The Give Blog

More on the Propriety or Impropriety of Corporate Philanthropy

Milton Friedman famously said that the only responsibility of a business was to make a profit. But, according to Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC, "there is a very real place for corporate philanthropy." In a speech he gave earlier this month, titled "Tomorrow's Value," he claimed that Friedman's ethics "will no longer do. Plain common sense will tell you that that cannot do." It is extraordinary what absurdities can be conjured from "plain common sense." Mr. Green has made no moral leap forward from Mr. Friedman's point. On the contrary, his speech should have sparked moral outrage among HSBC shareholders because corporate philanthropy is tantamount to theft. Suppose you own a company that you do not want to manage. You hire a manager, pay him a salary, and one day you discover that he has transferred $100,000 to the bank account of an external party that has provided your firm with no goods or services. If the account belongs to the manager, or one of his relatives, he is clearly a thief. But what if it belongs to the manager's favorite charity? Then he is still a thief because the money is not his to give; it is yours as the owner. He cannot defend his action on the ground that you would have willingly given $100,000 to the charity. If that were true, then why not simply disperse the $100,000 to you as profits and allow you to make the donation yourself?  Read the entire article.  (You may need to google the title to gain access to the full article if you don’t have a subscription to the Wall Street Journal.)

 

HIV and Its Link to Poverty

Wall Street Journal—Study Looks at HIV and Poverty  By Ron Winslow and Betsy McKay

The prevalence of HIV infection among heterosexuals in U.S. inner cities constitutes a generalized epidemic, a new U.S. study says. The report, based on interviews of more than 9,000 people not considered at high risk of HIV/AIDS who live in high-poverty areas of 23 U.S. cities, found that 2.1% of that population was infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. That figure is more than double the 1% considered the threshold for a generalized epidemic as defined by the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS. And it's about 20 times as high as the prevalence of the virus among heterosexuals in the general U.S. population.  Read the entire article.

On the Ground: Kiva

Our friend Debbi encouraged us to blog on Kiva.  Read below about Kiva. a leading micro-finance organization, from its website.

Kiva's mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty. Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending. Kiva was born of the following beliefs: People are by nature generous, and will help others if given the opportunity to do so in a transparent, accountable way. The poor are highly motivated and can be very successful when given an opportunity. By connecting people we can create relationships beyond financial transactions, and build a global community expressing support and encouragement of one another.

Read about one of the people who is trying to obtain a loan through Kiva.

Hilda Verónica Martínez sells AVON, ZERMAT Y ORIFLAME products door to door and in her house. She will use the loan to buy the mentioned beauty products now that she has lots of orders and she can’t miss this opportunity since her clientele are very punctual with their payments. This is the reason her business has grown a little more. Ms. Martínez is the mother of 3 sons who are all in school thanks to her husband’s help who is always takes care of the household expenses. This is the second loan that has been granted to Ms. Martínez. She feels very satisfied with the institution for its help which has let her grow so much in her business and in her family.  More from the Kiva website about Ms. Martinez.

 

Our Conscious Living: Parking and admission fees in the national parks and forests

We try to be pretty neutral on our blog, but we aren't too happy about the fees in the national parks.  You have to pay $25 to drive in.  $25 is a lot of money to many people to go into a park maintained by our federal money.  Even if you walk in, you have to pay.  This summer on three occasions we paid to get into the national parks.  Anyway, on a related but different subject, we also think you shouldn't have to pay to park to see the presidents on Mount Rushmore, and we didn't.  We saw them and turned around to avoid the parking fee.  We then saw them again for free in Wall, South Dakota.  See below.

 

Six Pieces of Clothing

New York Times—Shoppers on a ‘Diet’ Tame the Urge to Buy By Eric Wilson

IMAGINE that horrible though all-too-familiar feeling: You are standing before a fully stuffed closet and yet have nothing to wear. Now, imagine something worse: Your closet contains only six items, and you are restricted to wearing only those six items for an entire month. Now, if you can bear it, imagine something unspeakable: No one notices. Nearly a month into what amounted to just such a self-inflicted fast of fashion, Stella Brennan, 31, an insurance sales executive from Kenosha, Wis., realized last week that not even her husband, Kelly, a machinist, had yet figured out that she had been wearing the same six items, over and over, since June 21. . . . This self-imposed exercise in frugality was prompted by a Web challenge called Six Items or Less (sixitemsorless.com). The premise was to go an entire month wearing only six items already found in your closet (not counting shoes, underwear or accessories). Nearly 100 people around the country, and in faraway places like Dubai and Bangalore, India, were also taking part in the regimen, with motives including a way to trim back on spending, an outright rejection of fashion, and a concern that the mass production and global transportation of increasingly cheap clothing was damaging the environment. Meanwhile, an even stricter program, the Great American Apparel Diet, which began on Sept. 1, has attracted pledges by more than 150 women and two men to abstain from buying for an entire year. (Again, undies don’t count.)  Read the entire article.

  

Building Low and Moderate-Income Energy Efficient Homes in New Orleans

Wall Street Journal—Donor of the Day: Rebuilding New Orleans  By Shelly Banjo

Leonard Riggio wants to help New Orleans residents replace a story of disaster with renewal. This August, the founder and chairman of Barnes & Noble Inc. and his wife, Louise, will build their 50th home for New Orleans families who lost their homes after Hurricane Katrina. The couple committed $20 million after the 2005 hurricane destroyed what the American Red Cross estimated to be about 275,000 homes in New Orleans. . . . Again, by the spring the couple look to build 100 energy-efficient, storm-resistant houses for low and moderate-income New Orleans homeowners who have been unable to rebuild and return to their homes. The project focuses on the Gentilly District of the city, which was heavily damaged from flooding after the hurricane. Families receive the homes at no cost but they must meet the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines for low-income families and be willing to swap their damaged homes or vacant lots for the new home. "The homes are given to working-class families, such as schoolteachers and civil-service workers, who are crucial to the resurgence of New Orleans," Mr. Riggio says.  Read the entire article.

 

Nonprofit CEO Pay Up While Donations Go Down

Huffington Post—Donations Are Down But Nonprofit CEO Pay Goes Up  By Jonathon Daniel Harris

Despite donations to nonprofits dropping amid the American recession, salaries for nonprofit CEOs are on the rise, and expected to rise even more in 2011. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that 31 percent of nonprofit organizations gave a pay increase to their executive staff in 2010. (Note: the full article can only be read by subscribers to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.) Nearly every nonprofit (in every cause), however, has reported a decline in the amount of donations they receive. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that while many frequent donors continue to give money, it's often in lesser amounts than in previous years. Read the entire article.

On the Ground: Center for Women in Transition

Today we feature the Center for Women in Transition, a local Champaign organization that helps women who face domestic violence, sexual assault and/or stalking.  Here is some information from the Center’s website.

Maria was born in Mexico. She never attended an English-speaking church or school and knew only a few English phrases. When she was 18, Maria went to a festival in Texas. There, she met a young, Mexican-American man and they began dating. Like her, he was from a good family. He had a stable income, some education, and he spoke perfect English. He promised Maria that he would always love and care for her, and they were married. Her family was pleased. Soon after the marriage, the couple moved to Michigan, where Maria gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Deteriorating economic conditions were making it difficult for Maria’s husband to find regular work. He spent many hours away from home, and Maria had to wait for him when she needed to go shopping, to church, or to take their baby to the doctor. He would leave her without food, phone or television, returning several days later with no explanation. Maria had no credit card or money of her own and her family was far away. She had little opportunity to improve her English and the language barrier left her almost completely isolated. Maria had never known loneliness before, but now she was consumed by it. Maria’s husband demanded that she keep the apartment looking beautiful, prepare nice meals and entertain his friends, whenever he was home. If she fell short of his expectations, or his whims were not satisfied, he would ridicule and threaten Maria—then he would beat her. The next day, he would see her bruises and tears and act very remorseful—and the cycle would begin again. This was Maria’s life for three years. By the time she became pregnant with their second child, her self-respect and any affection she once felt for her husband had been replaced by anxiety, fear and hopelessness. One day, Maria visited a Spanish-speaking medical office and was finally able to share her emotional and physical pain. The medical staff immediately referred her to the Center for Women in Transition. There, Maria received emotional support and help in developing a safety plan for herself and her children. Within the week, Maria and her children had moved to the Center’s emergency shelter. Later, they found a small apartment of their own, near other Spanish-speaking women. The Center assisted Maria with the legal aspects of protection, and helped her to reconnect with her church, speak with her family and better manage her daily life.  Read more about Maria and others helped by the Center.

 

Living to tell about free camping

Previously we blogged about free camping on National Forest land.  On a recent trip to Montana, we planned on staying in a state park campground, where we would pay a small fee, but we missed the turn off.  We had seen camping signs on the map so we kept going.  I was scared I must say.  It looked really remote and I kept seeing signs about grizzly bears.  I relaxed when we got to the site in the Forest, because there were two others camping there.  After we set up the tent for our free night in the Forest, we went back to the car to get the sleeping bags and then we saw it--a grizzly bear--less than one hundred feet from us looking right at us.  While Scott stood there discussing whether it was a black bear or a grizzly bear, I told him to get in.  We now had a free night's stay in the car.  We don't advocate killing bears (we're talking to you, Joey) but below is one (in Wall, South Dakota) that looked like the one we saw.

 

A New Look at World Hunger

Inside Illinois--Hunger atlas takes a new look at an old problem  By Diana Yates

World hunger is often seen as the result of overpopulation, bad geography or natural or human-made disasters. But a new book, “The Atlas of World Hunger,” reveals that the contours and causes of hunger are more complex – and in some ways more easily addressed – than those old assumptions suggest.  Read the entire article.  See Video regarding "The Atlas of World Hunger."

 

How Much and Why People Give

SF Gate—The math (and morality) of giving  By Rob Baedeker 

How much to do you give to charity, and is there a method to your kindness? How do you decide whether and how much to give, and to whom? Does your philanthropy, for that matter, really spring from kindness -- or generosity or altruism -- or might your giving be driven by something else: a sense of obligation, self-satisfaction or guilt? These are the kinds of questions that arise when I think about my own charitable giving, which has slowed considerably in the past 18 months. A few years ago, my wife and I decided to set aside $75 a month for charitable donations, which we selected from online resources, requests from friends, or causes that otherwise caught our attention. That monthly number didn't come from any rigorous budgetary or philosophical analysis -- it just felt like a reasonable and meaningful amount. Then the recession hit, our incomes fell, and we stopped making that automatic contribution. And while we've still donated occasionally, we just haven't resumed a steady practice of giving.  Read the entire article.

 

States Helping to Break the Cycle of Poverty

LA Times--Special savings accounts can help break cycle of poverty  By Kathy M. Kristof

Dametria Williams started her financial life as a statistic — a poor single mom, just like her mother and grandmother before her. But the San Francisco healthcare worker decided to break the cycle of poverty. Now the 38-year-old is a college graduate on the cusp of opening her own business. She is also raising a high-achieving teenager who is in position to win merit-based college scholarships. She attributes her life's 180-degree turn to two things: a new attitude and a savings account with matching funds provided to low-income participants.  Read the entire article.

On the Ground: Freestore Foodbank

Before Suja and I met we both gave to the Freestore Foodbank in Cincinnati.  At this time when the foodbanks are particularly in need of money to buy food, we feature this wonderful organization, which provides food for those who need food in Cincinnati.  Here’s some information from the Foodbank’s website about feeding kids.

The Freestore Foodbank sees the daily struggles of childhood hunger, and the number of children who often go without food is distressing.   Statistics indicate that more than 30% of Cincinnati and northern Kentucky children live in poverty.  That translates to approximately more than 30,000 children, grades K- 8,  in our area who are at risk of hunger.  In Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport Public Schools, there are over 40 schools with at least 85% of students participating in the national free or reduced-cost breakfast and school lunch program, according to Ohio and Kentucky Departments of Education.  While children may eat during school hours through these programs, many do not have enough food in the evenings and over the weekend.  When children do not have proper nutrition, they are not able to learn.  Research has shown that insufficient nutrition has devastating effects on childhood development. . . . To help fight childhood hunger, the Freestore Foodbank provides the Power Pack and Kids Cafe programs to ensure that as many children as possible have enough food to eat when not at school. . . . The Kids Cafe program is a national program of Feeding America. It began in Cincinnati in 1996, inspired by the following story told by Betty Cooley, former site coordinator of the Newport Church of God Kids Cafe:  A nine-year-old girl sneaked into the church kitchen, found a large knife and used it to stab a hole in a quart-size can of ravioli. She was found in the corner of the Sunday School room using a plastic fork to dig the ravioli out of the jagged opening in the can. When discovered, she ran out the door. Betty, displaying the knife and tin can she saved as a reminder of the incident, said, “This is what real hunger looks like.” After she established the first Kids Cafe site, Betty also told of a seven-year-old girl who, having finished her fifth helping of chicken noodle soup at Kids Cafe, asked if she could go home to wake her baby brother. When Betty asked why, the girl said, “Because he went to bed hungry.” 

 

Our Conscious Living: Vacation

Who doesn’t like vacation?  We certainly do.  This summer we planned a road trip out west to New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.  Driving would save money though not good for the environment.  We bought a bunch of food before we left, including food we could eat for lunch while we were on the road.  We ate simple meals of tortillas and beans, and macaroni and cheese but simple can be really good.  We basically never had to buy things from a gas station or convenience store on our journey because we brought snacks as well.  On the way, we camped at state parks.  It took little time to “check in” and you can’t complain about the $10 fee.  One of our main activities on the trip was backpacking in a couple of national parks and forests.  It cost little ($5-$10) for a permit for both of us, and it was a lot of fun.  The other major activity was visiting friends and family.  Again, we had a lot of fun doing this, and to save money, Scott even cooked a meal for our friends instead of the more expensive alternative of going out.  One of the cool things on the trip was meeting a woman who so very generously told us about how you can find free camping.  On Memorial Day weekend, we found this very helpful when the camping place in Goblin Valley was booked.  There is federal land called BLM land where you can camp for free.  We found an unbelievable spot, and it was free.  See if you can see Goblins.

 

Hunger State by State

New Report Reveals State-by-State Information on Child Hunger  By Vicki B. Escarra

. . . Alongside our many initiatives that fight hunger across the country, we also conduct extensive research on the causes and potential future solutions to domestic hunger. I'm proud to announce that this week, thanks to the support of the ConAgra Foods Foundation, we released an important new study, "Child Food Insecurity in the United States: 2006-2008." The report provides the only comprehensive information about child food insecurity rates at the state level. As we would expect from the 35 percent increase in child hunger nationally in 2008, all but nine states saw an increase in child food insecurity rates in 2008. By providing states with data about child food security, this report enables policymakers and advocates to address the real and growing problem of child hunger nationwide.  Read entire article.

More on the Report from the Feeding America website:

[T[he study includes regional data on food insecurity for children under the age of 5. In the South, more than one in five children or nearly 22 percent of young children are food insecure – the highest rate in the nation. The Western region of the country has the second highest rate of young child food insecurity at nearly one in five, or 19.6 percent. The Midwest has a rate of more than one in six, or 18.6 percent; and the Northeast has a rate of nearly one in seven, or 13.7 percent.