From Flickr user AForestFrolic (Creative Commons)

No matter how you look at it, the next couple of weeks are sure to be full of a special seasonal energy. For some, that energy can verge on manic, which kind of takes the fun out of it.

For example, gift buying can get expensive. PNC Wealth Management calculates the 2011 cost of the gifts listed in the familiar “12 Days of Christmas” song at $24,263 – or over $100,000 if you decided to give a partridge in a pear tree twelve times, two turtle doves eleven times, and so forth ’til your true love’s tree would be surrounded by a jumble of 364 amazing gifts.

Here are twelve things you might do to brighten the season for yourself and others that don’t involve so many visits to the ATM.

Give time:

• Look close to home and find a holiday project where you can pitch in as a volunteer via the search tools at the top of Idealist.org. Just using the word “holiday” in the box marked “What?” and “Seattle” in the box marked “Where?” turned up 11 different and interesting things to do in my hometown.

• …And resolve to volunteer in 2012. Sure, a soup kitchen is an obvious choice at Thanksgiving and sorting toys is popular come Christmas. But can you commit to things after the holiday rush, fight the winter doldrums and get to know your community better? Set up Idealist Email Alerts to stay informed about volunteer opportunities.

Give attention:

• Reminisce with family, friends, or neighbors. Look at snapshots from holidays past, talk about the times when things went right (or wrong – hopefully with only comic consequence), and record stories of holidays past. Storycorps has DIY tips.

• Say ‘thanks’ to someone who works in community service. Look online for the name of the board chair or ED of an organization you admire and write a brief note of appreciation for what the organization contributes to the community.

• Surprise a neighbor with a homemade treat or hand-picked seasonal bouquet. Best of all, do it anonymously, so there’s a bit of happy mystery about how it happened.

• Experience your holiday in a new way. Attend a community group’s concert, dance performance, or play that you’ve never been to before. Even better: Take a kid or two along with you!

Give your voice:

• Read aloud from a favorite holiday story-book. For those who celebrate Christmas, Google Books has an 1849 edition of A Visit from St. Nicholas (or “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”) with fabulous illustrations online for free.

• Sing! In the shower, with a group caroling in the neighborhood, in your place of worship…

If you can, give money.

• Give cash. Times are tough for many of us, but for those who can spare even a few dollars, see my 2010 post full of tips for year-end donations.

• Find a “Giving Tree” (or other community gift exchange for kids) and add your contribution to someone’s holiday cheer. The Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots is active in many communities.

• Look abroad to places that need our help even once they’re out of the spotlight. Japan is still recovering from the earthquake, tsunami, and related damage to nuclear power plants and tens of thousands of houses. Haiti still struggles with the effects of the terrible earthquake there two years ago. Google Disaster Relief offers links to reliable ways to help out in many parts of the world, as do familiar newspapers and magazines; try a quick online search.

And, since I doubt your shopping list will disappear entirely…

• Give experiences or contributions instead of objects. For theater-goers, a gift certificate for a pair of tickets. For mountain bikers, a membership in the local single-trackers club. Whatever your friends and family love to do, nudge them in that direction and you’ll get the vicarious pleasure of imagining them doing what they like best with your help. Alternatively, spread the warm glow by supporting a favorite organization in someone’s name.

Warm wishes from all of us at Idealist.org!

It’s that time of year! While many of us have been gathering treats for the goblins and ghouls who will appear at our doors tonight, fundraising and communications professionals at nonprofits across the country have been anxiously preparing their year-end fundraising appeals.

Why “anxiously”? Because the year-end appeal often makes the difference between a strong program next year and a struggle to achieve the mission. And because the sorry state and uncertain future of the economy is having an effect on public support for the work of nonprofits.

Freaky: the fact that every store is about to begin blaring holiday tunes. Not freaky: deciding which organizations to support with any year-end donations you make! (Photo: Micah Sittig, Flickr/Creative Commons)

Year-end giving is a tradition that brings satisfaction to many families year after year. But sometimes the number of requests can be overwhelming. If you receive envelopes or emails day after day, you might wonder, “Is this much fundraising really necessary?” or “How could this possibly be efficient?”

It is necessary. Donations are an important way for organizations to get the money they need for all the things that contribute to valuable programs – from the vegetables at the soup kitchen to research on the root causes of problems.

But it’s true that fundraising could be a lot more efficient. And often, attentive donors can help on that front. If you’re planning to donate this year, here are some tips to help make sure your year-end contributions do the most good.

• Have a plan. Decide in advance how much you can afford to give this year and what causes or groups you want to help.
  
• Take the initiative. If you already know the groups you want to support, make your gifts without waiting to be asked. You can send along a request that the groups you support not solicit you further; that’s a good idea at any time of year. But if you do get a year-end appeal anyway you can recycle it with a clear conscience…or pass it along to a friend who might share your interest.
• Be clear. If you get a year-end appeal from an organization that’s not in your plan, let them know and ask that they not send you fundraising appeals. When you do send a gift, suggest that the recipient limit any future appeals to you. Helping an organization avoid the costs of making a pointless request is a small but real contribution to their work.
• Consider volunteering. Many organizations offer special, expanded services at this time of year. Joining such a project adds a new dimension to the celebrations of the season.
• And this year, if you can, maybe stretch a little. Nonprofits in every community are helping people cope with the effects of the bad economy. If you’re doing ok, do a little bit more so they can do their jobs better.

Let us know if you have tips to add – either from the nonprofit fundraising perspective, or the individual donor point of view (maybe both!). And happy Halloween!

Via flickr user fergie_lancealot (creative commons)

I recently read that this Sunday’s New York City marathon has the highest number of people running on behalf of charities in the event’s history, expecting to raise over $26.2 million dollars. That’s a million dollars for every mile. That’s a lot of money and a lot of people willing to run a long way to support a cause they believe in.

Walk/run events such as The Susan G. Komen For The Cure event, March for Equality, and the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer are popular with nonprofit organizations, maybe because they’re such visible fundraisers and awareness-raisers. (Who hasn’t heard of them)?

One of my friends recently participated in the AIDS/LifeCycle event in California, a 545 mile, 7 day bike trip. I would have loved to support the cause by riding with him, but let’s face it, I would have probably required medical attention after mile one. I donated on behalf of my friend’s race, but I was still left wanting to be in an event instead of just cheering on the sidelines.

So, I searched for events that were more up my ally and matched my physical stamina:

• Dance-a-thons: I can definitely boogie all night. Check out the 24 Hour Cancer Dance-a-thon.
• Movember: Teams of dudes raise money and grow mustaches in the month of November to raise awareness around men’s cancers.
• Donate your birthday: Hannah blogged about this phenomenon last year. I love my birthday more than the average Joe, so this is a big one for me. Ask your social networks to make a donation on your behalf to an organization that you support.

Boom: My excuse to not fundraise for a cause I believe in because I’m out of shape is out the window. Have any other non-athletic fundraising ideas?

You’ve probably heard the old adage, “make do and mend,” a phrase made popular during wartime to encourage people to fix anything that was broken instead of tossing it in the garbage. But sometimes, unless you’re awesome with a hammer, it can be difficult to know what to do with broken parts. Enter makedo, a DIY kit that contains eco-friendly fasteners, hingers, tools and more to help connect the stuff around you. It’s great for creating toys—from giant robots to princess castles—as well as more useful objects, such as a small boat. (I’m not joking.)

A makedo gorilla, via Flickr user OliverBishopYoung

I love how makedo encourages you to look at the world through a more eco-friendly lens, and re-examine the value of the stuff around you, by pairing imagination with sustainability. People who live in the United States throw out up to 56 tons of trash each year, according to the Clear Air Council. That’s a lot. By transforming your unwanted items into fun or practical objects, you can help reduce waste — and reduce your budget.

You can buy the makedo kit from Australia for $25 (U.S. currency). But in the spirit of wasting less, why not make one yourself? See what’s lying around in your house or shed, and check out the site for some inspiration. (Another cool website that features recycled goods is ReUse Connection.) You can also spread the philosophy of making do in your own community by reading up on makedo’s educational resources and workshops.

We’d love to hear more about environmentally conscious creativity. Anyone take on a project refashioning found parts recently?

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Our series A Little Bit More highlights the “little somethings” that people and organizations can do to respond to the needs around them — things that, if done by many people all around the world, add up to make a big impact.
[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

From Flickr user mikebaird via Creative Commons

Since the mid-1990s, Seattle’s Puget Sound Community School has been offering variations, online and off, of a “Kindness Class” that focuses on exploring the varieties and satisfactions of being intentionally kind and comparing the experience within a group. Andy Smallman, founder and director of the school, is the architect of these experiments with making kindness less random, more visible.

The latest variation just got underway as a series of blog postings offering a Kindness Theme of the Week and inviting comments from people who follow up. Theme #2 appeared on March 28th; there will be another on April 4th. Anyone can join in.

An earlier Kindness Class was more structured, with a series of 14 “assignments” offering a range of perspectives for exploring the idea. Some of the assignments sound easy: Do something kind for yourself (#1). Some sound hard: Take Time to Better Understand the World and Then Translate That Understanding into Positive Action (#12). That class ended in December of 2009 but the idea doesn’t have to stop there.

Of course, if you’re interested, you can participate by following along with the new series of weekly suggestions from Smallman himself. But, sort of like a book club, a “kindness class” is also something any group of people can organize for themselves. To get going, you could use the assignments from last year’s Puget Sound Community School series. Or, for something completely different, you could get together to discuss, and maybe try out, Maimonides’ eight levels of giving. (The American Institute of Philanthropy has a good explanation.) The fact is, you might want to discuss instead of actually acting out level number one, which involves humiliating the unlucky recipient of that sort of charity.

People have been performing random acts of kindness since way before the first encouraging bumper strips were printed or the phrase itself was even invented. It can’t hurt, though, that the concept has become pretty widely understood, and ever more widely practiced. The idea of a “kindness class” goes beyond random and takes the challenge of being kind even more seriously.

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

Book cover image from Amazon.com

How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist offers hundreds of ideas for anyone with a surplus of energy to commit to good works. Constructed from the doer’s point of view, the emphasis is on the huge variety of ways anyone can recognize a need “and find a way to fill it.”

There’s an engaging autobiographical quality about Nicole Bouchard Boles’ book. She reports its origins in curiosity about how to make good use of her time while pregnant with her first child — and finding great satisfaction (and a little personal prep) in serving as a baby snuggler at a nearby hospital. The lists of strategies and resources that follow each of the eleven chapters draw on the research she did to find ways to anyone can use time, connections, talents and even trash to make the world a better place. The entries range from the familiar (Habitat for Humanity, say, or our own Idealist.org) to the wonderfully obscure and specialized. A bonus: these last will might inspire a reader to start a personal search for the absolutely perfect form of philanthropy that can match an interest, a hobby, or the dream of a lifetime.

When surveys ask people why they haven’t been more active as volunteers, a common answer is “Well, nobody asked me.” Perhaps the most important message in How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist is “Don’t wait to be asked.” In less than 200 pages, the book demonstrates pretty conclusively that there’s needs to be met, and satisfactions to be had, from looking around to find your own niche as a philanthropist.

Some of the suggestions really are simplicity at its simplest: play the word games at FreeRice.com daily and your small distraction contributes to a steady flow of nourishment to some of the world’s hungriest people. And some provide useful and good humored reminders that some things may not be quite so simple after a more careful look: a list of ways to prepare household goods before dropping them off at the donation site will be useful to all but the most conscientious. (The list, on page 76, includes not just washing and airing clothes but sorting books by category to “save a volunteer a lot of work” on the receiving end.)

You can order How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist here, on Amazon.com. (The book was published by Workman Publishing in 2009).
[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

By Flickr user jenicra84 (Creative Commons)

If you have a vegetable garden, you know that some years you’ll end up with more tomatoes, cucumbers, or basil than you know what to do with. Gary Oppenheimer, director of a community garden in New Jersey, noticed that many plot holders were actually leaving large amounts of vegetables unharvested in the garden. So he came up with a project called Ample Harvest that helps gardeners connect with local food pantries in order to donate their unused produce.

Most of the food available at food pantries comes in cans or boxes — so adding fresh, local veggies to the mix is a welcome change for people who receive the donations. And to ensure freshness, food pantries can provide information on AmpleHarvest.org about which day of the week the vegetables should ideally be dropped off.

A similar initiative called Plant a Row for the Hungry encourages people who are already gardening to plant just one extra row of vegetables each year, and give the harvested goods to local food pantries and soup kitchens.

You may not have the time to start your own garden, but maybe you have space where someone else could plant vegetables? Or perhaps you have a green thumb, but don’t have access to a yard to dig up? Consider participating in Sharing Backyards, a model that matches up available yard space with people who want to use it to grow food.

Part of an ongoing series about little things you can do that, when added up, can make a big impact. Click the A Little Bit More category on the right to read more.

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

Bridge in Tacoma by Flickr user David Sadler (Creative Commons)

NYU Professor Paul Light spoke at the state conference for nonprofit board members organized by The Nonprofit Center in Tacoma, in my home state of Washington, on October 30th. He bluntly described four possible futures for nonprofits in the midst of a sharp economic downturn:

• Wait for a miracle. “Believe it if you must, but know that the recovery is going to take a long time to reach far into the nonprofit community.”
• Wither. Shed programs and activities in a random way that causes the least disruption today. “Do that if you want, but don’t be surprised if opportunities come along and you’re not ready to pounce.”
• Winnow. End low-impact programs. Mothball activities that might be revived when times change. Look around for someone who might take over your work. Hunker down.
• Rejuvenate. Take a hard look at everything you do. Preserve core value for the community you serve. Identify your organization’s value proposition and focus energy on doing those things that answer the question “Why us? Why do we exist?” Make tough choices now and you’ll see productivity go up and morale—believe it or not—improve. “Have faith in the possible and pride in your organization. Help your organization to improve through meaningful and deliberate change.”

If it’s the fourth future that appeals, then there are four things Light suggests the board needs to do, today, tomorrow, and, in fact, whether times are tough or flush.

• Scrub down the organization.Examine the organization’s services and activities through an orderly review that emphasized productivity — not, for heaven’s sake, efficiency. Make a resolution to be more nonprofit-like, to focus on commitment to serving people and the community, and to being sure to do it well. (Light wrote a whole article a few years ago on what it means to be “nonprofit-like.”)
• Find evidence of success.Talk among yourselves about your “brand,” your “value proposition,” your “theory of change.” Then look at the reports you receive at your board meetings. Review your website and your publications. Do they deliver evidence of your success? Are there areas that may need attention?
• Pay attention to the tools. Are you wasting your most valuable asset—the wisdom that people bring to work with them everyday—through “economizing” on furniture, staff development, computers and communications? “When I teach nonprofit management,” Light said, “I don’t want my best students to make site visits. If they see the abysmal working conditions too many nonprofits offer, they’ll never want to work with you!” Board members should take the lead in assuring volunteers and staff have what they need to be productive. The undertow from concern about “overhead” is strong. Staff need help to resist it.
• Broadcast your pride.Nonprofits are making a positive impact every day in the daily lives of people in our communities, in our nation, around the world. It’s hard work done under great stress. Make sure to thank—personally when you can—the people who do it, and their counterparts in other agencies and organizations throughout the community.

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

When I meet people and tell them I work for a nonprofit, more often than not they tell me about some volunteering they did a while ago and the reasons why they don’t do it anymore. There’s usually a hint of guilt in their speech, and an assumption that I’m judging them. Which I’m not.

Just because you aren’t volunteering directly for a nonprofit doesn’t mean you aren’t doing some good in the world. There are plenty of people doing small gestures that when added up, mean a lot — even if they aren’t formally connected to a 501(c)(3).

From Flickr user Jesslee Cuizon (Creative Commons)

Take the Free Hugs campaign. Started by Juan Mann, the idea of the campaign is to spread more kindness in the world through the act of hugging strangers. I was lucky enough to experience a free hug firsthand here in Buenos Aires a few months ago. At the weekly antique fair in San Telmo, I saw a young woman holding a cardboard sign that said “Free Hugs.” Some people ignored her, some stopped to stare, some ran right into her arms. I hesitated at first, but then gave in, and it surprised me how sincere the hug was — and how much I enjoyed it. So if you’re like me and relish a good embrace from time to time, check out The Illustrated Guide to Free Hugs, which gives advice on how to enact the campaign in your own community as well as details 30 different styles of hugs, the Lift and Spin and Koala being my personal favorites.

Mysterious Letters, an independent project of Lenka Clayton and Michael Crowe, is a similar attempt at spreading global goodwill. Starting with the small Irish village of Cushendall, the two artists sent personal, handwritten letters to each of their 467 neighbors. The beautifully crafted letters were all different shapes, sizes and styles from retro postcards to hotel stationery, and the content ranged from the absurd to the sweet. One of my favorites is a letter that read, “We appreciate all the things you have done that no one has noticed. And we will think of them often.” The idea was to foster community by encouraging their neighbors to talk to one another more — even if suspicion was the guiding emotion at first. But it worked, and now Lenka and Michael have an ambitious plan to send a letter to every community in the world.

So, if you’ve made anyone smile or feel good recently, go ahead and pat yourself on the back. It might mean more than you think.

A Little Bit More is a series in which we cover the “little somethings” that people and organizations are doing to respond to the needs around them — things that, if done by many people all around the world, add up to make a big impact. Click the category name on the right sidebar to read more.

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]

From Flickr user Jose and Roxanne

Ever needed a favor but were unsure of how to ask? Or had something to offer but didn’t know how to give it away? If this sounds familiar, check out Friendly Favor and Meal Baby, two websites that will make you feel less sheepish and more organized with a few simple clicks.

Friendly Favor is a free service that relies on the kindness of your friends, acquaintances, coworkers, and more. From the mundane to the inventive, there are an endless range of favors you can ask for and offer. Maybe you need a babysitter, or advice on the best digital camera to buy. Or on the flip side, you’re looking to lend your summer cabin out in exchange for a donation to the Red Cross. Simply sign-up on Friendly Favor, and the site will tap into your existing social networks—your email contacts or Facebook friends, for example—to spread the word. You can then return the favor through charitable donations, gift cards, and even good karma.

Similarly, Meal Baby adds an online element to the neighborly concept of helping those in time of need. Forget playing telephone tag to coordinate volunteers to bring over casserole dishes, pies, and more. Through a series of tools that include calendar planning, noting customized food options and more, Meal Baby organizes and arranges meals for easy delivery. Alternatively, you can buy a gift card for someone if you choose not to go the home-cooked meal route, or even donate to Feed the Children to help those outside your network.

If you feel like being creative, why not use these two services together? Maybe buy a restaurant gift card for a new mom, and agree to babysit. Or cook a meal for your friend who’s recovering post-surgery in exchange for a recommendation on which local nonprofit to volunteer with. The possibilities for making someone feel good are endless.

This entry is one in an ongoing series about how we can all be taking small steps to help one another in tough times. For more, click “A Little Bit More” in the category list on the right.

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]