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George Lucas and Charitable Giving

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Star Wars emporium creator, George Lucas, generated a worldwide cult following after his creation of the renowned sci-fi series. But he is not all lightsabers and robots: after selling the franchise behind the hit movies – Lucasfilm – to Disney last year, Lucas pledged to donate at least half of the earnings to charity. Considering that he was heftily reimbursed with over $4 billion USD, Lucas will be able to make quite the impact after making that donation.

Producer Lucas has a specific cause in mind: he will use most of the acquired funds to endorse his own charitable foundation, Edutopia, which focuses on revolutionizing and improving K-12 education.

A contribution of this size will place George Lucas among the world’s most generous donors, being surpassed only by a select few, such as for example Bill Gates. Coincidentally, both billionaires – together with Mark Zuckerberg, Diane von Furstenberg, Eli Broad and dozens of others – have made the Giving Pledge, committing through such to donate the majority of their fortunes to charity.

On December 4, 2013 Lucas announced his intention to provide $25 million to the Chicago After School Matters project, which focuses on aiding teenagers in building specific skillsets through late afternoon apprenticeships.

As stated by Lucas himself, education is “the key to the survival of the human race” – his support of this campaign is set to provide thousands of children with improved education and better future opportunities in the job market. Also, the city of Chicago has agreed to add $11 million USD for this cause, vastly increasing the impact of this philanthropic gesture.

Last year, few attempted to conceal their utter disapproval of the decision to sell Lucasfilm to Disney. However, the director himself sees this as a purely positive thing: Star Wars is in safe hands, he claims, noting also that the sale provides an excellent opportunity for him to work on his retirement fund.

Lucas has, during the course of his career, accumulated enough money to put him on the Forbes 400 list and gained him enough recognition to be a globally recognized public character. His efforts in reforming education may prove to expand and provide countless new opportunities for children in America as well as other, less fortunate countries.

– Natalia Isaeva

Sources: The Daily Mail, Forbes, Edutopia, Look to the Stars, The Giving Pledge, The Hollywood Reporter
Photo: Global Post

Top 5 Most Charitable Countries

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With the holiday season right around the corner, the spirit of giving is resonating through the air. To compliment this, however, one particular country has made charitable events the focus of their efforts year round.

According to the “World Giving Index,” three main factors determine what “giving behaviors” are: donating money, donating time and helping a stranger. The “World Giving Index” was established by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) in order to give a well-rounded sense of generous behavior across the globe.

Each country was asked a question pertaining to the three aforementioned factors, and the scores were derived from the average of the answers received. Once the averages were collected, the countries were placed into specific rankings centered on these scores.

Australia ranked the highest out of every country in the world, with a total world index score of 60 percent. This percentage demonstrates the amount of individuals who participate in one of the three generous acts on a monthly basis.

In a single month, the World Giving Index observed that two-thirds of individuals in Australia donate money to charity while also helping a stranger. Since 2007, the average global participation in charitable acts has steadily decreased. Australia has consistently maintained the highest average for giving for the last five consecutive years.

The benevolent values of Australia are promoted by their response to natural disasters that took place in 2010 and 2011. From these catastrophes came the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission. Australian generosity is also attributed to the fact that they are one of few countries that has survived for more than two decades without an economic recession.

Since the financial year 2009-2010, Australians increased their giving by $248 million, giving $2.21 billion in 2010-2011.

Although Australia has an overall ranking as the most generous country, studies show that Ireland has the highest rate of donating money, beating out Australia 79 to 76 percent. Ireland is ranked as the second most giving country in the world according to the World Giving Index.

Top Five Most Generous Countries According to World Giving Index

1.) Australia

World Giving Index Score: 60%

Participation in donating money: 76%

Participation in volunteering time: 37%

Participation in helping a stranger: 67%

 

2.) Ireland

World Giving Index Score: 60%

Participation in donating money: 79%

Participation in volunteering time: 34%

Participation in helping a stranger: 66%

 

3.) Canada

World Giving Index Score: 58%

Participation in donating money: 64%

Participation in volunteering time: 42%

Participation in helping a stranger: 67%

 

4.) New Zealand

World Giving Index Score: 57%

Participation in donating money: 66%

Participation in volunteering time: 38%

Participation in helping a stranger: 68%

 

5.) United States

World Giving Index Score: 57%

Participation in donating money: 57%

Participation in volunteering time: 42%

Participation in helping a stranger: 71%

 

– Samaria Garrett

Sources: Insider Monkey, International Business Times
Photo: Mobile Cuisine

In Memory of Paul Walker – A Famous Hollywood Star and Active Philanthropist

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Much of the world has been shattered and shocked by the news of Paul Walker’s untimely death-a Hollywood star whose light was snuffed out far too soon.

Earning his star power through highly successful movies such as the Fast and the Furious franchise, Paul Walker lead Hollywood as an effective leading man with his charismatic personality and smoldering good looks.

Yet beyond the screen persona and steely blue eyes was a beloved philanthropist who devoted himself to extensive charity work that outreached numerous people in need.

At the time of his death, Walker was in attendance at his own charity event- the Reach Out Worldwide charity car show in Valencia, California. He hosted the event in hopes of collecting donations to assist those affected by Typhoon Haiyan and the Illinois tornadoes.

Before setting out on the car ride that would result in his tragic death, Walker had been overjoyed to find that the gathering had accumulated a great turnout in both attendees and donations.

An attendee of the event and a longtime friend of Walker’s, Bill Townsend spoke to People magazine about Walker’s very kind and approachable demeanor at the event, stating: “Paul was standing around like he was just one of the guys. He’s one of the most grounded people you could ever imagine.”

As an individual who highly succeeded in staying grounded, Walker had many charities and causes that remained linked to his root of devotion.

Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW) reigned as an active source of his philanthropic endeavors, as a nonprofit organization he founded himself after observing the lack of resources for immediate relief response for the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

According to the charity’s web site, ROWW Is a “network of committed professionals with first responder skill-set,” that has “developed Standard Operating Procedures that facilitate arriving quickly, clearing access, providing basic necessities and medical assistance.”

Walker championed the nonprofit with much devotion and enthusiasm, often working “under the radar” when traveling on behalf of his organization and actively lending his services to areas in need.

Following the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, Walker assembled a team of first responders and headed to the most devastated areas to deliver supplies and medical aid.

In that same year, Walker traveled with a team to Chile, delivering water and medical aid to tsunami victims.

Yet foreign countries alone were not the extent of Walker’s charitable outreach. Following the tornado that hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Walker headed to the state and helped victims get back into their homes by running a chainsaw to clear debris.

Fellow colleagues in his charity observed that Walker preferred his anonymity when pursuing charity work, and never shied away from rolling up his sleeves and risk getting a little dirty to achieve productive results.

From the year if his charity’s inception to his very last living moment of earth, charity was the forefront of Walker’s mind.

Although many are saddened by Walker’s untimely passing, his legacy and his devotion to giving shall continue to live and prosper through his surviving charity.

Universal Studios recently announced that it shall donate profits accumulated from Fast and Furious 6 DVDs towards Walker’s charity organization- giving fans the chance to celebrate and honor both his work in film and philanthropy.

– Kaitlyn Boisvert

Sources: People, Moviepilot, LA Times
Photo: Real Big Faces

The Psychology of Philanthropy

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What causes someone to become a humanitarian or a philanthropist? Are selfless acts inherently selfish? Does it even matter why someone gives? The psychology of philanthropy is a fascinating look at what makes compassion tick.

Humanitarians are found to share one particular experience: “a transformative engagement with ‘the other.’”  When recounting their initial motivation for becoming a humanitarian, they express that from an early age, they got to know someone different from them and came to the understanding that they were more alike than they thought.  They also share interesting traits, including “an awareness of the complexity and interrelatedness of human problems; and an ability to turn anger, sorrow, and other negative emotions into a force for good.”

Some anthropologists contend that humans could not have survived and evolved without the charity of a group.  Even more interesting, health-wise, our level of stress appears to be influenced by our connection to others.  Our stress systems “calm down when we are feeling close to people we care about – whether related to us or not – and spike during isolation and loneliness.”

Some academics explain the doer of good acts as being motivated by a “helper’s high: when you extend yourself to someone else, it produces an altered state of consciousness. You feel aroused, you feel wonderful, you float on air.”

The problem with being motivated by only extrinsic factors is that a person will lose their ability to be intrinsically motivated.  When there is no longer an outside force involved (fame, recognition, reward, etc.), the person becomes demotivated and cannot see the value in what they are doing.  Deep meaning, like that derived from philanthropy,  is said to be found only intrinsically.  Brain researchers have found that deep meanings “are the source of our reasons to keep going even when we do not understand…Deep meanings shape what we are willing to look at how we interpret our experiences.”

Understanding one’s underlying motivations may not necessarily be important when it comes to philanthropy, because in the end they are giving to an important cause.  It is important to understand, however, for an individual’s own growth and development. Extrinsic motivation is not completely bad, if accompanied with the capacity to be motivated without the expectation of a reward. Operating from such a foundation will equip an individual with the necessary skills to apply in situations in which there are not any immediate, tangible rewards.

– Rifk Ebeid

Sources: Psychology Today, Psychology Today, Health Land, Sage Pub
Photo: UiO Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law

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What is an NPO?

NPO
A nonprofit organization is an organization that, pursuant to Section 501(c) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, does not retain its surplus revenue as profit. Instead, any surplus money is used to sustain the organization in its execution of a specific goal or set of goals, as designated by its bylaws and charter. In contrast to for-profit organizations, NPOs are largely project-driven ventures as opposed to product-driven ventures.

Before applying to be a 501(c) organization, a board of trustees must be assembled. The board will be committed to governing the execution of the organization’s goals. Once assembled, the board is responsible for drafting a clear and precise set of bylaws outlining the organization’s goals and the ways in which those goals will be pursued.

The bylaws must be recorded and, along with some necessary accounting paperwork (which varies according to different concessions granted by Section 501(c)), submitted to the IRS and the department of the secretary of state where the organization plans to operate in.

Once this paperwork is filed with the state, it may take up to a year for an organization to get approved as a 501(c). Most NPOs use this interim to prepare for launch immediately upon receipt of approval. Much of this time is spent identifying and communicating with potential donors, writing grants and taking other measures to secure funds for when the organization is approved.

Following state approval, a 501(c) organization must adhere to the bylaws it established in order to maintain its tax-exempt status. Its operation is limited by the bylaws it imposed on itself, and its tax-exempt status is contingent upon adherence to those bylaws. If an organization is not working effectively to accomplish its outlined mission, its tax-exemption will be revoked.

Under 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, an NPO may receive one of 29 different designations according to its mission. These designations determine what kind of tax exemptions the NPO will receive, as well as the kind of economic activity it is permitted to engage in. These designations are determined by an organization’s goals, the parties it engages with economically, and the recipients of any aid the organization is providing.

Most NPOs involved in the fight against poverty are designated as 501(c)(3)s. By law, a 501(c)(3) falls under one of the following categories: religious, scientific, charitable, educational, literary, public safety, the fostering of international or national amateur sports or the prevention of cruelty to children and animals. Organizations that actively fight against poverty can fall under any number of these categories. As well as tax-exemption, 501(c)(3)s receive reduced postage rates, and are permitted to generate receipts to provide donors with tax write-offs. They are, however, prohibited from participating in any political campaigns.

For an  NPO engaged in the campaign against poverty, transparency is of utmost importance. Strict adherence to bylaws and charter are necessary. If the secretary of state perceives that an organization is straying from its mission, its tax-exempt status will be lost. This renders the organization far less effective in the abolition of poverty. Not only does this cost an organization financially, it costs the world’s poor.

– Matt Berg

Sources: 501c3, Cornell Law, IRS, IRS
Photo: GuideStar,

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Hugh Jackman: the Humanitarian

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Hugh Jackman is perhaps best known for his role as Wolverine in Marvel’s X-Men series. Outside of acting, though, the Australian actor is also well-known for his efforts as a great humanitarian. His involvement with the Global Poverty Project and various other charity programs, ranging from AIDS prevention to Children’s Hospitals, show that is he is someone who uses his status to bring awareness to the various problems in our society and help those in need.

Global Poverty Project is an organization that combats extreme poverty through various campaigns of awareness and government action.  One of their campaigns is 1.4 Billion Reasons—one for each person living in extreme poverty all over the world (extreme poverty is defined as living on less than $1.25/day). The campaign is one of awareness: the presentation introduces the viewers to the persistence of poverty, and the many possible solutions to it.

Hugh Jackman is associated with another campaign of the Global Poverty Project: Live Below the Line. For five days, the participants of this campaign live below the poverty line, spending only $1.25 a day on food. This takes a great deal of commitment and helps to develop sympathy for those for whom this is an everyday reality.

In addition to supporting such campaigns, Hugh Jackman also recently did some fundraising for charity. He charged all the guests to attend his birthday party, and after performing a musical number, dancing, and telling stories the whole night, sent all the proceeds to the Motion Picture and Television Fund, which gives services such as healthcare to those who work in and have retired from the entertainment industry.

Clearly, Hugh Jackman understands the importance of helping those both near and far—those with whom he works, and those who he will probably never meet in his life. He brings awareness to serious issues and is a great role model to people everywhere. He feels the need to help those all over the world, and that shows he’s a true humanitarian.

– Aalekhya Malladi

Sources: Newsday, Look to the Stars
Photo: Zimbio

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Patrick and Anna M. Cudahy Fund: What You Should Know

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The Patrick and Anna M. Cudahy Fund is a foundation that grants money to nonprofit organizations involved in social and youth services, education, art and culture.

The premise of the fund dates back to the early 1920s, when Articles of Association were drawn to break ground on the Alice Dickson Cudahy Clinic. This clinic was created to provide free services to dependent family members of employees at the Cudahy Brothers Company. Some of these free services included medical attention, and education on matters such as child welfare, domestic science and social hygiene. The clinic was able to open on August 1, 1923, thanks to a $19,270.77 donation made by Michael F. Cudahy.

On August 22, 1935, the name of the organization was changed to the Michael F. Cudahy Fund. Upon this change, the association broadened its spectrum of philanthropy efforts to include the severely poverty-stricken and ill. On September 29, 1943, the name of the organization was once again changed, this time to the Patrick and Anna M. Cudahy Fund, in honor of Michael’s parents.

Today, the Fund primarily assists youth organizations located in Wisconsin and Chicago, though some money is granted to charities involving public interest and environmental conflicts. The Fund also accepts international requests affiliated with U.S. nonprofits.

– Meagan Hurley

Sources: Business Journal, Cudahy Fund

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5 Benefits to Giving Back to the Community

tutoring
There are a variety of ways in which giving back to the community, both local and global, are beneficial:

1. Giving back can foster growth in a company or for an entrepreneur by providing an opportunity to listen and learn from the community (what it wants, and what it needs, and what it means to give). The act of giving back doesn’t have to proceed without thought of what the company needs or even what the company desires to give. Developing a standard policy about the causes you’re willing to donate to and support will allow the charities and organizations that approach you to be in support of your commitment.

The conversation can grow beyond guilt and into one of support. When it comes to listening to the community your business or organization might serve (be it a specific location or a certain demographic) you become more informed by the goals and needs of the community you’re attempting to serve and can tailor future projects towards these goals and needs.

2. An obvious benefit of giving back is that it helps the community, whether the help is on a global scale (foreign aid donations, clothing/food/etc. donations in the wake of natural disasters, or volunteer work) or a local one (donating food to a food bank, volunteering to help students after school, or aiding in cleaning up local waterways), the community improves.

Especially when aid involves helping others make progress beyond the limits of economic, educational, or social blockades. While the changes may be more difficult to grasp on a global level, at the local level the progress made is also visible. Which leads to…

3. Giving back, especially on an individual level (such as tutoring, mentoring a child or volunteering in a soup kitchen), is good for your health. Depending on the work one is doing: physical health can be improved by increased activity, regulated sleep schedules, and better sleep in general, stress relief, and can help reduce the risk of certain health problems, like heart attacks and strokes.

There are studies that show volunteer work can make people happier by boosting not only physical health but also by promoting social interactions and of course the good vibes that come from contributing to the community. This potentially happier and healthier mindset promotes a desire to give back more.

4. Maybe you’re looking for a career change or a career boost, a volunteer opportunity would be a great and beneficial way to begin. Whether you’re writing grants in your spare time or building houses, volunteering is work.

It takes and builds skills and understanding and provides the professional or someone just starting out with a network of people just as invested as they are in the progress of whatever project is in the works. In similar fashion, volunteer work provides a foothold into and gives one a stake in the community

5. Having a stake in the community means coming in contact with community members who may often be overlooked, ignored, or outright scorned depending on their situations. This works both on a local and global scale.

It’s easier to see why more needs to be done on a legislative level if one can see that even with aid programs there are still limits to what someone working full-time or someone on disability or someone without running water, electricity, the list goes on, is capable of doing when the law ignores, fails to protect, or actively works against them.

Meeting other members of your community may also be as simple as visiting a retirement community with your dog or helping out in the community garden. Whatever you end up doing you’re getting a better understanding of the community of which you are a part and its needs.

– The Borgen Project

Sources: Huffington Post, Southern Alpha 
Photo: NCHS

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Can One Person Change the World?

BuildOn_EducationVenture into a forest, and the trees are a hard thing to miss. Trees come in all shapes and sizes, but even the giant sequoia tree had a small beginning. All trees are grown from minuscule seeds. How does something so expansive and enormous come from such an insignificant beginning? Just like any other great wonder, all things start from small beginnings. Trees had to grow, buildings had to be constructed, and people are grown from swaddling babes. Everybody and everything had a small beginning; it’s the decisions made and actions done that determine what grows from it.

Jim Ziolkowski is the founder, president, and CEO of buildOn, a non-profit organization established to build schools in developing countries while also running after-school programs for America’s toughest inner-city environments. The seeds for buildOn were planted on an after-college excursion into the Himalayan Mountains. Ziolkowski came across a village in Nepal that was celebrating the opening of a new school. During his trip, Ziolkowski gained first-hand experience of poverty-stricken areas and the conditions that lay therein. But in this village, Ziolkowski saw something that forever changed him. He saw a community that was hanging its hopes on the power of education.

Ziolkowski returned to the United States, and began his job in corporate finance at GE. However, the memories of his cross-country hiking could not be forgotten. 15 months into his job, Ziolkowski walked out forever, pursuing a life that would enlighten the lives of others throughout the world by founding buildOn.

In 1992, Ziolkowski traveled to Misolami, a village located in Malawi. Ziolkowski planned to build his organization’s first school here, but he soon succumbed to malaria. Ziolkowski barely escaped with his life, and had another life-changing moment in the process; barely anybody in the area diagnosed with malaria escapes with their life. Ziolkowski only survived because he was not entrenched in extreme poverty, unlike most of the people in the area. Ziolkowski saw education as a way to escape extreme poverty, and his fire to change the world’s education for the less fortunate was strengthened.

Ziolkowski returned to the U.S knowing he also had to impact the lives of the urban youth in a positive way. Ziolkowski was unable to connect with these kids on a deeper level because he had been raised in a stable small town in Michigan. To solve this problem, Ziolkowski moved into a rough neighborhood in Harlem, so he could experience the difference in person. He lived there for three years, and he learned the urban youth did not want to participate in the dangerous style of life, they wanted to change it. Ziolkowski wanted to assist this mindset to the best of his ability.

Twenty years later, the results from Ziolkowski’s experiences have helped launch buildOn into a successful program. On Ziolkowski’s return to Misolami in 2012, the village had constructed four other schools thanks to support from buildOn. Instead of 150 kids attending school, now well over 1,000 were enrolled. Ziolkowski’s success can be seen on the forefront of this village, and in neighborhoods throughout urban America. The tree (buildOn) started out as a small idea, but Ziolkowski’s drive and determination turned it from a seed into a giant sequoia.

Ziolkowski’s success has been printed in his book, Walk in Their Shoes, available on Amazon.

– Zachary Wright

Sources: Amazon, buildON, NC State University
Photo: WorldOz

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5 Great Male Writers Recognize the Importance of Giving Back

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These 5 great male writers express in their writing the importance of giving back:

 

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.

– Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel Prize winning Indian writer, whose novels and poetry are still admired by the whole world today. Famous works include Gitanjali, The Home and the World, and some select poetry.

 

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.

– Charles Dickens, a 19th century English writer who was well known and renowned for his giving voice to the poor through his writing. Famous works include A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and A Christmas Carol.

 

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th century American transcendentalist writer, who wrote mostly philosophical essays. Famous works include “Self Reliance,” “Nature,” and other select essays.

 

Charity itself fulfills the law/ And who can sever love from charity?

– William Shakespeare, the great bard, perhaps the most well-known playwright in history, toyed with themes of politics, society, and family. Famous works include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Much Ado about Nothing, and a collection of sonnets.

 

While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.

– Chinua Achebe, a 21st century Nigerian author who writes from a post-colonial perspective, tying his stories back to the colonial era. Famous works include Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God, Anthills of the Savannah, and a particularly controversial criticism of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

– Aalekhya Malladi

5 Great Female Writers on Giving Back

Sources: Goodreads, Moveme Quotes
Photo: Paste Magazine