Why do people give? University of California-San Diego economist James Andreoni in 1989 introduced the "theory of warm glow giving." He explained that when people make decisions about giving to charities, they're influenced by many factors such as social pressure, sympathy, guilt, desire to earn prestige, friendship, respect or warm glow. Warm glow in this context is defined as an increase in utility resulting from the act of giving in addition to utility generated by an increase in the total supply of the public good.

Simply put, the donor is enriched as much as the recipient, if not more so. Through the act of giving we become better people and feel better about ourselves. Every year 60 percent to 70 percent of Americans contribute to charity, spanning all socio-economic lines. The warm glow is real. And it's available to all of us 7/24, unlocking the power of the old but timeless Chinese proverb:

If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.

Giving Surge
Donations to the nation's biggest charities grew rapidly in the first quarter of 2010, compared with the same time in 2009, a sign that many non-profit groups are making a strong recovery from the fund-raising troubles they suffered last year. A new Chronicle of Philanthropy survey indicates that giving increased by a median of 11 percent in the first three months of 2010, compared with 2009, meaning that donations to half of the charities grew faster while the other half were faring less well.

To calculate the giving rate, The Chronicle excluded charities that were raising money to help Haiti recover from January's devastating earthquake. The 18 organizations in the study that raised money for Haiti, such as Mercy Corps and the United States Fund for Unicef, received 57 percent more in donations in the first quarter of 2010 than they did in 2009, largely because of the disaster.

More Good News
The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, the nation's largest donor-advised fund program and the third largest public charity, experienced the strongest first quarter for contributions and grants in its 19-year history. Incoming contributions to the Gift Fund for the quarter rose 109 percent to $270 million, from $129 million in the first quarter of 2009, while donors recommended grants totaling $269 million to non-profits nationwide, up 35 percent from $199 million during the same period last year.

A number of factors contributed to the increases in both grants and contributions during the first quarter. The Gift Fund experienced an outpouring of donor support following the natural disaster in Haiti, resulting in more than 10,000 grants totaling more than $14 million to organizations providing assistance to relief efforts in that country. In addition, contributions in the form of appreciated securities also rose dramatically.

Celebs Doing Good
Actor Ed Norton and many other prominent citizens have come together to launch Crowdrise, a volunteering and social good website where individuals (including celebrities) can create personalized fundraising pages for specific causes.

The pun-filled website grew out of Norton's Massai Marathon, an effort to protect wildlife in Kenya and Tansania. The campaign benefited from online promotion, and raised $1.2 million in less than eight weeks, with an overwhelming percentage coming from small donations.

Just a few of the celebrities who already have Crowdrise fundraising pages:

·Kristen Bell, raising money for human rights organization Invisible Children and The Art of Elysium

·Elizabeth Banks, supporting LA's Best After School Program and Partners In Health

·Seth Rogen, promoting Kick Alzheimer's In The Ass and The $10 To End (Malaria) Project

McLachlan likes talking about a "world on fire." We live in a dynamic and complex world filled with the challenges of poverty, disease and environmental degradation, to name a few. Men and women from all walks of life can choose to fight fires with their passion, integrity and innovative ideas.

Smart Giving
Linda Stern is a free-lance writer whose insightful pieces on philanthropy that have been published by Reuters, Newsweek and other prestigious publications. A recent column spotlighted practical ideas on helping donors act smarter about their giving and achieving more with less:

· Concentrate gifts on fewer groups. Take the time to think of the two or three causes most dear to your heart.

· Think large and small, targeting both big national charities offering economies of scale and small, local groups aimed at causes you care most about.

· Aim for governance. Consider gifts aimed at helping the charity build capacity.

· Give stocks and mutual fund shares. If you have a gain in a stock or other security, you can give it to a charity and maximize its value.

Capital Campaign Strategy
Tim Seiler, director of The Fund Raising School at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, advises that while the time in this post-recession environment is still not quite right for active campaigning, creating excitement among the organization's closest donors will build momentum for when donors' general confidence is back up and they're ready to give.

A good place to start is by making sure the organization's case for support is in shape and compelling. Share it with potential donors and invite feedback. Is it something you'd want to support when the time is right? How should we strengthen it? How should we refine it? Are there specific things it should address? Listen your way to a future gift.

Giving To Developing Countries
Despite the global recession, private giving and remittances are helping developing countries weather the economic storm, according to the new 2010 Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances published by Hudson Institute's Center for Global Prosperity. The success of the Index proves that if you measure something, it will grow.


In 2008, private philanthropy and remittances remained among the most important sources of funding in the developing world. Private philanthropy and remittances from the developed to the developing world were nearly twice as much as government aid ($233 billion vs. $121 billion). As predicted in last year's Index, remittances from all countries to developing countries have remained remarkably resilient despite the global recession that began in 2008. These remittances totaled $336 billion in 2008, a 17% increase from 2007.

Money Necessary For Innovation
More than 80 percent of social-service, economic-development, and arts charities surveyed in Johns Hopkins University's Listening Post Project said they had adopted at least one innovative program in the past five years. But more than two-thirds said that, while they had identified an innovative program in the past two years, they were unable to adopt it, generally because they lacked the money.

Innovation was more common at large nonprofit groups than small ones. Ninety-one percent of survey respondents with budgets greater than $3-million said they had adopted at least one innovative program or service in the past five years, compared with 75 percent of groups with budgets under $500,000.

Giving Against The Tide
Foundation Source reports a significant increase in giving by its foundation clients in 2009, countering a broader trend among large, institutional foundations. In a survey of nearly 700 foundation clients, the number and size of grants under $1 million grew by 15% over the previous year.

Conclusion: Foundations led by individuals and families stepped up in a big way during a difficult time. This reflects their deep spirit of generosity and ability to make an immediate impact in their communities. It also demonstrates their flexibility and the fact that they target areas of need quickly and effectively.

Corporate Volunteerism
Corporate America is giving workplace volunteerism a strong vote of confidence as a means to make a significant, long-term difference in their communities. The 2010 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey finds that more than eight in 10 companies (84 percent) believe that volunteerism can help non-profits accomplish long-term social goals, and are increasingly offering skills-based volunteer opportunities to employees.

In fact, corporate managers report that the top priorities when determining workplace volunteer activities include the potential to alleviate a social issue (36 percent), help the non-profit function more effectively (31 percent) and serve more clients (31 percent). Conversely, while volunteerism is often widely cited for its benefits related to employee recruitment and retention, criteria related to business interests ranked lower.

Online Giving Insights
The eNonprofit Benchmarks Study for 2010 from M+R Strategic Services and NTEN analyzes online messaging, fundraising, and advocacy data from 31 leading non-profit organizations. The findings indicate that while online giving grew overall in 2009, not all charities shared in the gains.

Together the organizations in the report -- large national charities, such as Oxfam America and the Wilderness Society -- raised 4.5 percent more money through the Internet in 2009 than in the previous year. But for half of the groups in the study, online donations either held steady or decreased. The decline was driven by a drop in average gift size, which was $81.33 for the charities in the study.

Extra Incentive For Doing Good
There's always a glow from being a donor, but in 2010 it will be even brighter. For years, higher-income taxpayers have worried about their itemized deductions and personal exemption write-offs being phased out. This means that they didn't get the full benefit of the most popular itemized deductions such as mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable contributions, and miscellaneous deductions. Thankfully, these "phase-out" rules have been getting phased out since 2006, as part of the "Bush tax cuts."

For 2010, the phase-out rules are gone. If your income is high enough, you can actually write off all of your itemized deductions and personal exemptions. For example, if your deductions for mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable donations, and miscellaneous deductions total $40,000, you can actually write off the full $40,000. In past years, if your income was high enough, you could have lost part of that deduction.

These rules are complicated so consult with your tax adviser to find out if there are tax strategies you can take this year to take advantage of the one year phase-out reprieve.

Improving Accountability
The Charities Review Council has announced the launch of revised Accountability Standards, implemented by charities through an updated online Accountability Wizard review process. The purpose is to strengthen non-profits' commitment to accountable practices and provide meaningful information to the donating public in order to advance more informed philanthropy. Initially drafted in 1998, the Accountability Standards were recently updated to reflect economic, demographic, legal and societal changes.

The revised Accountability Standards address charity performance in four critical areas: public disclosure, governance, financial activity and fundraising. A major focus of the new standards is the importance of engaged and effective governance.

Where To Live And Where Not
Among the 187 U.S. metro areas Gallup and Healthways surveyed in 2009, Holland-Grand Haven, Mich., led the nation in providing basic necessities -- such as safe places to exercise and easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables -- to its residents. Following closely are Madison, Wis., and two Iowa metro areas, all of which scored above 87.0 on the Gallup-Healthways Basic Access Index, a 13-item measure of Americans' access to basic necessities in the cities or areas where they live.

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas, ranks last of the metro areas surveyed in 2009, with a Basic Access Index score of 72.2. Five of 10 worst metro areas for meeting residents' basic needs are in California, and these are clustered together primarily in the middle of the state. The Basic Access Index national average for 2009 was 82.2, down from 83.6 in 2008.

Quiz: Endowment Performance
The Chronicle of Philanthropy database of endowments at non-profit organizations and foundations showed 2009 was a trying year ... and generally small was beautiful. The smallest charity and foundation endowments solidly outperformed their bigger and more celebrated counterparts. Match the following endowments and their 2009 return on investment (for the fiscal year ending June 30th). Answers are shown at the bottom of the left-hand column. Until next month ...

a. -27.3%