Peanuts gang would say, it's also 'the gift-getting season.' And more often than in my youth, many of those charitable groups will be compelled to use some of our generously given money to 'pay us back.'"

2 comments:

Robert said...

At the same time the nonprofits we’re all passionate about struggle for funding, Americans spend $250 billion each year buying presents for one another. Many of us, who just don’t need any more fruitcakes, toasters, or pen & pencil sets, find this an unfulfilling way of spending our money or expressing our love. ImportantGifts.org will capture for nonprofits a small percentage of that gift money by facilitating donation gifts and promoting them as a social norm. That is, the best way to show you care for friends isn’t by buying them something they don’t want, but rather by doing something to make the world a better place, in their name.

Visitors to ImportantGifts.org, launching soon, will be able to do more than select an organization to fund; they will choose exactly what they want to accomplish, such as protect an acre of the rainforest, fund an hour of a cancer researcher’s time, or provide books for children, drugs for AIDS patients, shelter for refugees, meals for the hungry, etc. By making giving tangible and more emotionally rewarding, these donation opportunities become better alternatives to traditional gifts. Wish lists, registries and greeting cards further promote this more meaningful way of showing we care.

ImportantGifts.org is launching the first week of December. You can visit the site now to sign up for the mailing list.

Unknown said...

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