A corporate giving program is the practice of companies’ donating directly to charitable organizations from their income.
Archive for the ‘Give Page’ Category
A Corporate Giving Program is…
Sunday, October 18th, 2009Rainforest Action Network Targets Fashion Houses
Thursday, October 15th, 2009Would you want a beautiful shopping bag if it meant clearcutting a section of rainforest in Indonesia?
- Rainforest Action Network, an activist group (and TILE Cause) that focuses on corporate responsibility when it comes to rainforests, seems to have made a major victory in the fashion industry by targeting a supplier of high-end shopping bags.
- In a letter to 100 fashion firms, RAN explained that paper goods supplier Pak 2000 had very close ties with Asia Pulp and Paper, a company notorious for damaging the environment in order to harvest wood pulp. (Pak 2000 has since indicated that it may soon cut ties with the company.)
- Several large clients have since ended their relationships with Pak 2000, many citing normal business relations. But some companies, like H&M, credited the supplier shift to RAN’s letter specifically, and RAN says it is talking to 20 additional companies about switching to sustainable bag suppliers.
Facts & Figures
- Some current and former clients of Pak 2000 include: Barney’s, Billabong, Cartier, Chanel, Coach, Estee Lauder, Gucci, J.Crew, Marc Jacobs, Montblanc, Movado, and Ralph Lauren.
- Deforestation is responsible for a fifth of total greenhouse gas emissions.
- The United States and China are the largest producers of greenhouse gases, followed by Indonesia, where Asia Pulp and Paper does much of its wood harvesting.
Best Quote
“Because Pak 2000 is selling to very high-profile companies, it’s a good place to start our work, to introduce this issue to a new sector, the fashion industry.” – Lafcadio Cortesi, RAN’s Forest Campaign Director
What do nonprofit boards do?
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009The board of a nonprofit has many of the same responsibilities as the board of a corporation: they pick the chief executive, ensure that the organization is fulfilling its mission statement, and provide financial and legal oversight. They make sure the chief executive is doing his or her job running the charity’s programs, managing its money, and executing its stated purpose in its mission statement.
Nonprofit board members are often integrally involved in fundraising and raising awareness of the organization. Frequently they ask others to donate, appear at fundraising events, and donate themselves. In looking for more people to support their organization, they also find and recruit new board members.
Nonprofit boards, as you’d expect, are unpaid positions. Serving on these boards can be a gratifying and essential way to serve a cause that you care about deeply.
A Bequest is…
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009A bequest is a gift of personal property to a person or institution according to someone’s will. For example, you might receive a bequest of money, piece of art, or a whole estate upon the death of a relative.
Microfinance is…
Thursday, October 8th, 2009Microfinance is a range of financial services targeted at people “at the bottom of the pyramid” who don’t have access to regular financial products like credit, savings and insurance. When people talk about microfinance, they are often referring to inreasingly popular “microloans.”
How do you decide whether to give anonymously?
Thursday, October 8th, 2009Ultimately, there is no correct answer to whether or not you should attach your name to your donations – it’s entirely a personal choice. However, there are valid arguments for either option.
People who want their donations to bear their names often want the recognition that comes with giving, but sometimes there’s a deeper motive. By making your donation public knowledge, you’re setting an example for others – saying, in effect, that this is a worthy cause to which your peers can and ought to donate. To some people, giving anonymously can feel like they’re somehow ashamed of their donation or that they don’t want to own up to it. Public donors want to give the exact opposite impression.
People who do decide to give anonymously often believe they are being more genuinely altruistic by doing so. If they give privately, they get no recognition for giving, and some people think this makes their motives more pure. In addition, some people who want to give outside their own foundation or organization choose to donate to other causes anonymously, basically in order to avoid the question, “If your organization is so great, why are you giving to another one, instead of sending all you can spare to your own cause?” (The answer, of course, is that there are always multiple causes worthy of attention, and you can’t necessarily be involved on an administrative level in all of them.) Since you’re already doing good by giving in the first place, choosing whether to be anonymous or not is basically a win-win situation – just pick whatever option, in your opinion, makes a good thing even better.
Mayors Take Climate Change Into Their Own Hands
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009What do you do when your state’s ski resorts are firing their employees due to lack of snow, and the federal government doesn’t seem to care?
- On Friday, Greg Nickels, President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, announced that 1,000 mayors around the country had signed on to an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their cities in keeping with the Kyoto protocols, an international agreement designed to combat global warming.
- With most of the nation’s population and economy concentrated in cities, mayors felt it was their duty to step in to reduce emissions where the federal government fell short. The U.S. government has not yet signed on to the Kyoto protocols.
- In addition to reducing emissions in their own cities, the group of mayors also lobbies Congress for grants and funding for greenhouse-gas-reducing projects, and advocates for a nationwide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 7% of the 1990 level by 2012.
Facts & Figures
- The city of Cleveland has converted to 25% renewable energy.
- Boston has increased its use of solar power by 300%
- Los Angeles met the 7% Kyoto target for emissions reduction four years early in 2008; Seattle reduced its 1990-level emissions by 8% three years earlier than that, in 2005.
Best Quote
“I am signing up because this is too important an issue for us to stand on the sideline. This is not a group without diversity, it’s not a group that agrees on everything, but it is a group that is completely united and committed to this one issue.” – Scott Smith, Mayor of Mesa, AZ
Doing Homework With No Home
Monday, October 5th, 2009The federal government tried to look out for homeless students by requiring certain allowances be made to keep them in school. But in a bad economy, who should foot the bill for this crucial assistance?
- In the wake of the recession, the number of homeless children enrolled in public schools has surged. The trickle-down effects of layoffs and foreclosures have begun to strain the resources of public school districts as they struggle to keep kids enrolled while their families deal with financial ruin.
- Federal law requires that a special liaison to the homeless be appointed in every school district. In addition, districts must immediately place any student that enrolls without requiring proof of residence, and they must allow students to remain enrolled at the same school even when their families are forced to move.
- Assistance can include special car or bus services and even special administrative positions created just to manage the school-related obstacles transient children face. Some of the cost of these services is absorbed by grants and federal aid, but still they present budget issues which are sometimes visited upon local taxpayers.
Facts & Figures
- Since 2007, according to the Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, the number of homeless children seems to have increased by 75-100% in many school districts.
- In the 2006-2007 school year, there were 679,000 homeless students reported. In spring of 2009, there were more than 1 million.
- A school district in San Antonio saw the number of homeless students double this year to 1,000 in the first two weeks of school alone.
Best Quote
“We see 8-year-olds telling Mom not to worry, don’t cry.” – Bill Murdock, Chief Executive of Eblen-Kimmel Charities
How much can you legally deduct on your taxes for charitable contributions?
Monday, October 5th, 2009While tax laws are pretty complicated, there are still some general limits on charitable tax deductions. These limits only apply if you are donating a significant amount – more than 20% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). If you are not donating more than this amount in a year, then deduct away!
Once you reach the 20% threshold though, you should know the different limits on tax deductions that come into play. You can’t deduct more than 50% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) for cash donations, 30% for property, and 20% for assets. If you go over your limit for one year, you can roll the deductions out overthe next five years – and hopefully you’ll be able to deduct it all.
A Nonprofit is…
Monday, October 5th, 2009A nonprofit is an organization that exists mainly to address a social or public issue – not to earn profits for its owners or stakeholders. Sometimes, nonprofits are called charitable organizations or charities.
A nonprofit can pay its employees reasonable salaries, but all the money it brings in from grants, fundraising, or other activities is supposed to be used for charitable work. Nonprofits are exempt from paying many taxes that for-profit organizations (businesses) have to pay.