That little tidbit comes to us from research both new and old, and it shows that gentle “peer pressure” can be successful at increasing giving amounts.  This study about public radio donors concluded that telling donors the amount of another donor’s gift was successful in getting the donor to raise their pledge.  It’s a mathematical balance – the higher you set the bar, the higher they gave… up to a certain point.  The lower you set the bar in the other donor’s example, they lower they gave.

Knowing that other people find the cause worthy can be a kind of implied endorsement to people who need to be sure that the organization is the “right” cause to give to.  If all these other people support it, the thinking goes, they’re probably right and I should, too.  Or maybe it’s a competition thing – you want to give a gift so that YOU can be the one talked about in the newsletter or appeal.  It also appears that knowing a nonprofit is close to their financial goal is an incentive for donors to chip in and put them over the top.

Studies are still being done on how best to use all this information about donor’s peer groups and philanthropic influence.  But we’re already seeing some of it play out in Austin – recently the Austin Chamber of Commerce announced “Austin Gives,” which challenges local businesses to join in a campaign to increase corporate giving.  The 30 participating local businesses are listed on their site, and I’m sure they’re hoping to be joined by many others.  Business who join in the Austin Gives charge should find themselves in great company, and among peers who value giving.

Caritas fights hunger, homelessness and poverty in our community.  To provide the most basic needs for our neighbors, they focus on housing, food, education and employment for those most in-need.  Hundreds of Austinites walk through their doors every day.  If Austin Involved selects Caritas, we’ll be serving lunch to hundreds of our neighbors thanks to both our hard work and our donation.  We’ll even get a tour of their outstanding food pantry, where the most hungry can come and get groceries to feed their children.

Take a look at The Caritas Kitchen:

Any Baby Can serves the youngest, sickest and poorest children in Austin.  By offering education, therapy and family support to these families and children in need, they  make it possible for the most-at-risk kids to overcome and thrive.  If we vote for Any Baby Can, they’ve invited us to volunteer one evening at their Family Literacy class.  This program is an opportunity to work with either adults OR their children, whichever you prefer, on developing their literacy skills in a safe environment.  If you work with toddler, you might be practicing phonics.  If you work with their parents, you might help them decipher a job application or a medical bill, or help them work on interview skills in English.  This would be hands-on work with those who need help with some basic survival skills, and our dollars would go to fund their literacy and basic needs support programs.

Learn More About What They Do:

The Literacy Coalition supports high-quality literacy services all across our area, knowing that without literacy, families can’t find work and can’t survive.  They connect those who can’t read to the right programs and resources, and they deploy trained volunteers to teach in the community, and they advocate for literacy services.  They’re about to launch a massive literacy campaign, and if we select them, we’ll spend a day at The Literacy Coalition brainstorming every step necessary to launch this literacy campaign for Central Texas, from marketing to social media to nonprofit program partners.  They’ll use our manpower to conceive of the campaign, and our donations will be used to fund the printing of more educational literature used by their volunteer teachers.

Watch this video to hear more:

Over the course of the past year and a half, bullying has had a spotlight thrust upon it.  Between traditional schoolyard behavior and the new fears about social networking and online bullying, our society is beginning to realize how bullying can destroy self esteem and even end lives.

Lady Gaga’s new organization, Born This Way, will focus heavily, though not exclusively, on services for teens bullied for their sexual orientation.  Born This Way is expected to be officially launched on February 29th, in cooperation with Harvard University.  Other nonprofit groups getting recognition for their anti-bullying work include Chi Omicron, founded by Bachelorette alum Frank Neuschaefer, and Angels & Doves, which has been featured on Ellen.

And while all of these organizations are working in the space, it’s important to note that teaching children to be kind to one another hopefully starts long before the first cruel taunt is ever uttered.  This happens to be “No Name-Calling Week,” and if you want more information about what you can do to help that trend catch on, visit the website here.

It’s sad that bullying has become such an issue that there appears to be a new nonprofit focus area emerging just to deal with the fallout.  But as long as children’s lives and mental health are at risk, at least Gaga and the others are going to do something about it.

Topping the list was a not-very-well-known actress named Jami Gertz who, along with her husband, gave over $10 million to a foundation which bears their names.  Many of the top 30 celeb donors gave their large gifts to their own charitable foundations.  In that case, some of the money likely goes out to nonprofits directly, while some of it remains in the bank so the Foundation can have it in perpetuity.  The private foundations listed in this article appear to give heavily to churches, hospitals, higher education, and literacy.

In cases where the celebrities gave directly to the nonprofits, however, it’s an interesting glimpse into their personal values.  Model Giselle Bundchen gave $1.5 million directly to the Red Cross, earmarked for relief services in Haiti.  Sandra Bullock gave $1million directly to Doctors Without Borders, also directed specifically to Haitian programs.  Taylor Swift donated $500,000 to flood relief efforts in Tennessee.  And Hugh Hefner gave $900,000 to keep the iconic Hollywood sign from being demolished for luxury real estate (Hey, I think that counts as personal!)

Just like the rest of us, celebrities give to the causes that inspire them.  The Forbes article reveals an interesting debate, however: do celebrity donors attached to a cause make Average Joes more likely to follow suit?  The author doesn’t have an answer, but does suggest that IF the celebrity is fully informed and honestly engaged in the cause (think Bono, for example), then we ARE more likely to follow the lead of a generous celeb.

The issue of “dirty money” is one that comes up a lot in nonprofit.  Think, for example, about the fact that Kentucky Fried Chicken has historically given money to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  Or accepting money from any one or any group who doesn’t share your organization’s stated values.  It’s a difficult question to answer, because for so many nonprofits, the money is necessary to do good work, no matter where it came from.  This 2006 article from Guidestar shows just how big of a concern dirty money is to nonprofits, with the responses being very torn.  As a donor, knowing that an organization you support accepts dirty money can also taint your feelings about the nonprofit, making it an association that no longer brings you pride.

Overall, the best time for a nonprofit to deal with the issue of dirty money is BEFORE you are ever offered any.  Have a policy in place, and revisit it regularly.  This article on the Nonprofit Law Blog is a great place to start working through your thoughts.

Philanthropic giving is personal, emotional, and relationship-driven.  We all want to feel good about our relationships with nonprofits, so let’s all use funding we can feel good about.

According to a study on civic health and unemployment, a states rate of volunteerism corresponds positively to it’s rate of employment.  Those states with a higher percentage of civic engagement had lower unemployment rates!

Obviously a LOT of factors go into employment rates, but the numbers in this study suggest that “having stronger civic health (described as volunteering, voter registration, public meeting attendance, and working with neighbors) helps states weather recession better.  That’s something we can all feel good about!

In the meantime, Georgia and other states are looking into legislation mandating that people receiving unemployment benefits be required to volunteer.  Maybe if they all read this study, we wouldn’t have to force anybody!

Casa Marianella provides emergency shelter services for immigrants, including special homes for women and children escaping violence.  Through their programs, they provide basic needs for homeless immigrants in Austin, keeping them safe while simultaneously teaching them English and helping them flourish in this country.  With multiple families needing emergency shelter at any time, Casa Marianella’s homes are bursting at the seams, and they’re asking for our help to “adopt” a few rooms at one of their undisclosed safe house locations.  By adopting these rooms, we’d be providing new furniture, a fresh coat of paint, and a re-do of rooms for moms and their kids who have recently escaped domestic violence.

Watch the video to hear from one of the women at Casa Marianella about what she needs:

Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) provides leadership and support for the many homeless service agencies in Central
Texas.  They are the local planning agency regarding homeless service providers, and they advocate for our homeless neighbors.  They’re asking for our help with one of their biggest projects of the year, the Annual Counting of the Homeless.  The homeless count uses hundreds of volunteers to get an accurate headcount which helps determine local service needs.  In order to make participation in the count more attractive, Austin Involved’s contribution would be used to provide gift cards for groceries, as well as new, clean socks to the homeless participants.

Watch the video to hear from a formerly homeless Austinite: