Gift Hub

10 Best Ways to Interact with Gifthub

1. Leave a comment.
2. Suggest a link.
3. Email me a suggestion.
4. Start your own blog and link; I will link back.
5. Email me a press release or announcement.
6. Nonprofits: Mention Gifthub in a newsletter to your constituents.
7. Journalists: ask Phil Cubeta to a source. (Phil has served as a source for Contribute, Vanity Fair, Financial Planning, and The New York Times, among others.)
8. Conference Planners: Consider Phil as a speaker.  (Phil has spoken at Council on Foundations, National Commitee on Planned Giving, and will give the keynote for the 2008 Advisors in Philanthropy with Tracy Gary.)
9. Donors: Consider Phil as a Morals Tutor. (Phil has been thrown out, beaten up,and left for dead by the Trusted Advisors of some of the wealthiest families in America.)
10. Your ideas?

All services are provided strictly pro bono publico and on the up and up.

Munnecke Video Mentoring Bill Gates

Tom Munnecke, having transitioned from high tech to giving,  provides Bill Gates with advice on making the same transition.  He counsels Bill to reinforce uplifiting patterns that emerge from the grassroots, rather than imposing order and direction from above. 

With some wit and humor, Tom is really speaking not only to Bill but to millions of successful people who now in their middle or late middle years want to reinvest themselves in socially significant work.  This is not "retirement" for the Boomers, but what Ken Dychtwald calls The Power Years: A User's Guide for the Rest of your Life.  Our biggest contribution comes after making the bundle (or learning to live on less).  Whether it is financial services, legal services, nonprofit service, fundraising, social ve ntures, or philanthropy, our existing "silos" will be transformed by these insurgent Boomers, as they refuse to go gently in that good night. We are not the sort to put our feet up on the railing of the back porch and wait for death.  We may live to be one hundered and ten, so death could be a long wait. More importantly, now, as in our youth making a difference is a more compelling goal than just making a living, much less a killing.

Inspired Legacies Newsletter

Tracy Gary's Inspired Legacies has its first newsletter out, and it is (says he modestly) dedicated to me. Tracy should maybe do a newsletter some time on "the art of gratitude." She exemplifies how gifts circulate defining a little community of care and concern. Perhaps most importantly, Tracy is linking networks that are now distinct: donor networks, community builders, fundraisers, tax and legal advisors, and networks of online interchange.  Her "business model" is to work for the benefit of others and await a return flow from whatever source. As these networks connect and become a system pulsing with ideas and energy, her efforts will bear fruit in ways as unpredictable as those of John Chapman, "Johnny Appleseed."

2Nonprofits.org

2Nonprofits.org is a blog project of the Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Pace University. It aims to help experienced business people make the transition to work in the nonprofit social sector.

Contribute Magazine on Gifthub

Heard from Contribute magazine that I am being "written up" in my role as pro bono Morals Tutor to the Filthy Rich and to their spoiled brats who will some day be running this country. I have often thought that if the wealthy can afford partial interests in a private jet, they can afford at least a part time Fool. Actually, I improve their ethics for nothing, my only reward being the pleasure of helping others be the best they can be. I think we as a culture write off these wealth holders too easily.  I am not sure I can point to any specific success stories, in the 25 years I have been uplifting the ethics of my betters, but we do what we can against all odds. If you know of any rich people in high places who need better morals, or if you know bratty heirs who are assuming positions of power or privilege please send them my way. Again, there is no charge. The pleasure is all mine. I do not guarantee results, but my efforts will be unstinting.

Civic Ventures

Over 50? Looking to reinvigorate yourself in a new role? Civic Ventures may help you connect and get engaged. (The suggestion came to me via a conversation with Tom Munnecke.)

Untapped

Brody Weiser Burns is pleased to announce the publication of Untapped: Creating Value in Underserved Markets by John Weiser, Michele Kahane, Steve Rochlin and Jessica Landis. This book is a practical guide for managers on how to buy from, hire from, and sell to underserved markets in ways that create benefits for corporations and communities alike. Based on rigorous research spanning seven years and fifty cases, Untapped clearly outlines how to establish the kinds of win-win partnerships that are vital to succeeding in these complex but potentially rewarding markets. Combining practical tools, case studies, and careful analysis, Untapped provides concrete, grounded guidance for investing in and partnering with underserved communities.

Reimagine Money

Reimagine money is an initiative of Rudoph Steiner Foundation,

You are invited to join an ever widening circle of individuals and organizations in a transformative dialogue and reflection about money and to reimagine your role as a consumer,  investor, or donor. In the resources section you are encouraged to discover initiatives and organizations that are collaborating to reimagine money— to bring consciousness to how people view and relate to their financial resources to help them make financial choices that promote social, environmental, and economic sustainability.

Reiminagine Money also has a blog.

New Study of Philanthropy Just Out - "Enhancing the Legacy Planning Field"

"Enhancing the Legacy Planning Field: An Environmental Scan with Preliminary Analysis," prepared by Jeff Golberg for Tracy Gary. Download.pdf.

25 page paper in which 35 key influencers and thought leaders in philanthropy were interviewed by Jeff, Tracy, and me.  The conclusion is that giving is an emerging field of practice with "silos" of expertise that do not yet communicate with one another in an optimal way. Donors, fundraisers, philanthropic consultants, foundations, tax, legal, and financial advisors all "understand philanthropy," but what they understand by understanding philanthropy varies widely. Tracy at Inspired Legacies, as I here at Gifthub and for Peter Karoff at The World We Want are trying to bring the stakeholders together in new and mutually productive conversations. The goal is to inspire legacy leaders, active citizens, and the nonprofit community to articulate and advance the world we want. ("We" includes you, gentle reader.)

Teletruth News Alert

Post Everywhere - Free Download of "$200 Billion Broadband Scandal"