Philanthropy, Technology, and Resolutions

After seeing a recent article in The New York Times posted a number of times on Facebook in Twitter, I decided to give it a look. “Be It Resolved” by John Tierney offers a brief literature review on research related to the success of keeping a New Year’s resolution, or many resolutions, as the case may be, though willpower.

To my surprise, there were some interesting nuggets of philanthropy and technology noted in the article that implicated motivation in ways that I never would have considered.

StickK.com

Late in the article after a somewhat awkward story about the ability of a wealthy hedge fund manager to meet his fitness goals (read: a strange point - unrelated to research - that the ultra-wealthy can hire people to manage their willpower for them), Tierney mentioned a website, stikcK.com, which allows you to set a goal and put money behind it. Basically, if you fail to keep your resolution or meet your goal, they money will be sent to “a friend, a charity, or an anti-charity.”  The example of an anti-charity given in the article was that donation from “a Democrat could be the George W. Bush library. (The Clinton library is available for Republicans.)”

I presume that if you meet the goal in your resolution, you keep you money.  It’s not clear if you can still donate it to charity – or anti-charity – when you’re successful. If you can donate it to a charity if you're successful (or if they just give the money back to you directly to donate on your own), then this could be a wonderful way to fundraise through activity goals, with practical use beyond just resolutions, like one-time races.

This is the first time I’ve really thought about an “anti-charity” concept, much less as a motivational tactic to pursue goals and resolutions. Of course, most of us prefer to give to “good” charities based on good intentions. I guess it might provide a new level of motivation to think that “bad” charities would benefit by our failures.  But I could also see that it makes the whole goal-setting/resolution process more painful (“D’oh! I failed and my anti-charity succeeds at my expense!”).

Striiv.com

The other philanthropy-related site listed in the article is striiv.com, but this one is focused primarily on losing weight. The site is an exercise monitor that makes donation to charity based on how active you are.  The site says:

“At Striiv, we believe helping others is core to improving yourself. That’s why we’ve created a walkathon in every Striiv device that counts your steps and gives based on your movement. At no cost to you, Striiv and corporate partners donate on your behalf. Just walk, earn, and plug into your PC to donate. Its (sic) that simple. You have the choice of 3 charities - providing clean water to families in South America, polio vaccines, and help save the rainforest. The more you walk the more you give.”

I’ve run a few marathons and swam the Alcatraz Channel for various charities, so I can certainly support the idea of coupling philanthropic activism with physical activity. But I’m a little concerned that the charitable beneficiaries are not well explained online – it seems that you can’t even find their names or learn about how and where they give (beyond general parameters like “Bolivia, Tanzania, and India”).

It’s also a bit of a bump in the road to see that in order to participate in their approach, you have to buy a $99 device that tracks your activity. That’s not exactly cheap, considering most pedometers and phone applications cost much less. The software seems to be a large part of the sell, but it seems there is also an essential online component.

Also, it looks like you don’t actually donate your own money directly, since “At no cost to you, Striiv and corporate partners donate on your behalf.” But how much do they donate?  The site seems like an interesting concept, but there are lots of questions I have about the effectiveness of their approach, based on activity and philanthropy.

Let me know if you find any sites that offer the same “walk/run/bike-a-thon” concept online through setting and achieving goals, with easy, secure, linked ways to donate the money.  All the better if you can select the charity of your choice, as it would be quite convenient to document my activity activism and philanthropy over time. There needs to be a philanthropy diary online - anyone?

As for my resolutions? “Give more” is not one of them – I already made my philanthropic budget in 2011 and most of the beneficiaries are to places where I serve on the board of directors. So I don’t plan to turn to either of these sites for direction or motivation. But it’s great to see that charities, anti-charities, and technologies are using philanthropy to advance resolutions, or maybe it’s the other way around; using resolutions to advance philanthropy.

Good luck on those resolutions, friends!

Happy New Year

Throughout the South, eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck. My mom sent me a recipe from her grandmother, Georgie Anna (Weaver) Haney, known as Grandma Georgie (my great grandmother). On the recipe, someone wrote "Tennessee 1868" - so it's at least 144 years-old.

Here's to a prosperous 2012!

And here's the recipe:

Hoppin’ John

1 pound dried black-eyed peas
3 pints (6 cups) cold water
1/2 pound salt pork, bacon or jowl
1 tablespoon Tabasco
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cook on low burner until peas are tender.

Add:
2 tablespoons bacon grease
2 medium onions
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 cups hot water
1 cup long grain rice

Rinse and sort black-eyed peas, removing any stones you may find in with the beans. In a large Dutch oven or kettle, combine the black-eyed peas, salt pork, bacon or jowl and 6 cups water. Add Tabasco, sugar and ginger, but not the salt. Mince the onions (or leave whole and remove later if preferred), add bacon grease and mix with peas. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy, 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Add 2 cups of hot water to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice, cover and simmer until the rice is almost tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste. Serve with hot sauce of your choice and freshly baked cornbread.

Note: Bacon — fried and crumbled — sprinkled on top makes this dish especially delicious.

Don't Be a Hater, Be a Donater!

Joe Montana and Ashkon remind San Francisco, "Don't Hate, Donate!" 

Get Together, Give Together

Pictured (L to R): Kiki Mills Johnson, Executive Director, Full Circle Fund; Mike Berkowitz, Co-Founder, One Percent Foundation; Lana Volftsun, Executive Director, One Percent Foundation; Adam Bad Wound, Founder, Philanthrotopia; Lauren Tulp, Co-Chair, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy - Bay Area Chapter; Dan Siegel, Co-President, YouthGive; Jenny Yancey, Co-President, YouthGive

On December 12, 2011, Philanthrotopia hosted an event, "Get Together, Give Together" - a meet and greet reception featuring a variety of giving circles in the San Francisco Bay Area. Guests were able to meet with board members, executive directors, and staff from some unique philanthropic organizations with diverse funding models. The main goal of the event was to educate prospective giving circle members about the variety of ways to pursue this exciting philanthropic pathway.

Giving Circles are a form of philanthropy where groups of individuals donate their money together into a pooled fund and decide together to support a charity or project. Members increase their knowledge of philanthropy by learning more about an issue or cause, as well as nonprofit organizations working hard to make a difference. In addition to donating money, many circles also contribute time and skills as charitable resources.

The event featured:

Full Circle Fund is an engaged philanthropy organization cultivating the next generation of community leaders and driving lasting social change in the Bay Area. Full Circle Fund members leverage their time, money, skills and connections to the service of nonprofits, businesses and government agencies in partnerships that result in significant impact on the community.

The One Percent Foundation empowers young adults to become lifelong philanthropists by facilitating engaged, systematic, collective and values-driven giving and participation. Partners in the One Percent Foundation pledge to donate at least one percent of their income to philanthropy each year. The Foundation supports organizations in the five broad categories of Education, the Environment, Health, International Aid, and Poverty.

The mission of Philanthrotopia is to advance philanthropic knowledge (theory and practice), through a grassroots, naturalist approach to community-based investments in people and place.

YouthGive helps to grow the next generation of compassionate givers and global citizens, believing that everyone can be a philanthropist. YouthGive is giving by the many, for all ages, with local and global impact.

 The event was sponsored By:

Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP)'s mission is to strengthen the next generation of grantmakers in order to advance effective social justice philanthropy and help the funding world address critical generational issues. It is a national organization and a vibrant local learning community that offers unique leadership, professional development, and networking opportunities, and raises the voice for next generation issues and ideas.

The EPIP Bay Area Chapter works closely with the national office in New York City and shares ideas with ten other chapters across the country. The chapter steering committee is comprised of young professionals who represent a rich philanthropic and nonprofit community. Members take a leadership role in planning professional development programs and in hosting networking events.

Philanthropy's Newest Poster Boy

Checkout the Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl. I heart NPR." meme on Tumblr! 

In all seriousness, it's a good reminder to support National Public Radio.

O Solstice Tree!

This year, solstice has a new meaning: recovery and sustainability.  That's because my solstice tree came from The Delancey Street Foundation, "A community where people with nowhere to turn, turn their lives around."

Delancey Street is the country's leading residential self-help organization for former substance abusers, ex-convicts, homeless and others who have hit bottom. Started in 1971 with four people in a San Francisco apartment, Delancey Street has served many thousands of residents, in five locations throughout the United States. Residents at Delancey Street range from teenagers to senior citizens, and include men and women and all races and ethnicities. The average resident has been a hard-core drug and alcohol abuser, has been in prison, is unskilled, functionally illiterate, and has a personal history of violence and generations of poverty.

The minimum stay at Delancey Street is two years while the average resident remains for almost 4 years – drug, alcohol and crime-free. During their time at Delancey Street, residents receive a high school equivalency degree (GED) and are trained in 3 different marketable skills. Beyond academic and vocational training, residents learn important values, and the social and interpersonal skills that allow them to live successfully in the mainstream of society.

The annual holiday tree training promotion provides residents with an opportunity to learn the basics of sales. In addition to trees, the lots carry mistletoe, indoor tree lights, decorated wreaths, living potted pines, tree removal bags and water bowls for trees. There's also a commercial decorating division that sells large trees and decorates banks and large corporate headquarters for the holidays. Residents not only create the designs but craft the decorations each year.

This beautiful tree was also sustainably grown and harvested, to boot!  It looks and smells great.

A Day of Remberance

Today is World AIDS Day, an annual opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988.

This year, there are many milestones to observe, locally and nationally.  It was 30 years ago that the AIDS pandemic began, and 20 years ago that the National AIDS Memorial Grove was founded in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

As a recent addition to the Grove's Board of Directors, I was delighed to join the planning committee for the annual "Light in the Grove" gala event, where friends were reacquainted and enchanted within the gently-lit warmth of the Grove. It was absolutely stunning and I am profoundly proud to be a part of the festivities. The Grove is a national monument, designated in the same manner as Mt. Rushmore, the Washington Monument, Statue of Liberty, and Pearl Harbor, to name a few.

The mission of the Grove is to provide a healing sanctuary and to promote learning and understanding of the human tragedy of the AIDS pandemic. Combined with the gala event, the Grove also hosted a ceremony for World AIDS Day.

The theme of this year’s observance is “Action = Life.”  This year, we bestowed the Local Unsung Hero Award to the staff who served tirelessly and compassionately at Wards 5A, 5B and 86 of San Francisco’s General Hospital, the original AIDS Wards.  To quote the plaque now hanging at the entrance to Ward 5B, “They created a haven of acceptance and compassion at a time when others were calling for isolation and rejection.  They saw fellow human beings where others saw only disease and contagion.”

One of the highlights of the day was hearing one of the awardees challenge the audience: "What can we do to fight AIDS?  Let's start by ending homophobia, sexism, racism and poverty!" Truly, this is a virus that can strike people from all backgrounds, but its disparities are not accidental. Education is critical.

The day inculded a moment of celebration, as we held the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the falls project, a restoration in memory of Frances McCormick. The reintroduction of water, utilizing state-of-the-art recycling and conservation technology, improves the natural landscape, restores wildlife habitat and promotes a sense of peace and healing in the Memorial.

Checkout some snapshots I took on my iPhone throughout the festivities.

Giving 2.0

Back when I worked at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society,  I had the great honor of working with Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen as her teaching and research assistant at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Department of Public Policy for her courses on Strategic Philanthropy and Philanthropy and Social Innovation.  In truth, I credit her for inspiring me to make philanthropy a central part of my professional and personal ambitions. 

Now, she's promoting her new book, Giving 2.0: Transform Your Giving and Our World, which is a practical guide for philanthropists and families.  Although our backgrounds couldn't be more different (she's from extreme wealth and I'm from extreme poverty, for example), one of the things I appreciated most about working with Laura is that she can bring out the philanthropist in anyone. 

Even me.

And true to her generousity, 100% of author royalties from the sales of Giving 2.0 will be donated to innovative, high-impact nonprofits through the Giving 2.0 Grants program. Checkout this promotional video:

Giving 2.0: Transform Your Giving and Our World from Giving 2.0 on Vimeo.

Also, be sure to watch her interview on Charlie Rose.

Earth Time Lapse View from Space

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Time lapse sequences of photographs taken by Ron Garan and the crew of expedition 28 & 29 onboard the International Space Station from August to October, 2011.

Indigenous People's Day

October 10, 2011: Sunrise service on Alcatraz Island to honor Indigenous People's Day.