Is Charity Toxic?

In Robert Lupton's book, Toxic Charity, he talks about how our giving can actually be harmful.  Essentially, in some cases we may be enabling people to stay in an unfortunate situation rather than helping them get out of it.  As someone who has given to churches as well as charities, I was definitely interested in what he had to say.  We all want to believe our gifts are making a positive difference, right?

Read more!

Beautiful Rubbish

Have you ever wondered where ocean debris ends up after being washed away by incoming tides after families and frolickers leave the coast after a day of sun and fun? In most cases the debris ends up in our pristine waterways and a lot of times in the stomachs of marine mammals. Local eco-advocate Jennifer Mathis was motivated by this fact at a recent visit to the Marine Mammal Center in California where the CA-based Washed Ashore exhibit utilized ocean debris to create huge art sculptures to inform and impress viewers. The dramatic effect aims to educate the public that ocean debris is not welcome on our beaches, in our oceans, and surely not in or near the marine life that inhabits them. Ms. Mathis loved the idea and requested permission to initiate a similar awareness campaign here in the Lowcountry.

The unveiling of a 9-foot sculpture of a pelican will take place on New Years Eve at Marion Square in downtown Charleston. Students from the School of the Arts helped complete the project to raise awareness about ocean debris on our beaches and in our waterways.

Read more about the local project at The Post and Courier.
Read more about other local, grassroot projects and worthy nonprofit programming in the Winter edition of Richard's Report. Read more!

$50 to feed a hungry child? Sure! $50 to feed ten hungry children? Nah!

In a story by NPR’s Alix Spiegel on Thanksgiving weekend, Alix said people are inspired to make a contribution when shown a photo of a single hungry child; but when they’re given statistics about lots of hungry children, they don’t choose to give. And when they’re shown a photo of a single hungry child that’s accompanied by statistics, they also don’t choose to give. It’s the photo of the single person in need that makes people want to write a check. No statistics, please.

Later, Alix’s story reported that when asked to give to a cause – say, women’s breast cancer – the majority of us don’t give. But many among that non-giving majority WILL give if they’re told that they have to commit to running a 5K race in order to be included on the donor list. What’s up with that?

About the first example above, I’m more likely to give to a single stranger with an obvious need than I am to give the same amount in response to a report with stats about how many people share that need. The amount I’d give is more likely actually to make a difference to one identifiable person than it would for a bunch of people. But wait, stupid – in giving to help many, my money would, of course, still help that one.

As for the second example, yoga or running marathons have no appeal for me, but when I’m asked to give in response to, “Send us a donation to a cause that you know is important, or we’ll invite you to a black tie reception that lasts until midnight at a fancy hotel”, it’s, ”Gimme my checkbook! How much do you want?”

Here’s a link to that NPR story, told by Guy Raz, with information that Development Directors should be attentive to – and that might make the rest of us ask ourselves, “Exactly what does motivate me to give?”

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/25/142780599/why-we-give-not-why-you-think

Read more!

Generous Geeks at Philanthropy Week

Hopefully, most of you know it's Philanthropy Week here in the lowcountry.  As part of the celebration, active Palmetto Technology Hub (PATH) volunteers and some nonprofits got together for a lunch at our office today.   (You can see them displaying some of the swag we received from Google!).

Although PATH regularly holds free trainings and the occasional lunch for everyone involved in PATH, this was for the die-hard volunteers that have gone above and beyond.

What I love about these geeks is the time they've spent supporting PATH this year.  It absolutely blows my mind.  Nonprofits have saved hundreds of dollars in tech support costs, so that money is instead used to meet their core mission.  We have volunteers who have driven out to nonprofit offices for on-site hardware support and others who have built some beautiful websites.   (PATH even received volunteer support from a local graphic designer for the main logos and the boot camp logos!)  So, I have to say it again.  And again.  And again. Thanks geeks for all you do.  Techies in this community are the best ones around.

Read more!

Guest Blogger: Center for Heir's Property Preservation Staff Tish Lynn

Hello Everyone – How many of you have heard the term - heirs’ property? I hope MORE of you than when I started helping with marketing for the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation a year and a half ago?!

But seriously…I want all of you to know what heirs’ property is and what the Center does…because what happens to heirs’ property happens to you.

Airs? Hairs? Heirs? Howzat? It’s HEIRS and it’s a mouthful and it’s in your backyard. Almost wherever you live in the Lowcountry, there is heirs’ property nearby. Much of it comprises century-old hamlets and settlements that form the irreplaceable rural landscape that we all enjoy. That’s why - what happens to heirs’ property happens to you.

What is the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation? The Center is an independent, non-profit organization that began as a project at Coastal Community Foundation and helps prevent the loss of heirs’ property across six counties – Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and Georgetown.



What is heirs’ property? In the Lowcountry, heirs’ property is mostly land that was either purchased by or deeded to African Americans following emancipation. But – because this land has been passed down through the generations without a will, it is owned “in common” by all of the heirs whether they live on the land or not; pay the taxes or not or have never set foot on the land. Any heir, descended from the original owner, owns a percentage of the family land.

So? The problem with owning land this way is

that it can be easily lost. All it takes is for one person, who wants to buy the land, to find one heir willing to sell his/her percentage of ownership of the land. The buyer then becomes an heir and can force a sale of the entire property in the court and, often, buy it for a song. Too much heirs’ land has already been lost because of increased coastal development and a lack of access to the judicial system to prevent its loss.

See the problem? In a forced sale, the only way for the family to save the land is for them to come together and buyout the buyer within a year’s time. Sounds simple, but many heirs’ property owners are low-income and their family members are often dispersed all over the state and country. Let’s face it. Families are complicated enough without having to coordinate something like this.

Consider the solution? The Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation is the only non-profit organization in the state providing “soup-to-nuts” education and direct legal services to low-income families to help heirs come to agreement; obtain clear title and keep their family land. Since the Center’s inception in 2005, we have provided advice and counsel to 1,006 applicants and comprehensive legal services to 300 clients; conducted 203 legal seminars and presentations for 5,610 persons, and also provided technical assistance to county government planners and local planning committees on HP as they worked on comprehensive plans for their communities. Working with volunteers from the Charleston School of Law and Trident Technical College, the Center has successfully cleared 69 titles.

Want to help?
If you are an attorney in Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester or Georgetown counties where we serve, you can volunteer to help draft simple wills at one of our FREE Last Will and Testament Clinics which we schedule throughout the year.

If you would like to learn more about us and, perhaps, make a donation, go to: www.heirsproperty.org where it’s easy to give.

If you would like to support us in a BIGGER way, you can become a sponsor for our supreme fundraising event - 2012 “Commitment to Justice” Award Reception, where we will honor the inimitable Judge Alex Sanders. Call us for details at: (843) 745-7055.

Go ahead and Save-the-Date! Join the throngs of admirers who will raise a glass (or two!) in the Crystal Ballroom of the Marriott Charleston Riverview at 170 Lockwood Blvd. on Thursday, February 9, 2012 from 6-8:30PM to salute Judge Sanders for his exceptional humanitarianism and passionate pursuit of justice for all…and you’ll be helping the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation in the bargain. Yeah… NOW you know who we are and what we do.

Eureka!

THANKS!
Read more!

Building a Generous Board

I talked with an Executive Director and his Board Chair this morning about how to increase the expected level of giving by each member of the Board.  They wanted the standard Board Member gift to be $5,000.  It is currently much less.  The question was how to get there.

The answer is a bit more complicated than they had hoped.

Of course one needs to make members of the Board aware of the $5,000 expectation, but that is the last thing you need to do.  There is quite a bit of work that is needed first.  Let's walk backwards through the steps.

To get a $5,000 gift from each member of the Board you need a Board that is passionate about the organization and has members that each have $5,000 to give.  This might take some new Board Member recruitment.

To get a passionate Board with money you need to have Board meetings that run well and use the talents of the Board Members.  This might take some changes to the agendas of Board Meetings.

To have well-run Board meetings and Board Members that feel valued you need well-organized Staff who help the Board make good decisions by providing time on the agenda to discuss ideas and Staff who provide, in advance, the detailed answers to the obvious questions related to the decision (dollars, time, work involved, etc.).  This will take pre-meeting planning time on the part of Staff.

In short, to reach the level where each member of the Board is giving $5,000, the Board Chair and the Executive Director need a plan for Board involvement in the organization...and they need a total package of steps as a kind of "Talent Campaign."  Much like a fundraising campaign the Executive Director and the Board Chair need to launch a campaign that seeks out talented Board Members and keeps them on the Board.  That talent who will attract more talent.  This recruitment is just like a pyramidal fundraising campaign where you identify the lead gift (the talented rock star member of the Board) that attracts the next gifts (other talented folks), and the next, etc.

Talent + Passion = More Resources

But yeah, sure.  You can easily set the expectation of $5,000 gifts by all members of the Board, that is, if you do a little upfront work. Read more!