Place2Give

I walked into the Co-op liquor store the other day and the woman in front of me said - “Oh you’re that woman who works with philanthropists.”  I smiled, laughed, and confirmed her statement. I then asked how she knew who I was and she mentioned she heard me speak at an AFP conference a couple of years ago.  When she left the cashier, a man in his late 50’s, turned to me and said, “I don’t think I have ever met a philanthropist before.”  That made me laugh. I have previously written about who is a philanthropist and the mindset hasn’t shifted much.  

It is for this reason that I created myPlace2Give.  A site dedicated to creating your own personalized micro-foundation. You get to pick the charities, set the disbursement amounts and the timelines, share with your friends and we take care of all the reporting.  Why did we do this?  Because anyone can have their own foundation, you don’t need to have millions of dollars to create meaningful impact in the world.

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For the past six months or so Place2Give has been supporting Give A Mile by connecting donors to flights so that families can be reunited in a time of crisis.  In an our ongoing commitment to report on what happens as a result of the generosity of our clients here is an update from GAM Founder, Kevin Crowe.

Our impact to date =  

112 Flights given to people for visits of support.
22 International in nature 
4,352,280 miles used

That is 112 people distressed and worried.  People unable to get to their loved ones, people who went from moments of despair and anxiety to moments of love and support.  You have done all of it out of the goodness and compassion of your hearts.  How many sleepless nights have you removed?  How many last fond memories have you given that will allow healing and people to move forward?   How many times has a loved one who was alone and afraid been comforted by the love that may have not been there but for the work and effort you have put in to make a flight happen. 

How to put it in to words ….. a hand reaching out to hold that of a loved one whose time is running out….  In the words of a flight recipient...

Just as when the flood waters rose in Southern Alberta in 2013, we have pulled together a group of individuals who have experience working with organizations in Nepal to help direct funds to organizations operating on the ground addressing the earthquake disaster.  You can donate to this fund through P2G Nepal Relief Fund.

These organizations have a proven track record during a time of crisis and when going about their day-to-day operations.  I have identified the organizations and how the funds will be used over what period of time so that you know what to expect as a result of your donation.

As always, there is the Red Cross, however experience has shown that the funds raised by this organization tend to get pushed into the machine of the Red Cross so, while it is a steady organization, if you are wanting to see impact and have an emotional connection to how your funds were spent, there are other choices.

I have been a member of the Calgary South Rotary Club for almost five years and it was at a recent meeting that I started reflecting on what being a member of this service organization has meant to me.

The Rotary Four-Way Test has been a cornerstone for how I operate in the world and how I envision my company operating.  In large part it is this test that helps articulate my corporate values internally and externally and also that which provides my team as a guiding framework for decision making – as a way to self-authorize decision making.

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Every year I provide a list of organizations that Dexterity Consulting clients and Place2Give donors have directed their funds.  This past year we have seen significant growth in our donor base and so the list below is a snapshot of the organizations that were supported.  

As this is your last chance for year-end donations, we have made giving easy - by clicking on any one of the links you can donate directly to the charity through the Place2Give Foundation.

Happy New Year and thank you for your generosity and continued support of the organizations that make our communities strong!

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In today's Seth Godin blog - Babies and Bath Water, he lists the organizations that he is supporting for GivingTuesday and also links to the "worst" charities.  

What makes a worst charity? 

Every month we share the latest tech updates to the Place2Give website and the technology solutions offered through Dexterity Ventures Inc.

The entire Dexterity Ventures (DVI) team has been head down in preparation for GivingTuesday and the presentation at CKX Summit in Toronto (more info about that here) that happened on November 20^th. As such, we would like to use our tech blog this month as a taster for the things we've launched over the month.

We set-up and launched the GivingTuesday Campaign for Place2Give and Dexterity Ventures in anticipation of Tuesday December 2^nd (aka 2014’s ‘GivingTuesday’). The Place2Give GivingTuesday Motif Giving Campaign can be found here.

November 20th, 2014 - Presentation at CKX (Community Knowledge Exchange) on how data is influencing individual and family philanthropy as well as the role that advisors and estate planners are having on the discussion.  

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Over the past five years I have been writing about strategic giving and social impact investing.  Since starting this blog, Generating Social Capital, and working with clients on the Karma & Cents™ philanthropy planning process the landscape has changed and as a result so too has my approach to strategic philanthropy.  

As we enter into the holiday season, as is typical, we will all be approached to donate.  Some of us will look at this as opportunity to give as part of our tax planning process, others will be looking at the holiday giving season with more of a philanthropic approach.  Either way, giving should be done with mindfulness.

Enter GivingTuesday. A national movement that is leading the charge on counter-balancing Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  Please read on, to learn more about how we are encouraging people to use the GivingTuesday movement for strategic philanthropy.

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