Category: Philanthropy Page 2 of 3

How To Help Charities Without Donating Money Adam Gant

How to Help a Charity Without Donating Money

On March 27, 2019

In Adam Gant, Blog, Charity, Philanthropy, Service

For those with generous hearts, supporting a cause or organization they support and believe in is fulfilling and rewarding. However, not everyone is always able to provide considerable monetary donations to charities they endorse. Naturally, there are ways to help a charity without simply giving them money, and these methods are as valuable as financial aid. Below are a few ways you can benefit your favorite charities beyond granting them donations.

Donate Time

Perhaps the most common and popular option, volunteering with a charity is a great way to get involved and benefit the organization. Charities that operate soup kitchens, for example, are often in need of volunteers to serve the food. Homeless shelters, too, require volunteers to maintain and manage the living quarters. Many organizations that provide public services or resources require volunteers to help facilitate their work. Other charities could benefit from individuals with expertise in areas such as marketing or Information Technology (IT). Your skills and free time can be used to benefit charitable organizations, and while you may need to expend time, energy, and gas to do so, you won’t be directly financing the organization’s operations.

Donate Goods

Even if your financial status limits your ability to donate money, you may still be able to donate other items. Things like clothes, shoes, books, food, and paper products are typically welcomed in a number of organizations. If you have old, functional electronics, used vehicles, or furniture you no longer use, some charities accept these items, as well. Donating these items to a charity shop or distribution center can help those organizations provide valuable resources to those in need.

Donate Blood

Organizations like the Red Cross are always in need of blood and plasma donors. Donating blood costs nothing and is used to save lives. Most people are capable of donating blood, and the process usually lasts less than half an hour. For those who are able, donating platelets is also a great way to give back; platelets are necessary for individuals undergoing chemotherapy or receiving organ transplants, so they are especially valuable.

Helping charitable organizations doesn’t need to entail a financial contribution. Instead, you can consider donating your blood, time, and unwanted goods to those in need. Doing so limits the strain on your budget while also enabling you to benefit your community.

3 Ways Charitable Giving Is Likely to Change in 2019

By Adam Gant

On February 5, 2019

In Adam Gant, Blog, Charity, Philanthropy

Humanitarian crises, natural disasters, disease outbreaks – the needs today as pressing as ever, but the way we give is evolving. Thanks to tax law and technology, along with changing consciousness and shifting social mores, philanthropy experts say there are notable shifts in where, when and how Americans open their wallets to charitable causes.

Below is what to expect in charitable giving trends in 2019.

Giving bigger donations, but less frequently.

Charities and non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, are watching carefully to see if the doubling of the standard deduction under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 changes how – and how much – we give.

Our potential change is that people could switch to giving every other or every the third year instead of annually, a tactic called “bunching” that would let them itemize in their giving years to get the deduction and take the standard deduction in other years.

Using technology to mobilize support

If you feel like you’ve seen more notifications in your Facebook feed that someone is raising money for a good cause to celebrate a birthday or other milestone, you’re probably right.

This growth is a confluence of two trends. The desire of donors to personalize their giving, and advances in technology that makes giving, or asking others to give on your behalf, as easy as typing up a heartfelt message and hitting “enter.”

The growing clout of big donors (for better or worse)

People are going to top one-half of 1% will be giving about 30% of all charitable dollars. Although there is a drawback in that funding is funneled to a smaller pool of recipients or causes. This, combined with the proliferation of charities at the grassroots level, may leave smaller non-profits feeling pinched. Charities at these local levels are going to feel that they’re facing greater financial challenges in their fundraising, and the reason is that the number of charities continues to expand dramatically. The total amount of dollars can be given to any local charities still, and furthermore, they can be divided up more.

7 Wealthy Individuals Who Enjoy Giving Away Money

By Adam Gant

On January 30, 2019

In Adam Gant, Blog, Philanthropy

Many wealthy individuals appreciate giving away some of their money to charities and causes that they support. Some of them even enjoy giving away the majority of their money. The following are some of the richest people in the world who donate significant portions of the wealth.

Warren Buffet

Warren Buffet, the CEO of Berkshire Hathway is a well-known philanthropist who enjoys donating his money. He’s already given away more than $21.5 billion dollars, more than what most wealthy people make in their lifetime! Buffet has also pledged to donate 99% of his wealth either during his lifetime, or once he passes away. So far he’s donated 20% of share in his company to many different charities. He also plans to distribute 4% of his stock every year.

Tim Cook

The CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, is another individual who likes to give money to a variety of causes and charities. He plans to donate his entire fortune, leaving only enough to provide his nephew with a college degree. In 2017, he donated $1 million to the Southern Poverty Law Center, and another $1 million to the Anti-Defamation League. He also donated $2.5 million to the Red Cross for relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

Patrice Motsepe

Patrice Motsepe is the founder of African Rainbow Minerals, a mining company. He is also South Africa’s first and only black billionaire. His goal is to help others who are less fortunate to become self-sustaining while improving their quality of life. He and his wife Precious are the founders of the Motsepe Foundation, and have donated half of their wealth to improving the lives of others.

Richard Branson

Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, donates 80% of his time to the group’s non-profit foundation, Virgin Unite. The charity recently celebrated its ten year anniversary of working to solve issues such as conflict and environmental struggles.

Bill Gates

Bill and his wife Melinda Gates are other champions of giving. So far they’ve donated $27 billion. They’re most passionate about eradicating preventable diseases. They also support causes such as education, agricultural development, and emergency relief.

Ted Turner

Ted Turner, the former CEO of Turner Broadcasting, has switched his focus to the Turner Global Foundation, a group dedicated to protecting wildlife and the environment. He also donated $1 billion to the UN Foundation. He says although giving up his hard earned money is difficult, it makes him feel “really wonderful.”

Manoj Bhargava

Manoj Bhargava, the founder and CEO of 5 Hour Energy, has pledged to give away 90% of his wealth to charities, especially to causes that alleviate human suffering. His foundation has already undertaken more than 400 projects.

American Immigrants Are a Force of Giving

By Adam Gant

On December 10, 2018

In Adam Gant, Blog, Philanthropy

The United States has immigrants from many different world countries. Some were raised in poverty-stricken situations and were seeking political asylum. Others came from affluent families and arrived to attend an American college or university. Young and old come to the states for a variety of different reasons. However, not many are aware that a number of immigrants who made the U.S. their home have demonstrated great generosity as philanthropists.

Successful Immigrants

There is insufficient evidence to determine the total number of dollars that the migrated Americans have donated. However, in the last two decades, the number of foundations established in the United States by Chinese-Americans increased in number by 400 percent. One of these Asian Americans was Cyrus Tang who founded the Asian Americans Advancing Justice. Tang came to the country in 1950 from Hong Kong and attended college in Philadelphia. He eventually became a giant in the industry. He donated more than $50 million to his former colleagues.

Other influential immigrants include George Soros, who hailed from Hungary. The private foundation that he established is second in size to the organization established by Bill Gates. Some of the top American immigrants who took part in the “Giving Pledge” include Elon Musk, who was originally from South Africa. Hamdi Ulukaya is from Turkey. He founded Chobani. Jorge Perez is from Argentina and became a billionaire due to real estate.

Like any other philanthropist, the American immigrants donate funds to their college alma maters, charities in which they believe or in order to further education in a particular field. They might also start a charitable organization.

Low-Key Investors

Many of the philanthropists prefer to keep their generous endeavors below the media radar. Tang’s foundation in Los Angeles, for example, is one of the largest ever created by an Asian American. Yet, few were aware of his involvement.

The need for anonymity commonly comes from an individual’s cultural background. Asians are often quiet, reserved people. Latin Americans view public acknowledgment of charitable contributions as classless. For some from violent countries, allowing their wealth to become public fodder makes them a target for kidnapping and other criminal acts.

However, as Tang once explained, he wanted to find a way to demonstrate that America was his home. He was grateful for the opportunity to come here and found a way to express his gratitude.

Why it Feels Good to Give

By Adam Gant

On November 13, 2018

In Adam Gant, Philanthropy

Day in and day out, humans mostly focus on themselves. Whether it’s how much money they’re making or how they can make themselves happy, more often than not, their days are spent selfishly. When people break that norm and choose to dedicate their time to give back, they find that the act of giving others happiness makes them feel fulfilled. Read on to learn why giving back just feels so good.

1. Giving Back Connects People with Their Passions

Finding a cause to give back to is one of the best ways to discover something outside of work that one is passionate about. While altruistic, it also helps point people to work towards something bigger than themselves. For example, someone may have a job working in marketing, but partnering with a local charity outside of work is a way to tap into their passion for helping others.

2. Helping Others Uplifts the Soul

Whether someone is giving their time reading to local children or donating money to an organization, giving back just does something uplifting to the soul. It empowers the human spirit to see others encouraged and uplifted. With all the negativity in the world, finding a way to help others is essential for staying grounded and positive.

3. People in Need Really Deserve Something Good

Sometimes it just feels good to give because people in need really need something good to happen to them. Most people never realize how truly fortunate they are or how much they have compared to others. By taking the time to recognize one’s blessings and give back to those that aren’t in the same situation, one will see just how grateful others are for their gift.

4. Positivity Breeds Contentment

In life, so many people are on the hunt for happiness. By focusing one’s life on giving back, positivity and happiness are sure to follow. By doing good for others and the world, those that donate their time and money will automatically have a more positive outlook on life. Regardless of how much one does for themselves, it doesn’t have the same effect as being able to support others. As social creatures, humans inherently find happiness in the happiness of others.

When giving back, one learns that there is far more to happiness than making money and climbing the corporate ladder. Taking a moment out of the solitary lives most people lead to help a stranger will work to change the lives of both people for the better.

Poverty and the Pareto Distribution: Part II

By Adam Gant

On June 11, 2018

In Adam Gant, Blog, Philanthropy

In my last blog, I covered the Pareto Distribution and how it relates to the problems of inequality throughout nature. We left off with a critique of the Marxist view that Capitalism was to fault. And while I don’t deny that man-made structures can become corrupt and fueled by greed, we must be careful to address the problem for what it is. Inequality is a problem; it is. But it’s not capitalism or any other system’s fault – it’s something we don’t quite understand.

Many have attempted to remedy this problem by implementing higher taxes on the rich or enforcing programs that redistribute wealth – all of which have not produced the intended result, with some of these ‘solutions’ resulting in the death of untold millions. But many are researchers are looking at the Pareto Distribution and similar methods to see if there is a solution we can derive from the natural laws that are in place.

Work on Saving

Bikas Chakrabarti of the SINP and his colleagues are working on a method that paints a much less solemn prescription for the poor. His team worked with the gas model (mentioned in the previous blog) to help develop a plan that allows people to save more money. This model predicts both class models that Yakovenko found, and it. It also posits (but does not guarantee) that if you save more, you are more likely to end up rich. This research suggests that training people to save and spend money more responsibly (something that harkens back to the random spending habits of people) can help even out wealth distribution. While this model is far from perfect and has received criticism by many in the field, it is certainly a proper start on the road to assessing the problem of inequality from a scientific and thoroughly examined viewpoint.

Personal Responsibility

In the end, it does in part come down the philanthropic work of individuals. As a free society, we cannot force people to engage in actions they do not wish to. If we can learn to foster a love for the people around us, then it’s certainly reasonable to assume that many people would be much better off. But we also need to move to a deeper understanding of helping people build a sustainable future for themselves. The adage, “Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime” is certainly true in this case. Working to instill dignity and self-respect in the people who stack up at zero is crucial for the betterment of all societies. It has proven toxic to force other people to give the ‘fish’ they worked so hard for to other people. Kindness must come from the heart, not from the legislative hand of so-called morality.
It’s true, we all have a part to play, but we must be honest with ourselves when we are unsure of what that part entails. We need to address the very real problem of inequality, but we also have to figure out smarter and more comprehensive ways to help and do away with the old murderous models of the 20th century. We need to find contentment in the fact that everything is not as it should be, but we are working to remedy that problem.

Poverty and the Pareto Distribution: Part 1

By Adam Gant

On June 8, 2018

In Adam Gant, Blog, Philanthropy

In any given society, people tend to stack up at zero. What do I mean by this? Well, the Occupy Wall Street Movement was a good, recent example of the outrage that people had towards the 1%. The notion started to grow in the collective unconscious that those at the top (the 1%) held as much/more than all of the rest of the people in the United States (the remaining 99%). This outrage, as some claimed, was the result of greedy corporations and business bigwigs who preyed on the seemingly now defunct middle class of America. Was the anger warranted? Well, people do tend to stack up at the top and the bottom. But the answer, unfortunately, isn’t as simple as the “the rich get richer because they take from others.”

About 100 years ago, economist Vilfredo Pareto observed what many call the 80/20 rule. It’s also known as the Pareto distribution, Pareto’s rule, and the “long tail” distribution. What does this rule, one that is so common to business experts and economists, have to do with poverty and inequality in the world? Let’s take a look.

The Roots of Pareto’s Law

In 1897, a Paris-born Italian engineer named Vilfredo Pareto recorded that the power of wealth in Europe followed a similar power-law structure to that of his garden. Pareto observed that 20% of the pea pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas. Likewise, he found that 20% of the people in Europe were responsible for 80% of the wealth. Later, economists realized that this law might only pertain to the very rich, and not necessarily to the rest of the population. But the find is astounding, nonetheless. Now, while it appears that Pareto’s law certainly applies to the rich, it seems as though a different entity governs the less wealthy.

Physicist Victor Yakovenko and his research partners analyzed income data from 1983 to 2001.
The findings? While the income distribution among the extremely-wealth – about 3% of the population – indeed follows the Pareto Distribution, incomes for the remaining 97% follow a different curve—one that also accounts for the distribution of energies of atoms in a gas.

The research concluded that spending habits among the poor are more random than people generally think. While we tend to think of human decisions as preemptive and well-planned, the effects of outside forces tend to impede on rational decision-making, and thus randomize the process of spending. The analogy of money and energy holds because, like energy, money is not created or destroyed, only redistributed through transactions (other than the effects of inflation due a the central banking system).

It’s Not So Easy to Solve

Econo-physicists work off of something called the Matthew Principle, which they derive from a quote in the Bible’s New Testament where Jesus says, “To those who have everything; more will be given. From those who have nothing; everything will be taken. A vicious statement? Certainly. But it’s one that holds up. Pareto’s law is almost an intrinsic, universal law. Not only is it right regarding the transaction of wealth and currency, but it governs the distribution of plants in the jungle, the number of stars in a given star-cluster, and the number of employees that complete most of the work in a business. It’s true; inequality is an issue. In fact, it’s a more significant issue than we like to think.

Karl Marx laid the problem of inequality at the feet of capitalism, but this was wrong. Inequality is not a fault of hierarchical structures; it’s something much more pernicious than that; something seemingly intrinsic to humanity itself. The vast redistribution of wealth doesn’t work for a variety of reasons, the least of which not being the fact that wealth will continually stack up with a small minority. All you have to do is play one long game of Monopoly to discover that one person will end up with everything and everyone else will end up with nothing.

Check back for my next blog as I discuss some possible solutions to the problem of inequality.

A Move Towards True Help: Understanding Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth

By Adam Gant

On May 23, 2018

In Adam Gant, Charity, Philanthropy

Philanthropy is a uniquely western invention. This act of service, which is practiced by many wealthy individuals in America, has manifested itself in a number of ways by a number of people. It has even produced a form of the original known as “philanthrocapitalism”, a term that is indicative of a process that has received intense criticism by some in the recent years.

But the conversation of how much the rich should give and what the motives behind their giving should be is not what’s in question with this article. Instead, it’s important we take a deeper look at the concept of philanthropy, what helping truly looks like, and how the 19th-century millionaire Andrew Carnegie can help point us in the right direction.

In 1889, Andrew Carnegie published an essay entitled, “The Gospel of Wealth.” Here, Carnegie gives the reader some great insight into not only the mind of a multi-millionaire but also into the psyche of a generous philanthropist. But perhaps the most controversial statement in this essay is Carnegie’s insistence that there are two types of poor people.

Carnegie saw and classified a difference between people who are poor due to circumstances largely outside of their control and people who are poor due to a lack of continued fiscal irresponsibility. While many have often misinterpreted his words and wrongly critiqued this argument as harsh, there is something of infinite value that is learned through this sentiment.

Carnegie, whether consciously or not in his essay, draws the philanthropic ventures of the rich into something much more profound than giving money. You see, Carnegie is not arguing that the rich give less, but that they actually give – of themselves – exponentially more. It’s easy for those with a lot of money to give a monetary gift. Not so easy though, is it to engage with a person and truly take into consideration their unique needs. Carnegie agues philanthropy is much more than giving money; it’s about truly helping someone and working to help instill a sense of self-dignity within them and to help instill the belief that they too are deserving of a fair shot in the marketplace of ideas.

In a world that often sees money as the currency of success, it can be difficult to parse through Carnegie’s thoughts. But diligence is the key to understanding, and it’s important we understand how to help our neighbor truly. It may not always be the most beneficial act to give money to everyone who asks. In fact, we may not always have the money to give. But we can always, one way or another, seek to help those in need. And at the heart of Carnegie’s argument is that we, as individuals, have to pay attention to the specific needs of those in distress. And that’s not always as simple as signing a check.

Beating Poverty with a Smartphone

By Adam Gant

On May 23, 2018

In Adam Gant, Charity, Philanthropy, Service

Philanthropy is an ancient Greek word that roughly translates “to love mankind”. It doesn’t – contrary to the opinions of some – merely refer to the act of wealthy people writing checks. In the digital age of connection where communication with people halfway around the world can happen in a matter of seconds, the development of technologies that help to fight poverty is genuinely extraordinary.

Nowhere is this more evident than in our ability to support organizations from the comfort of our smartphones. Often, making a difference is just a click away. And while there is no substitute or better way to transcend our circumstances than by actively giving of ourselves and engaging with people, the simple fact that we can help, even in the smallest of ways, in such a quick and accessible manner is truly worth spotlighting.

Below are three great (free) ways you can help not only alleviate poverty but fight to eliminate it from the comfort of your home and the ease of your smartphone.

Pictures Against Poverty

Donate A Photo, an app by Johnson & Johnson, allows people to help fight poverty by simply taking a photo. This app is free and easy, and for every photo “donated” Johnson & Johnson will make a charitable donation of $1 towards the organization of your choice. Each person is allowed to upload one photo per day, which is an easy $365 given to charity through the course of a year, with no charge on account of the person snapping the selfies.

Walk for Water

Charity Miles is a free app that tracks your steps and donates money to a charity of your choice for each mile. It’s another great free app that provides you the chance to give while you also get your daily dose of exercise. One of the charities you can donate to is charity:water, an excellent philanthropic effort that provides clean drinking water to people who lack it. Currently, there are 800 million people who still do not have access to clean drinking water, and Charity Miles allows you to give to charities that are actively addressing that problem.

Helping Corporations Care

Tinbox is a free app that donates participating corporation’s dollars on behalf of your donation. The app is free, so all you have to do is log in, tap ‘donate’, and you are spending corporate dollars to help fight poverty. The app lets you give one dollar a day to a specific project a charity is working on, and it’s another creative and exciting way to ban together and help people.

For all of the complications that modernity has ushered in when it comes to fighting poverty, there are more ways than ever to help, even if it is in seemingly small ways. We all have the responsibility and opportunity to help our neighbor, and the above-mentioned apps, as well as many more, are indeed beneficial and edifying ways to do so.

Philanthropy Spotlight: The Ocean Cleanup

By Adam Gant

On April 23, 2018

In Adam Gant, Environmentalism, Philanthropy

Some people march to make a change. Some people create colorful signs to promote equality. And some people, even in the midst of a staggering and seemingly impossible drama, create the solution and thus embody the change they desire so desperately to see.

These individuals stare Goliath in the face and don’t run.

Boyan Slat is one of these people.

Who They Are

Slat, who started the non-profit organization the Ocean Cleanup at just 18 years of age, is making waves in the environment by employing his unique and effective method of ocean cleanup. The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit that seeks to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. And by utilizing the ocean currents to their advantage, the Ocean Cleanup’s passive drifting system is estimated to clean up half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 5 years.

The Ocean Cleanup is developing the first practical method to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. Every year, millions of tons of plastic enter the ocean every year. Once there, much of the trash drifts into large systems of circulating currents called gyres. Here, the plastic begins to break down and can easily be mistaken for food by marine life. The thing is, going after the plastic with vessels and nets would extremely costly, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. In fact, according to the United Nations, plastic pollution is estimated to have financial damage of 13 billion USD. Here’s where the genius of Slat comes in.

How They Do It

The Ocean Cleanup is developing a passive system that moves with the ocean currents to catch the plastic. According to the Ocean Cleanup, their passive system is comprised of a floater with a solid screen underneath, concentrating the debris and leading it to a collection system. The system is slowed down by a drift anchor suspended at an approximate depth of 600 meters, making the system move slower than the plastic and therefore catching it.

Boyan Slat, along with everyone at the Ocean Cleanup, is the prime example of someone developing the changes they want to see. The Ocean Cleanup is not only excellent and vital for environmental health, but it speaks of a new mindset. A mindset that includes the individual taking responsibility upon themselves and determining to transcend limitations and create a better self, and in turn a better world.