Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton (31) left the crowd of the Big Sister Association’s charity event speechless with her eloquence, when talking about her late grandmother, Dorothy Rodham, and praising the evening’s honoree, Democratic donor and well-known philanthropist Elain Schuster, The Boston Globe reported.
Chelsea Clinton at the charity event of the Big Sister Association
„[My grandmother] built the home for her children that she had never had but that she had seen and could believe in. My mother is a product of my grandmother’s indominable spirit. (…) She knew deep in her core that she had finally transformed all of the challenges that she had confronted in life into values embedded in my mother, in my uncles, and in their children. And for my grandmother, until truly the last day, what was most fundamental to her was always paying it forward.” Chelsea was quoted as saying, when talking about her late grandmother. Dorothy Rodham died earlier this month, on Nov. 1, 2011.
With such an overdose of news and media over the internet it’s high time to find appropriate filters to pick the information you really need. Going back to the source and following the organizations you are interested in is becoming easier and easier as almost every major organization is now using social media. But then again, the abundancy has its drawbacks: it’s not easy to find and pick the news sources that are really worth paying attention to. In our year-end post, Fundraisr.org has compiled a definitive list of 11 charity organizations that are worth keeping an eye on in 2011. From children’s charities to environmental foundations, from major NGOs to intergovernemtal organizations these are the feeds that will surely feed your charity-hunger next year. Oh, and if you liked the list, please make sure you follow Fundraisr.org’s Twitter feed as well!
Strong online branding of the charities make users give more and more frequently, by making emotional relationship between the donor and the recipient nonprofit – a new study commissioned by Network for Good and True Sense Marketing concludes. According to the study, the connection that is made between the organization and the donor matters to users at least as much as the connection between the user and the cause the money is granted for.
The study found that, due to the branding efforts these charities make both online and offline, charity websites themselves draw the highest amounts in donations – some $180 as an average initial donation, and a cumulative $257 over the time period between 2007 and 2009.
Giving portals, that feature handy tools for users to find causes (and organizations) aligned with the users’ interests only came second with an initial gift of $120 and $168 as an average cumulative donation over the same time period.
While social networking sites, such as Facebook or Twitter continue to gain significance, were found to be a little less effective, due to their looser connections with charities and users. Average donations were $113 as initial donation and only $127 as cumulative donations, the study observes.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal may have kept their fans waiting all year for a Federer vs. Nadal Grand Slam final, but the audience of the Tennis Charity Gala at Cibeles Palace, in Madrid, Spain was lucky enough to see the two world-class tennis players compete for good. So were the audiences of various other European tennis courts as Federer and Nadal went on tour for charity.
“We wanted to take advantage of our head-to-head rivalry over recent years … and help people who need it,” Rafael Nadal was quoted as saying a few days ago, when the pair announced they would be playing back to back games for charity before the year comes to an end. Continue reading →
Former president Bill Clinton (64) was named Person Of The Year by worldwide animal rights charity PETA, the organization announced earlier this week. Clinton, who is renowned for his humanitarian efforts, and charitable projects “uses his influence to promote the benefits of following a vegan diet,” PETA stated, explaining the decision. Continue reading →
Television personalities, music stars and other celebrities – all members of the American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet – decided to support the American Red Cross to give and to encourage their fans to donate in the frameworks of the organization’s Holiday Giving Campaing.
Participating celebrities include actors Josh Duhamel, Marlee Matlin, Jane Seymour, Jackie Chan and Jimmy Smits; television personalities Dr. Phil McGraw, Nancy O’Dell and Leeza Gibbons; and award-winning music stars Chayanne, Reba, Rascal Flatts, Wynonna Judd, Sara Evans and Pat Green, American Red Cross said in a statement earlier this week.
Part of the holiday charity campaign is an online catalog whithin the American Red Cross’s webstore, called “Gifts that Save the Day“, enabling people to make donations that could provide food and shelter for victims of disasters. The donation can be a military comfort kit with a robe, a phone or a music card, or simply basic necessities that would help families that lost everything in a catastrophe. Donations made through the “Gifts that Save the Day” program, that are Red Cross program area-specific, rather than attached to a specific program of the organization, are entirely tax-deductible – Red Cross notes. Other ways of donating in this holiday season includes the making of a $25 donation by texting the word “GIFT” to 90999.
“This holiday season, I’m giving the gift of hope by supporting my local American Red Cross,” Reba said in a video message about the campaign. “Instead of sweaters and ties, I’m giving gifts from the Red Cross Holiday Giving Catalog.” Reba also has sent an e-mail to Red Cross supporters nationwide encouraging them to donate this holiday season.
“Perhaps it’s because my father was a doctor, or because I played one on television, but I think my favorite gift in the catalog is the gift of vaccination against measles,” Jane Seymour, the primary celebrity spokesperson for the campaign said. “It’s a great honor to be asked to take part in this worthwhile endeavor for the American Red Cross. I can tell you from personal experience that the time I spend volunteering has enriched my life,” she added.
Celebrities, such as Wynonna Judd, Chayanne, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Matlin, O’Dell, Evans, Green, Gibbons and Chan also used their Twitter and Facebook pages to encourage their fans and followers to participate in the campaign. “$25 vaccinates 25 children around the world against measles. Wanna help? http://bit.ly/RCHoliday“, Judd tweeted.
According to the American Red Cross, a recent survey shows that despite economic difficulties and the current downturn, 57% of Americans are planning to give at least $50 to charitable causes throughout this year’s holiday season.
Talk-show host Oprah Winfrey ranks #1 as the most charitable celebrity with giving away $41.4 million to charity, according to nacional public charity The Giving Back Fund. The amount that was granted through Oprah’s foundation is aimed to support cases like women’s children’s and education programs.
On top of the donations given by the Oprah Winfrey Foundation in Chicago, the talk show host, who is also listed amongst the most compelling and influential women, she also granted some $1.3 million to Oprah’s Angel Network, which Oprah created back in 1998 to encourage other celebrities and fans to donate money to charity.
The Giving Back 30 list was compiled for the fourth time this year, listing the celebrities who contributed with the largest donations throughout the 2010 year. The aggregate sum of the donations given by the 30 celebrities on the list nears $80 million, Giving Back reports.
Although there is a huge gap after the $40 million amount given by Oprah – the second most charitable celebrity was writer Nora Roberts with $4.45m. All celebs on the list contributed with over $400k.
Oprah’s top position on the Giving Back Top 30 list is nowhere near surprising – since its creation in 2006 Oprah topped the list every time but last year: in 2009 Paul Newman turned to be the most charitable through his Foundation he started not long before his death in 2008. The contribution the Paul Newman’s Own Foundation gave to charity in 2009 was $20.8m
Facebook’s now 26-year-old founder, Mark Zuckerberg, freshly honoured as Man of the year 2010 in Times Magazine, may not be best known for his philanthropist attitudes. His social network, Facebook finds itself amidst fierce arguments over privacy and user-friendliness from time to time.
Zuckerberg’s public image, however, seems to be subject to change as the youngster billionaire announced that he would become one of the 16 billionaires that agreed to give most of his wealth to charities.
The elite club includes AOL co-founder Steve Case, investor Carl Icahn, former junk-bond king Michael Milken Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison, film director George Lucas and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
According to Philanthropy Journal and the Wall Street Journal, Zuckerberg wasn’t available for further comments. In a video he previously prepared, he stated “There’s so much that needs to be done, it would be better to start now.” According to Forbes’s estimation, Zuckerberg’s fortune is in the area of USD 6.9 billion, making him one of the world’s youngest billionaires. This estimation, however, is somewhat theoretical, since Facebook is yet to be listed on the stock exchange.
Zuckerberg’s current announcement followed his first charity pledge earlier this year: in September he promised to give USD 100 million to public schools in Newark. He made his decision public in the Oprah Winfrey Show. Zuckerberg, himself is a Harvard University dropout.
Details on Zuckerberg’s current charity pledge are yet unknown.
As Roger Federer starts to play for his seventh Wimbledon title this monday on June 21, there seems to be something more at stake, than “just the usual”. It is especially so for UK-based charity Oxfam, that may be granted some 100,000 GBP ($148,000), in case Federer collects his seventh title.
The amazing stake is a result of a Hollywood-like will of a late fan of the swiss Tennis player, Mr. Nicholas Newlife. Newlife from Oxfordshire’s Kidlington bet 1,520GBP ($2,255) with William Hill in August 2003, saying that Federer will win seven Wimbledons before the year 2020. The odds for this at Hill were 66/1. Since then, Roger Federer has won six Wimbledon titles (the odds of him winning his seventh title sharply decreased to 6/4, despite being recently overtaken on the world ranking of professional tennis players by Rafael Nadal, after the spaniard won the Roland Garros tournament), and his seventh might be on its way in the upcoming days. Not only would this break the alltime record of Pete Sampras, but would result a payout of 101,840 GBP to the benefit of Oxfam charity.
Mr. Newlife died last February, aged 69, and left his entire estate to Oxfam. The unusual heritage included the betting slips for various cricket and tennis wagers.
“Mr Newlife made arrangements in his will to pass any profit from his bet on to his favored charity, Oxfam – a unique eventuality in our experience,” said Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe talking to AFP news agency.
“We will, of course, be handing the profits from his far-sighted wager to them just as soon as Federer holds the trophy aloft for a seventh time.
“In the event that he fails to win this year – and he is 6/4 favourite to do so – the bet does not run out until 2019,” Sharpe added.
Federer will start out this year’s Wimbledon tour by meeting Alejandro Falla from Columbia. Theoretically he should not be a problem, but he will be followed by more advanced counterparts, such as Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic and former Wimbledon-title holder Lleyton Hewitt. If Federer gets past all of them (as expected), he is supposed to meet World #1 Rafael Nadal in the final of the tournament. The guys at Oxfam, surely, will have their fingers crossed for Federer.
The Oxfam aid charity is an alliance of 14 different international organizations worldwide, fighting poverty, injustice, and seeking an impact on local communities in need. The umbrella organization covers some 3,000 local organizations, focusing their efforts on Development, Emergencies, Campaigning, Advocacy and Policy Research.
The non-profit, fund-raising and CSR scene of the web this week was largely dominated by two major stories: The proposal of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet to billionaires to give at least half of their wealths to charity, and the continuous smashing of oil giant British Petroleum following the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The company is faced with its previous CSR policies, communication and its possible bankrupcy, while the recovery efforts that take place in the Gulf of Mexico are broadly covered in the media and on the internet as well.
Our weekly coverage of the web’s nonprofit sphere.
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