Unprecedented. Unparalleled. 100-year event. Words and phrases used to describe the plunging temperatures across Texas and the deep south as a polar vortex of arctic air settled in for more than a week. As temperatures plunge and power outages occur, our response focuses on conserving body heat when very cold. And our circle of concern might widen to include those closest to us, what Maslow’s Hier ...[Read More]
Six Ways to Identify Where to Give in Unfamiliar Locations
How to Love Your Favorite Nonprofit Organization this Month
School-age memories are often etched into our psyche. For me, these memories are either clear and colorful or vague and foggy. One of the clear, colorful memories from elementary school came on February 14. Eleven years old, I was excited about the upcoming Father-Daughter Valentine’s Day Banquet. That particular day was noteworthy to others, but I was too young to care. On that very day, J ...[Read More]
Like Dr. Seuss, Care a Whole Awful Lot
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” That’s sage advice from one of the most popular children’s authors of all time, Dr. Seuss. This isn’t the first time I’ve started a blog with Dr. Seuss. But it seems his message is appropriate all over again. Giving to the causes you care “a whole awful lot about” should be easy. It should feel good – even ...[Read More]
How the Goldilocks Rule Makes Your Giving “Just Right”
A bowl of oatmeal with steam dancing above is just right in my opinion. Goldilocks would disagree and declare my bowl of oatmeal “too hot.” Like Goldilocks’ preference for baby bear’s “just right” porridge, donors have a just right style of giving. Because each of us has a personal giving signature, what I call Giving Fingerprints, we are attracted to different causes, organizations and ways of gi ...[Read More]
How to Become Santa for Someone this Year
In the late sixties, my family moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming. My brother and I arrived at our new school in the middle of an outbreak of strep throat, also known as streptococcus. The outbreak was severe. They began weekly throat cultures on every student and sending anyone home who tested positive. My brother was sent home several weeks in a row after testing positive for strep throat, although show ...[Read More]
Helpers Can Make Year-End Giving More Meaningful
Helpers come in all sizes and forms. It has been such an odd year. I can’t imagine what things might be like at the North Pole. What would Santa Claus do without his helpers, elves in green suits with pointy toes, to prepare for the all-important worldwide delivery of packages to good boys and girls? Santa is not the only person who needs helpers. Ours may not come dressed in red or green, b ...[Read More]