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Ticket StubsPhoto Credit: Limowreck666 (flickr)

 

Did you know that in 2006 North American spent over $2,000 per person on entertainment and just over $1,000 per person on charitable activities?

This is a link to a blog, Non-Profit Communications, written by Kivi Leroux Miller, about what you get for donation.  An interesting experiment in community investing and testing the donor stewardship programs of charities.

I have been brainstorming ideas on what to right over the past few days - mostly in an effort to become more consistant with my blogging. 

This is what I have come up with:

The Games We Play: From Oprah’s Big Give to Online Gambling

Wow! That really sums up how I am feeling these days.  In a recent article posted by the Financial Times people can now feel good about feeding their addictions. 

Okay, maybe that is a little harsh… But really, if you think about it – our TV watching habits took a philanthropic spin when American Idol launched their Africa projects a couple of years ago; and how can we ignore Oprah’s Big Give?!  Now our online gambling addictions can have a positive social impact.

In Canada a large number of charities receive government funding from dollars generated at casinos.  Gambling is not a new source of revenue; what is new, is the betting on prediction markets. 

Volunteerism - Do I Have the Time?

The Globe and Mail recently ran an article by Jonathan Drew on the selfishness of altruism.  His article entitled, "This is Good You can be Selfish and Altruistic - Employer-supported volunteering programs prove rewarding to communities, volunteers and companies" comes at a fitting time.  Trends indicate that volunteerism across Canada is down and just as there is discussion on donor-fatigue there is also discussion around volunteer-fatigue. 

Someone who I greatly respect shared this poem with me and I felt that I should pass it along to you.  When we talk about the values that shape our decision making processes, we ask ourselves questions as part of the process.  I invite you to ask yourself some of these questions when you think about the impact that you want to have in the world.

I have been thinking recently on how the charitable sector mirrors the corporate sector.  This thought process was triggered by an article I read in the NY Times and then by a blog posting on Tactical Philanthropy. 

The Big Decision

So you've identified your values, you'ver picked how you will give and you've set your philanthropic goals.  The goals that articulate the kind of social impact you want to make.  How will you find the charities that best fit your values and goals?

Articles in the News Lately

The past few days there have been some interesting pieces in North American papers and blog sites on philanthropy and specifically on developing philanthropic strategies.  Here a few that I think might of interest to you:

Analyzing Your Past Giving

What does your past charitable giving say about you?

Does your past giving reflect what you are truly trying to accomplish with your philanthropic dollars?

 

Before you can create a philanthropic strategy for the future, you need to know where you are starting from; not just how much you want to invest in the charitable sector.

 

The Methodology of Giving - How To Give Strategically

Welcome to Dexterity Consulting's first blog!  I am very excited about the prospect of exchanging ideas and information about Canada's philanthropic sector.  Whenever possible, resources and links will be provided so that you can continue to ask questions and seek answers.  Of course, I welcome your comments and queries.

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