January 6 - A Little Change can Change A Lot!

In previous posts, I talked about the concept of giving circles and how they make a difference.   Today's post highlights one such idea... many people pooling their resources to a make a difference in the lives of others!   I think this would be an awesome idea for parents and kids to get involved in.  What a great way to teach your child about giving!  

If you gave one dollar a month to the poor...would it help? Would it make a difference? What if you got your friends and family to give a dollar a month too? Would it make a difference then? What if a thousand people got a thousand of their friends to give a dollar a month? What if a million people did the same?


One dollar is nothing to most of us. One dollar won't even buy a cup of coffee or a newspaper anymore. To us, a dollar is pocket change. But that's just us. To over a billion people, one dollar is all they've got to get them through the day. It's time to change that.  Half the world  -nearly three billion people- lives on less than two dollars a day.


One Dollar Nation is a non-profit organization devoted to eliminating extreme poverty and advancing education. They are an online community that gives their members a chance to participate in their mission. To become a citizen of One Dollar Nation, they ask that you commit to donate a minimum of one dollar a month to the cause.  The money raised will be put towards projects that have been selected by the members, or citiens of One Dollar Nation.  As a citizen, your name will be added to the citizens page and you will gain access to the forums. In the forums you can meet other citizens, suggest future projects, and vote on where the money raised goes.  You have a voice in where the money goes!  


Quite simply, One Dollar Nation is a group of people who want to change the world.  They're going to take a little bit of money from a whole lot of people and use it to do good things. It's not about politics, religion or economics. It's just about doing something good.  Take a look at this brief video.




One dollar. It may not seem like much, but one dollar can provide a meal. One dollar can cure a disease. One dollar can save a life.  Let's show the world that a little change can change a lot.



Get Involved:


Become a Citizen of One Dollar Nation.  Join the Nation! 

Shop the One Dollar Nation online store.

Learn about current and past projects supported by One Dollar Nation.

Share

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Source:  http://www.onedollarnation.org/

April 28 (Day 59) Giving Circles

“In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us.”   - Flora Edwards

I read that a "Giving Circle" is a cross between a book club and an investment group.  That is a pretty good definition...Giving Circles are quickly gaining in popularity as a way for individuals to manage and pool their resources to increase their philanthropic impact.  Giving circles can be small and informal, like a group of friends getting together for dinner to pool their resources to support causes of their choosing,  or they can be larger and highly organized groups requiring a larger donation and greater participation:

“Marsha Wallace, a labor and delivery nurse in Greenville, SC, often volunteered at a health care clinic and donated to local charities, but she felt that she wasn’t doing enough. So three years ago she invited some friends to a potluck dinner. They were asked to bring an appetizer, a main course or a dessert—and their checkbooks.

More than 25 women attended, and they contributed $760 to Women for Women International, a nonprofit organization based in Washington that helps female war survivors. The dinner group gave itself a name, Dining for Women, and agreed to meet monthly, with each member donating the $30 she would have spent at a restaurant. (Eventually, Ms. Wallace scrapped the minimum donation because she worried that some women could not afford to attend.)
Now, every month, the donations, usually amounting to $400 to $500, are given to a variety of international nonprofit groups that help women and children. The club has grown to 115 members, with perhaps 15 or 20 showing up at each meeting. It has contributed a total of $19,000 to various charities, including the American Leprosy Missions and Habitat for Humanity. Donations have paid for two years of nursing school for an East African woman and started a $1,400 medical fund in Ethiopia.” 

-Kristina Shevory, “Giving: When Charity Begins In a Circle of Friends,” New York Time, October 9, 2005

Giving circles are a fairly new concept in philanthropy where small groups make a big difference. The idea is that if you already have a group that gets together on a regular basis, why not do something to give back in the process? If you don't already have a group getting together... You Can Start One!!   A small donation of $10, $20 or $50 at a meeting of a small group of people can add up quickly and turn a small individual donation into a large result.

Click on the resources below to learn more about Giving Circles and how you can start or participate in one:

Giving Circles FAQ's
Giving Circles Knowledge Center


So, how about it?  Does a Giving Circle sound interesting to you?  Get together with your family and friends and make a difference in the causes that you care about! 

Sources:  About.com