Hard Rock Philanthropy

Hope Heals

2009-01-08T06:48:00.004-06:00

I just "met" Karla, a young woman who is making a significant impact on children on the other side of the globe. You can read more about her work at the Grand Valley State University alumni news page, and learn about the nonprofit she hopes to establish at www.hope-heals.org.Check out her blog on living on a food budget of $1 a day: Hope Heals "Dollar-a-Day Challenge". Rock on, Karla!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T09:38:00.005-06:00

I didn't do so well on my 2008 New Year's resolution. I guess I have a pretty good excuse. My world got turned upside down in January by a job offer that would very likely have provided extended periods of free time to devote to writing and encouraging philanthropy. The job also required a move to my home town, 300 miles away. And because the salary was less than half of what I currently make

2008-12-26T17:05:00.003-06:00

My wife, Tracy, and I have posted a guestblog on Roy Moran's blog, Lost In Faith. It you are serious about giving more to causes you care deeply about, I encourage you to read it. This is a proven method of saving money that you can then devote to making the world a better place.Cash vs Credit Cards, Which is best? December 21st, 2008 A new weekly feature from

Philanthropy's Roots Run Deep in USA

2008-12-23T12:40:00.006-06:00

Many consider Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller to be the fathers of modern philanthropy. But the tradition of giving in America goes back much farther. Here is a nice story from Real Texas Blog that suits the holiday season, and the spirit of philanthropy, quite well.Many thanks to Eric McL for turning me onto this story.Christmas in 1881 Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or

Typhoid Mary, Meet Philanthropy Phyllis

2008-12-22T14:10:00.014-06:00

Turns out infecting your coworkers can be a good thing. According to Katherine Carman of Tilberg University in the Netherlands, people seated in cubicles near people who give actually become more generous. "Economic theory says I should want to free ride on other people's contributions," she said. "But in real life, we live in social groups. My research shows that if you give more, I will give

An Invaluable Infection

2008-01-27T04:59:00.000-06:00

The following was originally posted on the Hard Rock Philanthropy page at www.rethos.com.My New Year’s resolution is to have a better sense of well-being in 2008. Does that sound self-serving and hedonistic? Good! I invite you to adopt the same resolution. But the means by which I suggest we reach our goal may surprise you.It won’t be by winning the lottery. Money can’t promise happiness. A

US versus Bill Gates

2007-11-23T09:24:00.001-06:00

I discovered The GiveWell Blog and accompanying web site this week. Although it appears to be targeted toward the upper crust of USA citizens - the founders are Ivy League grads and former hedge fund managers - the content is relevant to anyone seeking an opportunity to make a difference in the world (i.e. those of us who make up the soft, creamy filling underneath that tender crust).If you are

One Person

2007-11-08T05:08:00.000-06:00

Some friends of mine just returned from ten days in South Africa. They visited a number of villages and homes for AIDS orphans, hoping to find some way to help alleviate the severe poverty and sickness that has invaded that region of our world. I don’t think any of them was prepared for the enormity of the situation. It was overwhelming. We gathered last night to hear their stories.

Emancipation

2007-07-01T06:23:00.000-05:00

A key player in the end of slavery in America was a former slave himself, Frederick Douglass. In his autobiography, Douglass wrote that ignorance was like chains around the ankles of his brothers and sisters in bondage. As a child he had been taught to read by the daughter of his master. As an adult Douglass sought to establish a Sabbath school to help fellow slaves to learn to read and write.

Toward a Moral Center

2007-06-30T20:45:00.000-05:00

Last April I attended the annual conference of the Council on Foundations. Jim Wallis, CEO of Sojourners and author of God’s Politics: why the right gets it wrong and the left doesn’t get it, spoke at the conference-sponsored ecumenical, interfaith service. He condemned politics for failing to identify solutions to horrors like extreme poverty, AIDS and genocide. He called on Philanthropy to

The Deceitfulness of Wealth

2007-06-28T20:38:00.000-05:00

While killing time in an airport bookstore a few weeks ago I came across an article in Details magazine on “why your six-figure salary isn’t enough.” Wish I had that problem to worry about…but I digress. The article features 20- and 30-somethings plus a few in their early 40s who have achieved salaries in the mid-six figures (I assume that means in the 300K-700K range; I’d be happy just to

From Ownership to Stewardship

2007-06-26T20:10:00.000-05:00

This morning is my last day at Conception Abbey, a monastery in Northwest Missouri. I arrived here two days ago for the purpose of devoting serious time to writing and reading about universal philanthropy. I am sitting on an uncomfortable chair at a built-in Formica-covered desk in a small room with ugly orange carpet, pecking away on a Compaq Armada laptop

16-year-old Girl Scout Teaches Philanthropy

2007-05-16T12:03:00.000-05:00

Sally McEwen gets it! At 16 years old she has already created a curriculum and is teaching elementary school students about grants, saving money, budgeting and helping meet the needs of people in their community.In today's post on The Agitator, Tom Belford asks, "What does it take to get people with means to give a damn about other people they'll never know?" Sally McEwen and people like her

A Healthy Outlook on Illness

2007-04-24T17:04:00.000-05:00

Roger Ebert and I don't always agree on movies but his latest column in the Chicago Sun Times made me laugh and tugged at my heart at the same time. Roger has been battling cancer for some time and the surgeries have left him unable to speak and physically unattractive.Friends have suggested that he avoid his film festival, that paparazzi will take advantage of his situation and people will be

Boomer Legacy

2007-04-22T16:06:00.000-05:00

Jane Curtin: Well, the 1970's are in their final month, and with some thoughts on this decade and the one we're about to enter, here's Weekend Update's Social Sciences Editor Al Franken.Al Franken: Thank you, Jane. Well, the "me" decade is almost over, and good riddance, and far as I'm concerned. The 70's were simply 10 years of people thinking of nothing but themselves. No wonder we were unable

Giving (sic) in America

2007-04-08T15:03:00.000-05:00

We Americans think we are a pretty generous nation. But what we do compared to what we could do is pathetic. Our giving is sick.I don’t mean to ignore the good things we do around the world as a nation, as individuals and through nonprofit organizations. Helping Japan and Europe to rebuild after World War II was a good thing. The work Greg Mortenson is doing to build schools in Pakistan and

Philanthropy Is For Everyone

2007-04-06T06:37:00.000-05:00

Twenty-two years ago I stumbled into the profession of fundraising, beginning as a special events director and progressing to corporate and foundation grant-writing. In that time I have helped to secure all kinds of gifts: the most unusual being a quart of bull semen (for an agricultural college), and the most impressive being a $5 million grant from a major philanthropic organization (aka a “

Why another blog on philanthropy?

2007-04-05T20:07:00.000-05:00

I've been contemplating setting up this blog for some time. There are so many out there I wondered, why bother? But the blogs I see related to giving and philanthropy either focus on "major" gifts from the very wealthy (like Billanthropy) or micro gifts from the likes of your average American (see Dollar Philanthropy, The $5 Philanthropist, and to some extent even Everyday Giving). The space