Why are organic strawberries more expensive?

August 3rd, 2011

It can be costly to be environmentally or health conscious. Lots of people say organic products are healthier and more environmentally friendly because they don’t use lots of chemical pesticides or hormones; however, they are typically also more expensive than conventionally-grown products.

Price always boils down to supply and demand. There are simply a lot fewer organic farms than non-organic farms, which makes organic produce rarer and more expensive provided people actually want organic products. Clearly, people do want organic products – as demonstrated by the explosion of marketing for anything and everything organic in recent years – and this marketing could be another big factor in the price.

Companies have done a good job making organics stand out and presenting them as something you want or need to have. Unfortunately for people who grow and enjoy organic products, the very things they like about them also make them more expensive. Hormones and chemical pesticides are cheaper ways to produce bigger crops, so it costs more to make the same quantity of strawberries (or whatever) without all that chemical stuff organic consumers don’t want.

If you want access to a special or different product, you’re going to pay for it. You have to decide for yourself if it’s worth the price.

A Private Label Card is…

August 3rd, 2011

A private label card is a credit card offered by a retailer to be used exclusively at its stores. The cards are usually managed by a financial institution and not by the retailer. It’s like your favorite store stamped its logo on one of your credit cards – it’s still a credit card, it just has a different design (…and you can only use it in one place).

What’s the difference between a recession and a depression?

August 3rd, 2011

Before the 1930′s, recessions didn’t exist. This doesn’t mean that the economy behaved all that differently than it does now: up until that time, all economic declines were simply called depressions. But after the Great Depression, the term “recession” was coined to separate financial downturns on a lesser scale from those comparable to the catastrophe of the ’30′s.

The common definition of a recession is a drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over two or more consecutive quarters. But economists tend to dislike this definition because it only looks  at GDP, and the two-quarter minimum means shorter recessions can go unnoticed. The National Bureau of Economic Research officially declares a recession after an in-depth analysis of financial information.

A depression is a recession in which the GDP declines by more than 10%, or one that lasts for more than three years. While recessions are pretty common, depressions are not. Only one developed country, Finland, has suffered a depression since the end of World War II. Depression has become a loaded term since the 1930′s catastrophe, and we want to make sure we use it only when the situation is appropriately grave.

A Future is…

August 3rd, 2011

A “future” in market terms, is a contract to buy or sell a commodity for a specific price at a specific time in the future. That contract (or future), can be bought and sold up until that date. Think of it this way: today, an apple costs 25¢ but you think the price will go up 50¢ next fall. You decide to buy a contract with an apple farm for an apple next fall at today’s price. Now you can sell that contract up until next fall.

Why are charities blowing donations on black-tie balls?

August 3rd, 2011

Spend money to make money? It might seem like an oxymoron, but in reality it’s a great fundraising tool for charities to use. Large, extravagant events can benefit nonprofits in a couple of ways.

Everyone likes a party, so why not make some money off of it? That’s part of the mentality that black-tie benefit balls depend on. These events usually charge a ticket price for each person who wishes to attend. While the party may cost the charity $50 per attendee, tickets for entry might cost $250 or more – an easy net gain of $200 per person. Multiply that $200 by a thousand people and you’ve raised $200,000 before anyone even walks through the door. Once inside, a charity might hold an auction or have other mini-events that would contribute even more to their total funds raised.

Besides the monetary benefits, black-tie balls often attract celebrities and other influential people who can raise awareness about the charity. These events are also a great way for a charity to give back to its donors – to thank them for their contributions and (hopefully) continued support. By spending a little money on entertaining their donors, charities are the ones with money in their pockets at the end of the night.

A Grant Proposal is…

August 3rd, 2011

A grant proposal is a detailed description of the nonprofit organizaton’s work (usually several pages) that is submitted to a grantmaker when being considered for funding.

Bill Gates Learns to Give… Better

August 2nd, 2011

bill-gates-thinker.jpg
(photo credit: Steve Jurvetson)

Or, maybe, “Bill Gates learns to give to learn to teach so kids can learn?” Or something like that…

What we’re getting at here is that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, by far the biggest charitable foundation in the world, has given away billions of dollars total, and hundreds of millions to education, however, they’ve had little measurable impact in the last ten years on the one thing they were really trying to change – how many kids from disadvantaged neighborhoods are going to college.

Luckily, the last 10 years in schools have taught Bill Gates something – that he needs to learn more! Taking an idea from the private sector and applying it to education, the Gates Foundation thinks that a little R&D is exactly what the educational system needs to come up with innovative solutions to its big problems. And that’s where he’s going to put his money now.

It turns out that the business world and non-profit world aren’t so different. A lot of what we do spending and growing our money has real impact on society and the environment, and things we do in one are of our financial lives can apply to other areas in new and cool ways.

It’s not always just about giving more, but about learning to give better.

Bill Gates Learns to Give… Better

August 2nd, 2011

bill-gates-thinker.jpg
(photo credit: Steve Jurvetson)

Or, maybe, “Bill Gates learns to give to learn to teach so kids can learn?” Or something like that…

What we’re getting at here is that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, by far the biggest charitable foundation in the world, has given away billions of dollars total, and hundreds of millions to education, however, they’ve had little measurable impact in the last ten years on the one thing they were really trying to change – how many kids from disadvantaged neighborhoods are going to college.

Luckily, the last 10 years in schools have taught Bill Gates something – that he needs to learn more! Taking an idea from the private sector and applying it to education, the Gates Foundation thinks that a little R&D is exactly what the educational system needs to come up with innovative solutions to its big problems. And that’s where he’s going to put his money now.

It turns out that the business world and non-profit world aren’t so different. A lot of what we do spending and growing our money has real impact on society and the environment, and things we do in one are of our financial lives can apply to other areas in new and cool ways.

It’s not always just about giving more, but about learning to give better.

What makes a stock price go up and down?

August 2nd, 2011

At the most basic level, stock prices are related to demand. When many people want to buy stock in a certain company, the stock price goes up, and when a lot of people are trying to get rid of a stock, its price goes down. But there are several other factors that go into a stock’s price.

If investors think a certain stock will do well, they will buy it and its price will go up; the reverse is also true. Stocks don’t exist in a vacuum, so their environment (both in general and specifically) affects their price. How is the company that owns the stock doing? Has it released positive earnings reports or a new product that shows promise? Investors also examine the social and economic climate in general – interest rates, political interest in certain businesses, and so on. Lastly, there’s the market itself to consider: during a bull market, everyone is buying stock, so stock prices in general tend to go up.

The stock market is tricky because it relies so much on anticipating things before they actually happen. A stock’s price will go up if it is popular, but investors may also buy that stock because they think it will become popular in the future. If enough people have this hunch, investing can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Deep Investment in Shared Experience: Dance Company Founders Share with TILE

August 2nd, 2011

lawrence-herchenroether.jpgLawrence-Herchenroether Dance Company, artists-in-residence at Girard College and Mascher Space Cooperative, is a Philadelphia-based modern dance company that produces the work of choreographer Tori Lawrence. By emphasizing the creative process, the Lawrence-Herchenroether Dance Company strives to create a shared experience between the performers and audience members. Continuously exploring the dynamic relationship among movement, perception, and environment, the company works towards creating choreography that is surprising, thoughtful, and honest. Co-founders Tori Lawrence and Emily Herchenroether stopped communing with their audiences long enough to answer a few of our questions about supporting the arts…

TILE: Why is it important to support the arts?
Tori & Emily: Art opens up conversations and new ways of looking at things. It encourages dialogue between the creator and the perceiver, helping to push and challenge us as individuals and as communities. It helps us progress as beings to more deeply relate to the world and the environment around us.

TILE: What’s it like to run your own show as an independent modern dance company?
Tori & Emily: We become intimately aware of all of the details that go into a live production that aren’t related to the art. Examples are marketing, fund-raising, grant writing, rehearsal/performance space rental, etc. You have to realize that you’re providing a full experience for the audience rather than solely the work or choreography itself.

There’s also a lot of problem solving and awareness of all of the expenses that go into forming a dance company. Finding a way to balance your needs and limited funds is hard and we’re still trying to figure it out. We have come to realize that we are business owners that have branded a company as well as artists that have branded a voice.

TILE: We hear a lot about how artists of all ages are struggling financially to bring their work to life. What kind of advice would you give to young people who want to help out by supporting the arts?
Tori & Emily: Our advice: Go to shows and experience art (whether they be concerts, gallery openings, dance performances, jams, etc.). Find someone whose work moves you or strikes you in a certain way. I would recommend concentrating your funds in that one person/company and one area rather than spreading it to a group of different artists/companies.

Deep investment is better than a broad investment in art because you make more of an impact and you can experience the effects of your donation more easily. Deep investment in one artist or one company encourages longevity and sustainability.

TILE: As young performing artists, what kind of role would you like to see your own art and that of others playing in the future?
Tori & Emily: Bringing the audience to be more engaged in our art (a mind/body/soul engagement). In our site-specific dance performances, we prod, poke, and allow those deep/inner questions to surface. Hopefully the worlds that we create can inspire our audience members to become more engaged with their surroundings.

TILE: We can all learn from each other, so… what’s the biggest financial mistake you’ve ever made?
Tori & Emily: We rented a space inside an outmoded power plant for one of our shows at the Philly Fringe last year. Our performance involved a lot of water. At the end of the performance, we didn’t have the appropriate resources to clean up the water and dirt that we left behind, so we ended up being penalized for not thoroughly cleaning the space.
What we learned: Be aware of the risks that you take when you put down a deposit for a performance venue.

Be clear ahead of time what’s expected of you to get the deposit back so that you can do what’s expected and not lose money unnecessarily.

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