Archive for category: Charity

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The Clinton Foundation: Bill’s Other Legacy

The Clinton Foundation
Bill Clinton will always be remembered first and foremost for his eight years in the White House, but he has another legacy that deserves just as much attention: The Clinton Foundation.

Founded in 1997 with a focus on Little Rock, Arkansas, the foundation has grown into an international powerhouse that has raised more than $2 billion to fund charity work around the world.

Like most ex-presidents, Clinton initially faded from the public eye. According to the Washington Post, he spent much of his time watching TiVo. Then, in 2002, he moved the Clinton Foundation to Harlem, New York, following Hillary Clinton’s successful election bid for U.S. Senate.

The foundation brought in consultants from Booz Allen Hamilton to give advice to small business owners in the local community, and the projects piled on from there. Using his celebrity power, Clinton was able to consistently recruit top-notch partners. Besides Booz Allen, he also brought in Princeton Review to bolster local students’ SAT scores.

It was not until 2002, however, that Clinton’s international work began. He met an old friend, former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, at an AIDS conference. Mandela reminded Clinton of a promise he made while still in office, a promise to help Africa after he left.

That promise materialized into the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). According to the Clinton Foundation Website, CHAI has helped reduce the cost of lifesaving HIV/AIDS medication from $10,000 annually for one patient to only $100 to $200. This has helped over eight million people in developing countries, many of them in Africa, afford medication without which they’d die.

CHAI was so successful that it became its own organization, but the Clinton Foundation actively promotes nine other initiatives: the Clinton Climate Initiative, the Clinton Development Initiative, the Clinton Foundation in Haiti, the Clinton Glustra Enterprise Partnership, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, the Clinton Presidential Center and Too Small to Fail and No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project.

The Clinton Foundation is unique in that its initiatives are its own. It consists of over 2,000 employees that serve both as administrators and field workers. As such, it operates more as a nonprofit consulting firm than a grant-making agency. A New York Times story from 2015, for example, reports that the group’s work in Rwanda includes such diverse efforts as teaching farmers to double their yields, training nurses and specialists and supporting factories that turn soybeans into cooking oil.

Behind the power of the Clinton Foundation is Bill’s celebrity. As ex-President of the most powerful country in the world, he truly is a star among stars. With this power, he has been able to raise funds that few others on Earth could hope to achieve and partner with the best organizations to put the money to good use.

As the 2016 presidential election approaches, increasing scrutiny is being paid to the foundation. With Hillary as the first female President and Bill as the first “First Man,” some people would worry about influence-buying through the foundation. Still, the breadth and depth of the good work of the Clinton Foundation cannot be denied. Bill could’ve easily faded into the background after his presidency. Instead, he used his influence and recognition to benefit not just the United States, but the entire world.

– Dennis Sawyers

Sources: New York Times, The Clinton Foundation, The Washington Post

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Helping Refugees Settle in the United States

Helping Refugees Settle
For the 500 refugees that arrive in San Antonio each year, the transition can be difficult. After fleeing violence and persecution at home, refugees face a new set of challenges when trying to settle in the United States, including language barriers, unfamiliar cultures, discrimination and unemployment. Programs helping refugees settle in the U.S. are central to facilitating a successful, new start for refugees.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Antonio (CCOASA) offers a comprehensive program helping refugees settle and achieve economic self-sufficiency and cultural integration in San Antonio. When refugees arrive at San Antonio International Airport in central Texas, Catholic Charities volunteers are there to help.

The program begins as soon as refugees touch down. After their reception at the airport, volunteers assist refugees with housing, food, clothing and supplemental financial assistance. From there, they can receive a number of orientation courses covering topics such as American culture and laws, safety, healthcare, childcare, banking and employment.

The majority of CCOASA’s work, however, continues long after arrival. In addition to offering ESL and other courses through its Refugee Services Education Program, the organization provides ongoing case management services to identify and address each refugee’s unique obstacles to employment, community integration and cultural adjustment.

CCOASA’s Refugee Employment Services Program helps refugees join the workforce by linking them with potential employers based on specialized skills and level of employability. The organization also works to help refugees adjust to American work culture once they are employed.

For the children of refugees, the organization offers after-school tutoring and family services to help children acclimate to the American public school system. CCOASA’s School Impact Program helps 200 children per year integrate into educational life.

With support from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), CCOASA is just one of the hundreds of organizations helping refugees settle in the U.S. The office partners with private organizations in major cities across the country to take on this work.

Through ORR, refugees can also take advantage of numerous federal grants in order to buy homes, start businesses, go to college and develop careers. The office even provides opportunities for refugees to take part in sustainable community farming programs.

Helping refugees settle into a new life in the United States is challenging but, luckily, there are support systems in place to make the process easier. You can find opportunities to help in your own community here.

– Ron Minard

Sources: HHS, Borgen Project, CCAOSA, Immigration Policy
Photo: Washington Post

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Internet Celebrity Charity Takes Center Stage

Internet CelebrityVideo may have killed the radio star, but increasingly, internet celebrities are supplanting traditional actors and actresses, even in charity drives. PewDiePie, TotalBiscuit, Nerdfighters and others have paved the way for social media celebrities to make an impact, but a new platform is set to take internet celebrity charity to the next level: Reelio Cares.

Reelio specializes in linking companies with Youtube stars to promote their brands, and Reelio Cares specializes in linking charities with social media influencers to promote their causes. CEO Pete Borum believes that the time has come for Reelio Cares, as many nonprofits have difficulty reaching their target audience via traditional methods like mail and television.

Already, online celebrities have become a force in charity work. In 2013, PewDiePie raised over $160,000 in just two weeks for Charity: Water, a nonprofit that specializes in providing clean drinking water to countries all over the earth. LoadingReadyRun has raised more than $450,000 for Child’s Play over several years. Child’s Play brings toys and games to sick children in hospitals worldwide.

Internet celebrity charity is advantageous to all parties involved. For nonprofits, it provides a free way to contact a young, engaged audience willing to give. For online stars, it lets them change the world in a positive way. According to one such star, woodworking sensation Steve Ramsey, “Many have huge audiences that they weren’t really expecting. They start to think ‘Do I want to just keep making videos or do I want to do something with those videos, with this audience and really use it for good?’”

Besides promoting charities, the videos also promote the online celebrity’s site. Reelio reports that videos with a positive, charitable message receive two-and-a-half times as many views as normal videos. This is because of the way these drives usually work.

For the number of views a video receives, the celebrity will donate an ever-increasing number of dollars to a cause. As such, subscribers are encouraged to share with their social network as much as possible. As more people see the video, they also donate their own money to the cause. In the end, the online celebrity only contributes a small portion directly to the charity. It’s the audience who contributes the lion’s share.

Demographically, the shift to internet celebrities makes sense for nonprofit charities. According to CNN in November 2015, teens spend roughly nine hours a day on social media. Advertising agencies such as BrightRoll report that the majority of their customers find online advertising to be at least as effective as television.

While it may be too soon for traditional celebrities to step aside, the time has come for them to share center stage with internet celebrities. Social media lets charitable organizations reach an audience that’s not only willing to give, but willing to share their message with as many people as possible. It lets them reach young people who are as familiar with Youtube sensations as they are with movie stars. As the information age advances, internet celebrity charity is destined to positively change the planet.

– Dennis Sawyers

Sources: CNN, Financial Times, Marketing Land, Reason Digital, Reelio
Photo: Google Images

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Alan Rickman’s Last Role: Raising Funds for Refugees

British film star Alan Rickman narrated a charity video relating to the aid of refugees shortly before his cancer-related death on Jan. 14.

The 30-second video was created in collaboration with nonprofit OneClickGiving and features a tortoise eating a strawberry.

Throughout the video, Rickman explained that by watching and sharing, viewers have an opportunity to make a difference.

“The more viewers the video gets, the more advertising revenue YouTube will give us,” he said within the voiceover. “All you need to do is watch and share.”

The video, titled “This Tortoise Could Save a Life,” has received well over three million views on YouTube since it was uploaded, with the money raised from each view going to the Refugee Council and Save the Children charities.

Save the Children works worldwide to improve the lives of child refugees through aid and support, and the Refugee Council works to help refugees seek safety and rebuild their lives within the United Kingdom.

“It is an innovative project for an extremely important cause,” OneClickCharity founder Oliver Phillips said in a press release. “Our charities are two of the most effective at helping refugees, who desperately need your support.”

The refugee crisis has become a growing global concern as the number of displaced individuals worldwide continues to grow. According to the UN Refugee Agency, there were 19.5 million refugees worldwide at the end of 2014. That’s 2.9 million more than in 2013. Just over half of those refugees, or 51 percent, were under 18 years old, the highest amount of child refugees in more than a decade.

Phillips recently told the BBC that the charity believes it was one of the last recordings the late actor made.

“I’m so grateful that with all this going on he still agreed to give us his time, it’s really amazing,” he said. “It would not have been the same without him. All the views we’ve got are accountable to him.”

Alan Rickman, best known for his roles in Harry Potter and Die Hard, worked with a variety of charities throughout his lifetime. According to BBC Radio, the well-known actor was the president of the International Performer’s Aid Trust, which focuses on poverty alleviation throughout the world’s toughest conditions.

The link to the YouTube video is as follows, titled This Tortoise Could Save a Life — Ft. Alan Rickman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkiMz-e2ZcE

– Lauren Lewis

Sources: Youtube, TFN, Look to the Stars, Arts.Mic, Mashable, ABC, BBC, Save the Children, Refugee Council, BBC Radio, One Click Giving
Photo: Flickr

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A Look at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Chan_Zuckerberg_InitiativeMark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Facebook, isn’t a stranger to making large donations. He and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, have already donated $1.6 billion to philanthropic causes.

But on Tuesday, Zuckerberg and Chan announced plans for something far greater.

In a Facebook post, the couple disclosed first the birth of their daughter Maxima, and then, more notably, a new project: the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

The new philanthropy is Zuckerberg’s pledge to donate 99 percent of his Facebook shares towards charitable donations over the course of his lifetime. It’s a stake that is currently valued at $45 billion.

According to Reuters, Zuckerberg said he intends to invest up to $1 billion of his shares each year over the next three years into the Initiative.

“Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities,” wrote the couple. To date, however, they have not outlined specific organizations or causes they will fund.

Their drive in creating this Initiative came from the impending arrival of their new daughter. In a video, Zuckerberg stated, “Having this child has made us think about all of the things that should be improved in the world for her whole generation. The only way that we reach our full human potential is if we’re able to unlock the gifts of every person around the world.”

Overshadowing their intentions is the unique structure of the Initiative. Zuckerberg and Chan elected to create the Initiative as a limited liability company. That means, unlike a traditional charitable or philanthropic foundation, the Initiative can make political donations, lobby lawmakers, invest in businesses and recoup any profits from those investments.

According to Leslie Lenkowsky, professor of public affairs and philanthropy at Indiana University, “They are instead trying to achieve philanthropic purposes using a business model.”

Despite all this, Bill Gates, the wealthiest person in the world (with an estimated net worth of $85.2 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index) and his wife congratulated Zuckerberg and Chan.

“The example you’re setting today is an inspiration to us and the world,” they said. “We can be confident of this: Max and every child born today will grow up in a world that is better than the one we know now. As you say, ‘Seeds planted now will grow.’ Your work will bear fruit for many decades to come.”

Past donations made by Zuckerberg and Chan include a 2010 donation of $100 million for the improvement of Newark public schools, which met with some controversy. More recent donations include $20 million to EducationSuperHighway, which helps connect classrooms to the Internet, and a new acute care and trauma center at San Francisco General Hospital, where Chan works as a pediatrician.

– Kara Buckley

Sources: BBC News, NY Times, Reuters 1, Reuters 2
Photo: Google Images

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12 Charitable Ideas for Christmas

charitable_ideas_for_Christmas
According to the World Bank, as of 2012, 896 million people are living in extreme poverty or less than $1.90 a day. A staggering 77.8 percent of people in extreme poverty currently reside in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Holiday Christmas shoppers can find ways to help those living in poverty. According to the National Philanthropic Trust, the average American donation was $2,974 last year. For an average family of four, that number breaks down to about $743 per person.

Here are 12 charitable ideas for Christmas:

  1. Sign up for a site that gives part of the proceeds to charity. AmazonSmile is a great example. The e-commerce giant will donate 0.5 percent of eligible purchases to the customer’s chosen charity. The best part? There’s no extra charge to the customer.
  2. Enroll in a rewards credit card that “gives back.” Capital One offers a rewards donation option when a customer enrolls in their “No Hassle Giving” site. Customers can choose from up to 1.2 million charities and use their reward points to donate to their chosen charity.
  3. Do a one-time donation. Give a one-time donation without being obligated to contribute on a monthly basis. Many charities provide this option for contributors, like The Borgen Project.
  4. Donate shoes sitting in your closet. Have old shoes that are sitting in the closet? Donate them to Soles4Souls. Since 2006, the organization has “collected and distributed 26 million pairs of shoes to those in need in 127 countries around the world and all 50 states in the U.S.” Coats, shirts and pants are also important donations that can help those in need.
  5. Shop consciously. There are many charities that donate some, if not all of the proceeds to a certain charity or cause. A prime example is (RED) a campaign that is sponsored by ONE, an international advocacy organization started by Bono. ONE (RED) pairs with iconic brands such as Apple, Coca-Cola and Starbucks to create one-of-a-kind items that support HIV/AIDS grants in countries such as Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda. The companies involved contribute 50 percent of the profits earned to the ONE (RED) campaign.Charitable_Ideas_for_Christmas
  6. Look for donation “widgets” or “buttons.” On some sites, donating is as simple as clicking a button. For example, The Hunger Site advertises a free “Click to Give” button. Notably, last year the organization’s “click button” funded 52.8 million cups of food.
  7. Volunteer. Options range from participating in a soup kitchen, donating professional resources such as writing or marketing skills or assisting in a project such as building a community school.
  8. Email congressional leaders. Writing to Congressional leadership is another way to get involved in helping out those in need. Since each and every email is tallied, a simple email addressed will help get key global poverty legislation on leaders’ radars.
  9. Give up coffee or snacks for a week and donate the money. A $5 drink every day during a normal workweek can set you back $25. Giving up that Grande Peppermint Mocha with soy milk, no whip may be hard at first, but that money can be put towards something like a mosquito net, life-saving medication or clean drinking water.
  10. Share on social media. Facebook and Twitter have become increasingly popular ways for people to share raise awareness about global poverty issues.
  11. Select “Charity Gift Cards”. TisBet capitalizes on the gift card model, but gives it a charity twist. The recipients of these gift cards get to choose which one of the 250 listed charities to spend the designated amount.
  12. Make use of matching donations. Some employers match employee donations, up to a certain dollar amount. Others even match volunteer hours or gifts from retirees, board members and even spouses.

– Alyson Atondo

Sources: World Bank, National Philanthropic Trust, Amazon, Capital One, Soles 4 Souls, One, Greater Good, Chicago Tribune, TisBest, World Vision
Picture: Pixabay, Flickr

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Lottie Moon: A Southern Belle

Lottie_Moon
Why do citizens in the poorest states give the most to charity? When it comes to statewide charitable funds, this question seems to arise time and time again. As for the reason – research has suggested the answer lies in religion.

In 2013, Southern Baptists gave approximately $153,000 to the International Foreign Mission Board through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Each Christmas, Southern Baptists participate in this tradition through donations. Who is Lottie Moon, and how does she continue to fight global poverty?

Charlotte Digges “Lottie” Moon was born on Dec. 12, 1840, to a wealthy Virginia family. She cherished education and became the first woman to obtain a master’s degree from a southern college. Around age 18, she became a Christian and desperately desired to become involved with foreign mission work. At the time, this field was closed to single women.

Moon’s sister, Edmonia, began writing to the secretary of the Foreign Baptist Foreign Mission Board, Henry Tupper. Surprisingly, he agreed to let them help, and in 1873 at age 32, Moon and her sister arrived in Tengchow, China.

Moon wasn’t there simply to teach her religion, she was a reformist. She taught school and was a strong advocate for women. Moon fought ardently against the women’s practice of foot binding. In foot binding, a woman’s toes are forced to curl down into her heel, producing a crescent shape. Even though foot binding was a symbol of the elite, it was painful and harmful to the body.

Even though many other missionaries fled, Moon remained in China during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. Starvation surrounded her, so she took in children and animals, even refusing to eat if they could not.

She wrote home suggesting a week of prayer and offerings be set aside for missions during Christmas. People responded and the Women’s Missionary Union was born. The union is alive and productive in the South today; it collects more than $20 million annually for Southern Baptist mission work overseas.

Eventually, Moon herself fell ill. She did not want to leave China, but her colleagues sent her home on a ship. She died in 1912 on Christmas Eve, and there are conflicting stories about her exact cause of death.

Nevertheless, Lottie Moon has become a beloved friend of Southern Baptists and a martyr among missionaries. Sandra Spears, a Southern Baptist from Mississippi, said she learned about Lottie Moon as a child and has given to the cause for more than 50 years. It’s a tradition.

It should be noted that even though the donations received for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering are designed for mission work, they aren’t solely spent on building churches and supporting missionaries. Some of the work could be considered “humanitarian” as the missionaries provide meals, medical resources and a host of other critical needs that exist in developing countries.

A 7-year-old boy who was growing up Southern Baptist in the Deep South asked his mother, “When does Lottie Moon ever get paid off?” A humorous question from a child, but when it comes to lifting others out of poverty and giving to help others, the possibilities seem endless.

– Dana McLemore

Sources: BDC Online, History’s Women, The Pathway, Cornell University
Photo: Wikimedia

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The Sovereign Military Order of Malta Aids Poor and Sick

Military-Order-of-MaltaThe Sovereign Military Order of Malta has a rich history of generosity. Also called the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the organization dates back to 1048. At the time, it was a military order in charge of hospital defense. Members in the Order of Malta were chivalrous and noble of nature.

Since its beginning, the Order of Malta has been committed with aiding the poor and suffering. Today, it operates in more than 120 countries, providing medical and social care, disaster relief, emergency services and assistance for elderly, children and refugees. For more than 900 years, it has cared for people of all religions and beliefs.

“There are 13,500 members world-wide, plus 80,000 trained volunteers and 25,000 medical and para-medical personnel, working in a large number of hospitals, hospices, homes for the elderly and a variety of other aid activities,” says Marchesino Daniel de Petrie Testaferrata, elected president of the Maltese Association of the Order of Malta.

The Order of Malta has diplomatic relations with numerous countries, which allows it to better assist others, such as helping the sick in areas that some organizations may have trouble accessing.

The Order of Malta has provided disaster relief assistance in The Philippines and Haiti. In Africa, it focuses on care for HIV patients; treatment for tuberculosis, malaria and leprosy; and clean water supplies for others. It also cares for refugees and orphaned children in Asia and the Middle East.

In addition, the Order of Malta has aided in Europe and North America. After Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S., the Order of Malta provided shelter while working on reconstruction projects.

Malteser International, the Order of Malta’s relief agency, reports that, in 2014, its aim was to spread medical supplies to regions affected by Ebola. This year, it is educating others in hopes of minimizing the disease.

For more information on the Order of Malta, visit its website.

– Kelsey Parrotte

Sources: Independent, The Order of Malta, Saint Peter’s List,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Photo: Flickr

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Mission of Hope Haiti Builds 500 Homes

Mission_of_Hope_Haiti
In 2010, an earthquake killed over 200,000 Haitians and left crumbling housing infrastructure. Since then, homelessness in Haiti has steadily declined but more than 85,000 people still remain without a home. Rebuilding from the damage is the toughest task for the poorest country in the Americas.

Before the earthquake, Haitians lived in relatively poor housing built from inadequate materials. Haiti ranks near the bottom in the world in providing shelter for their citizens. Shelter includes availability of affordable housing, access to electricity, quality of electricity supply, and household air pollution attributable deaths.

The international community has been very supportive of Haiti. The EU provided $996 million to Haiti from 2008 to 2013. Money that was used for roads, education, food security, human rights, agricultural, electricity, and trade.

On a smaller level, charities and volunteers have been a strong driving force for recovery in Haiti.

Mission of Hope Haiti, a Christian missionary organization, provides education for people in the island nation. The organization has a partnership with Hope for Haiti, and the government in Haiti to build homes. Recently, Mission of Hope celebrated its 500th home built for the affected families since 2010, an average of 100 homes each year.

Every house has three rooms, land for farming, detached bathroom, access to education, water, two fruit trees, and agricultural training. The cost of each home is relatively low at $6,000.

Mission of Hope has educated 6,000 children, provided 91,000 nutritious meals each day, and housing for hearing-impaired families. Their work has helped make Leveque one of the best settlements in Haiti.

“Our vision from the first home built has been to provide those who lost their homes with a quality, cost efficient Haitian home that will not only provide a place to live but a place to thrive,” said Mission of Hope President Brad Johnson.

Homelessness in Haiti is still a serious threat to human security, but organizations like Mission of Hope provide solutions and help that will benefit thousands of people’s lives.

– Donald Gering

Sources: EurActiv, Good News Network, Huffington Post, Social Progress Imperative
Photo: Google Images

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St. George’s Crypt Makes Progress to Help those in Need

St. George’s Crypt Makes Progress to Help those in Need
Founded in the 1930s, St. George’s Crypt became a charitable group that has helped local people for generations. In its beginnings, the small church began charitable functions and fundraising from local people, run by Reverend Percy Donald, known as the Don.

Throughout its existence the function of the organization has shifted to satisfy the needs of the people and the events occurring around the neighborhood, such as assistance for those affected by war, illness, and the impact of a devastating economic downturn.

As the group’s website states, one of the objectives of the organization is to assist in “the relief of poverty, hardship, sickness and distress among needy and destitute persons,” and recently St. George’s Crypt has taken their efforts to help people even further.

In 2011, The Crypt set up purchase shops that would benefit more people in the area. More recently, the organization has done even more as it has invested more money into building homes for struggling families in the area.

A development project recently gave the group £1.5 million to spend on infrastructure, and the building of 20 new homes for those in need. These properties will act as “halfway houses” to help individuals as well as families get back on their feet, and create more sustainable lifestyles, and smarter economic practices.

The outreach of support for those in need knows no limits, helping those that are homeless, ill, suffering the vulnerabilities of recent catastrophes, and even those suffering from addiction. One of these housing developments will include a hostel in Hyde Park, which will house a larger number of people at a time for a shorter period of time.

When small organizations such as these expand over the years, even over 85 years such as the St. George’s Crypt, it gives hope that there is potential for anyone to make a difference in their communities. To learn more about St. George’s Crypt and the work they continue to do for those in need in their community, go to their website.

– Alexandrea Jacinto

Sources: St. George’s Crypt, BBC
Photo: Flickr