It’s tax time again, and I’m reviewing my recent charitable donations. So many worthy organizations asked for help in 2009—friends of the poor, defenders of the oppressed, and lovers of the arts. Along with the decision where to place my money came the question Should I give anonymously or allow my name to be used publicly?

A neighbor of mine, whose name must remain anonymous, once complained that in a small community like Homer if a person gives to one cause every fundraiser in town will come gunning. “On the other hand,” she went on, “if you give anonymously people think you never contribute to anything.” Interesting dilemma. Knowing you’ve shared brings satisfaction in itself; still, most of us like to get a pat on the back once in a while for our good deeds. And yet…

The Medieval Spanish philosopher and physician Maimonides wrote that donations given anonymously represent a higher level of charity than giving when your name is known to the receiver. His idea of greater and lesser levels of charity—altogether he lists eight—is one reason I usually prefer to give anonymously. Maimonides died over eight hundred years ago. Are his ideas still applicable today?

Yes, says a particularly generous friend of mine. “I don’t feel there’s anything special about me when I make a donation. If I hadn’t stepped up to give when asked, someone else would have done so.” Her explanation puts me in mind of the times I’ve seen priceless paintings by great masters hanging on museum walls over simple brass tags that read Anonymous Gift. How much joy the donors must have felt bringing a private treasure into the public realm—no validation required.

Small anonymous donations are as important as big ones. School children offered pennies to help install, and later repair, the Statue of Liberty. Over the years kids have trick‑or‑treated for UNICEF to the tune of some $148,000,000. Today some American schools collect change for schools in Afghanistan.

On the other hand, people whose job it is to raise money encourage donors to share their names as an example to others. I remember knocking on doors in Halibut Cove to solicit for the new Homer Library construction. Every person I approached asked how much other neighbors had offered. I mentioned some rather hefty amounts, which often prompted the response, “Oh, I can match that.”

Major philanthropists throughout the ages have generally liked being recognized. Their names appear on libraries, universities, and family charitable foundations. They’ve created a tangible immortality of sorts. A current favorite way of raising money for non-profit construction projects is to sell engraved bricks, wall plaques, or copper fish to donors. There’s a comfortable sense of solidarity seeing one’s name swimming along with friends.

 I confess to scanning Homer concert and theatre programs for names of supporters, where I recognize many people and wonder who are the fellow Anonymous. Gee! I just realized: by choosing to give anonymously I might actually get credit for helping out more organizations than I actually do.

Diana Conway is a retired Spanish teacher who lives in Halibut Cove. She writes for young people’s magazines. Her next published story will be No Smoke in the Chimney in the March-April 2010 issue of CICADA.

A recent article I read debated the topic of philanthropy vs. charity.   They defined charity as short-term relief to help reduce suffering and misfortune, philanthropy as a long-term strategic investment to eliminate the root causes of suffering and misfortune.  Think of the fish parable.  Give a man a fish, feed him for today. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.  Charity is for today; philanthropy is forever.  They stem from the same impulse to help and I know we need both.  While philanthropy works strategically, we also need to be able to provide short-term relief. In times of national or natural disaster the need for immediate action comes to the forefront, like the current devastation in Haiti.  In a recent address Steve Gunderson, President/CEO of the Council on Foundations-think philanthropy, had this to say, “We can and should do our part in addressing the immediate rescue and relief aspects of this global disaster.  Then, we can and will consider how philanthropy engages in rebuilding and reconstruction, over time.”

As an individual I am compelled to want to reach out to those suffering in Haiti, but as the director of the Homer Foundation Mr. Gunderson’s words made me consider how a small community foundation, whose mission is building philanthropic assets for the benefit of the people of Homer and surrounding areas, should respond to a natural disaster halfway around the world?  Being a conduit for information seems an appropriate response.  I would direct anyone interested in providing financial support to the Haiti disaster, in any amount, to authenticate the recipient organization to make sure your gift has its intended impact.  The Council on Foundations has developed a website and is doing their best to monitor and share information on the immediate needs in Haiti and organizations mobilizing resources in the country, http://www.cof.org/disasterresponse.  To facilitate the relief efforts, Mr. Gunderson has sent the IRS Commissioner a letter asking him to declare the earthquake in Haiti a “qualified disaster.” Doing so will allow private foundations and employee-connected funds at public charities to continue to respond to immediate needs.  The US Legislature is also acting to pass legislation to boost charitable donations to Haiti by suspending caps on charitable giving for individuals and corporations as they did during Hurricane Katrina.  The bill would allow people to deduct as much as they give, and would also let companies deduct the market-rate costs of food donations instead of just the cost to produce the food.

Disasters like the earthquake in Haiti remind us how critical preparedness and planning can be for every individual, organization, and community.  This is especially true for those of us living in earthquake and tsunami prone Alaska.  Let’s make sure that each one of us has a disaster preparedness plan for our families and ourselves, and the organizations for which we work.  Let’s make sure that we are knowledgeable of the preparedness plans developed by our city and borough.  Access the Borough website for information on disaster preparedness at www.borough.kenai.ak.us/emergency/.  And then it might be time to think about how we could convert our charitable impulses to developing long-term philanthropic resources in the event of a local disaster in the future.

Joy Steward is the executive director of the Homer Foundation, Homer’s nonprofit community foundation, which encourages philanthropic giving, manages philanthropic assets, and supports charitable activities on the lower Kenai Peninsula.

This article published in the Homer News. Thursday, January 28, 2010, part of a year-long series of articles on philanthropy generated by volunteers for the Homer Foundation.

 I thought it prudent to Google “philanthropy” before writing this essay, as I could think of nothing to add to the topic that is not obvious. I found almost three million sites for that one word, and more than three million more when I input “philanthropy ideas.” If you are searching for an essay on the topic, another 2,400,000 are available.I began to read.

The current philosophies and practices of philanthropy are easy to access, but with a little more sleuthing I found an essay by Jane Addams, published in 1893 that interested me more.

In “Philanthropy and Social Progress,” she wrote, “We are all uncomfortable in regard to the sincerity of our best phrases, because we hesitate to translate our philosophy into the deed.

“Nothing so deadens the sympathies and shrivels the power of enjoyment as the persistent keeping away from great opportunities for helpfulness and a continual ignorance of the starvation struggle which makes up the life of at least half the race. To shut one’s self away from that half … is to shut one’s self away from the most vital part of it; it is to live out but half the humanity which we have been heir to, and to use but half our faculties.”

In 1889, Jane Addams co-founded Hull House, the best known settlement house in the United States. Located on the west side of Chicago, its doors opened to throngs of recently arrived European immigrants, a mix of various ethnic groups. There was no discrimination of race, religion, language, creed or tradition. Everyone was treated with respect.

Her words reflections of her everyday experiences are vivid and timeless.

“You may remember the forlorn feeling which occasionally seizes you when you arrive early in the morning, a stranger in a great city. The stream of laboring people goes past as you gaze through the plate-glass window of your hotel. You see hardworking men lifting great burdens; you hear the driving and jostling of huge carts. Your heart sickens with a sudden sense of futility. The door opens behind you and you turn to the man who brings you in your breakfast with a quick sense of human fellowship. You find yourself praying that you may never lose your hold on it all.”

Reading that passage, my first thought was that Miss Addams was praying for herself and her readers, that they would never find themselves destitute, needing to lift great burdens for a pitiful wage. Then I heaved in a load of firewood, thought it over and realized I was wrong.

Her intent is clear by the “quick fellowship” she feels for the man carrying her breakfast. Her prayer is that she never lose compassion for all humans.

When asked to submit this essay, originally I had thought to write about philanthropy among young people. I discovered that it too is a topic easily accessed, with long lists of specific youngsters who are undertaking to better the world.

Miss Addams, it turns out, also pondered the subject.

“… I think it is hard for us to realize how many (young people) are taking to the notion of human brotherhood, and how eagerly they long to give tangible expression to the democratic ideal … (They realize that) the good which we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain, is floating in midair, until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.”

Born of Quaker parents in 1860, Jane Addams did not content herself with the building of Hull House or the many programs, from nurseries to college courses, that she put in place. She passionately believed in the need for research into the causes of poverty and crime, in the importance of trained social workers, and in social actions to press for reforms. She organized civic groups to pressure legislatures and officials. Her efforts helped establish the first eight-hour law for working women, the first state child-labor law, housing reform and the first juvenile court.

She ends her essay with this: “It is easy in writing a paper to make all philosophy point to one particular moral and all history adorn one particular tale. I hope you forgive me for reminding you that the best speculative philosophy sets forth the solidarity of the human race. The highest moralists have taught that, without the advance and improvement of the whole, no man can hope for any lasting improvement in his own moral or material individual consideration.”

Every time I fly, I think about the warning, in case of an emergency, to inflate your own life vest first. What if my young child were sitting next to me? Or my aged mother? I think I’d slip their vest on, and inflate their oxygen supply, regardless of what I’ve been endlessly told. I would react emotionally. Perhaps dangerously.

Were she living today, I’m certain Miss Addams would have the presence of mind to inflate her own life vest first, as she would know the truth: It is the only way to begin helping others.

Homer resident Sharon Bushell has been collecting stories of individuals for more than 20 years. Her work gathering memories of Alaska pioneers earned her the Alaska Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities in 2004. In 2007, she was hired by the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council to conduct and edit close to 100 interviews of individuals directly involved with the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Her book co-authored with Stan Jones is “The Spill:Personal Stories from the Exxon Valdez Disaster.”

This article published in the Homer News, www.homernews.com, Wednesday, December 23, 2009, part of a year-long series of articles on philanthropy generated by volunteers for the Homer Foundation.

As adults, most of us have been in a position to give back to our community or to a friend in need at one point, and know how enriching it feels to contribute to the greater good. But how many of our children have had that opportunity?A couple of weeks ago, one of my 6-year-old son Liam’s classmates lost his home and everything he owned in a fire. When I came home and told Liam about it, he had lots of questions. I answered them as best I could, and then asked him what he thought we could do to help.

Liam rushed into his room and started packing up toys, including one of his prized possessions, his castle. He selected castle guys that he thought his classmate would enjoy. Then we went through his clothes and found everything that was either redundant or a little small and packed that up, too.

In the end, we had a huge box of things to give. A day later, as I was dropping him off at school, Liam came over to me and whispered, “Mom, look, he’s wearing one of my shirts!”

He was so proud, and so was I.

Luckily, house fires don’t happen every day. So how do we pass the spirit of philanthropy on to our children on a day-to-day basis? The holiday season offers a perfect opportunity to think about those who might need our help and kick off a new emphasis on year-long giving for the entire family.

Start out by explaining to your child why you believe it is important to help others. Children will understand the significance of giving better if it is explained to them rather than requiring them to just go through the motions.

The Share The Spirit program in Homer is a great way to inspire the art of giving in your children, as are the area Thanksgiving food basket drives. The donations themselves don’t have to be big, but making it personal is important.

Let your children pick out a toy at the toy store for a less fortunate child or ask them to donate one of their own. When purchasing food to donate, ask the children to pick out food they think the family in need would enjoy. If your children get an allowance, teach them about the local charities and encourage them to donate a portion of their allowance to the charity of their choice.

Another way to encourage this wonderfully enriching experience of contributing to your community’s well-being is by volunteering your time with your kids. A couple of years ago, a volunteer for the Homer Public Library Book Sale brought his then-5-year-old twins to help him. You would not believe how hard these children worked lugging boxes of books through the library. And the pride they felt in truly being able to help was evident all over their faces.

Look for opportunities to include your children in volunteer efforts. With a little planning, it can work out wonderfully.

Perhaps the biggest lesson for children to learn about giving is that it isn’t the size of the gift that’s important, but the way you make giving a part of your every-day life. Maybe that means always buying an item for the food pantry when you shop, and letting your child be the one who drops it off.

Or it could mean fitting volunteer time into your schedule. Organizations like the Homer Animal Shelter offer great opportunities for children to feel useful and helpful. Be creative, and you will find ways to pass on your values to your children, no matter what your budget or your time constraints. It’s one of those gifts that will truly keep on giving.

Homer resident Carey James is the mother of two, a Homer Volunteer Fire Department firefighter, freelance graphic designer and coordinator of Friends of the Homer Library.

This article published in the Homer News, www.homernews.com, Wednesday, November 26, 2009, part of a year-long series of articles on philanthropy generated by volunteers for the Homer Foundation.

David Schneider/KBBI, $50

Claudia Haines/Kachemak Kids Early Learning Center, $50

Lucy Cutting/Pratt Museum, $100

Turid Senungetuk/Bunnell Street Arts Center, $100

Lisa Whip/Homer Youth String Orchestra Club, $200

Philanthropy, hard to say, fun to do!

Homer High Senior and longtime YAC member Patrick Schneider accepts the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award at the Alaska Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals on Nov. 14 in Anchorage.

This statewide award is presented to an individual or youth group who has demonstrated exceptional achievements in philanthropic activities through the development of new projects, leadership, volunteer service or direct financial support of nonprofits.  Through exemplary service, this individual or group serves as a positive role model for the philanthropic process in action to other youth throughout Alaska.
“YAC members have developed attitudes, values and skills that enable them to effectively contribute to the betterment of their community, and as a result, the youth of Homer have more activities available to help them make healthy choices,” said Homer Foundation Executive Director Joy Steward.
Since 2004, the Homer Foundation’s student-led Youth Advisory Committee worked with advisor Bonnie Jason to infuse the Homer area with more than $22,000 in grants to support programs and services that engage Homer’s youth in healthy, affordable and easily accessible activities. YAC’s 2009 grant recipients include South Peninsula Haven House, Homer Boys and Girls Club, and Kenai Peninsula Project GRAD.

Most Alaskans will receive their permanent fund dividends this month. For the more than 5,100 Alaskans that opted to use the new PFD Charitable Contributions Program Pick. Click. Give. their checks will be a little less. This difference in the amount of their checks translates to more, approximately $545,000 more, in support of nonprofit organizations in Alaska.The goal of Pick. Click. Give. is to increase the number of individuals who give to Alaska nonprofits, as well as to increase the total amount of charitable dollars given. The program became law last year and allows a safe, secure, easy way for Alaskans who file for their PFD online to donate all or part of their dividend to eligible charitable, educational and nonprofit organizations.

The PFD Charitable Contributions Program began with the 2009 dividend. For that first year qualifying organizations serving the lower Kenai Peninsula included Birth 2 Three, Boys & Girls Club of the Kenai Peninsula, Bunnell Street Arts Center, Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Cook Inletkeeper, Friends of the Homer Library, Homer Council on the Arts, the Homer Foundation, Homer Senior Citizens, Hospice of Homer, Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic, KBBI Homer Public Radio, Kenai Peninsula Housing Initiative, Kenai Peninsula United Way, Ninilchik Community Library, Ninilchik Senior Center, Pier One Theatre, Pratt Museum, Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula, South Peninsula Haven House and the Kachemak Bay Campus of Kenai Peninsula College-University of Alaska Anchorage.

Although we will not know the extent of the donations flowing into these nonprofits until they receive their checks at the end of the month, at my organization, the Homer Foundation, we have had several donors inform us of their pending gifts. To them, and to all of the donors that gave through Pick. Click. Give. this year, I say thank you.

It is not too early to start thinking about making a donation with your 2010 PFD. The minimum gift allowed is $25, but you may choose to give any amount up to the full value of your dividend. You also may give to more than one organization.

Nonprofits have to apply each year and this year a total of 365 organizations have qualified statewide, in addition to the campuses of the University of Alaska. To qualify, an organization must meet a strict set of criteria designed to ensure that they are healthy, well-governed organizations.

The qualifying organizations for 2010 are already posted on the Pick. Click. Give. Web site. You can search for your favorite nonprofit by name or by geographic area. Then, when it is time to go online and apply for your 2010 dividend, you already will have made your charitable giving decisions. Just look for “The Gift of Giving” option at the end of the application process.

I encourage you to consider using the PFD Charitable Contributions Program for a safe, secure, easy way to give a little more to your favorite organizations. By giving through this program, you join others to become an important force in bettering our community and our state. You can find more information about the program, including frequently asked questions, at www.PickClickGive.org. Or you may call 888-785-GIFT (4438).

Joy Steward is the executive director of the Homer Foundation, Homer’s nonprofit community foundation, which encourages philanthropic giving, manages philanthropic assets, and supports charitable activities on the lower Kenai Peninsula.

This article published in the Homer News www.homernews.com, Thursday, October 22, 2009, part of a year-long series of articles on philanthropy generated by volunteers for the Homer Foundation.

I am reminded of the parable, variously said to be of Japanese, Hasidic or Christian origin, of the long spoons. In it, a young person who is curious about heaven and hell is taken to a chamber in which a multitude of people are seated around an enormous round table in the center of which sits a huge pot of delicious-smelling stew. The people are emaciated and moaning in agony. Strapped to the arm of each one is a spoon whose handle is long enough to reach the stew, but so much longer than the holder’s arm that it is impossible for him to transport the food to his mouth.As apt a metaphor for deprivation and torment as you’re likely to find, wouldn’t you agree? The parable goes on to tell us that the young person is next taken to a room in which the situation is exactly the same, the stew, the round table, the long spoons strapped to the people’s arms, but these people are surprisingly plump, cheerful and contented.

The difference? These people have learned to use the long spoons to feed each other.

An economic downturn like the one we’re in can certainly be hellish, but, as in the parable, we can choose to make it better or worse by our own actions. We all certainly have to see to the needs of ourselves and our families, but we also live in a community, and economic hard times can be as damaging to that community as they can be challenging to us as individuals. Part of the challenge, in fact, is in recognizing that we all draw sustenance in one way or another from our community and discovering what role each of us can play in keeping it strong and vital, in making it the kind of place that enriches our lives.

Not everyone can endow a scholarship fund or make a lead donation to a capital campaign, but everyone can do something: man a booth at a non-profit bazaar, donate an item to a charity auction, help to plan a fundraising event for an organization that is doing good work, contribute canned goods to a food drive, sign up to tutor a child or walk an abandoned pet, pledge a monthly contribution to a favorite non-profit in an amount that is not a hardship. It’s our community and we all live in it together. Let’s use our long spoons to nourish each other — not just our bellies, but also our minds, hearts, and spirits.

Homer resident Ann Keffer is the author of two children’s books: “The Seventh Chair” and “The ABCs of Kachemak Bay.” Since 2001, she has served on the board of the Homer Foundation, a community organization dedicated to enriching the southern peninsula through philanthropy. For more information about the foundation, go to its Web site at www.homerfund.org.

This article published in the Homer News. Thursday, January 28, 2010, part of a year-long series of articles on philanthropy generated by volunteers for the Homer Foundation.

The Alaska Giving Coalition has announced preliminary results from the first Pick. Click. Give. campaign.  The new program allowed Alaskans filing on-line for their 2009 Permanent Fund Dividend to give all or part of it to qualifying nonprofit organizations, community foundations or campuses of the University of Alaska.According to preliminary figures from the Alaska Department of Revenue, 5,163 Alaskans filing on-line selected the option to give to a nonprofit.  Those Alaskans made a total of 7,572 donations – some choosing to give to more than one organization.  The approximate total for the amount donated is $545,000.  Specific organization contribution totals and the final figure will be available in October when dividend checks are determined and disbursed.

“We were optimistic that Alaskans would respond to this new way of giving to their favorite nonprofits,” Alaska Giving Coalition Chair Jim Caldarola said.  “We are thankful to each and every individual donor who chose to make a charitable contribution with part of their dividend check.  It shows a wonderful commitment by Alaskans for Alaska nonprofits.”

More than 330 organizations qualified for the 2009 program and represented the diversity of nonprofits around the state.  Each met a series of criteria laid out in the law establishing the program, which was passed by the Alaska State Legislature in May 2008.  The program is authorized for three years, at which time it will be evaluated and the legislature will decide whether to continue it.

Caldarola credits the participating nonprofits for helping the program succeed.

“They reached out to their existing stakeholders through newsletters, websites and emails to spread the word about Pick. Click. Give.  They recognized that their ability to communicate about the impact of their mission to their constituents makes a powerful difference in their ability to raise resources.

A new application process is currently taking place to qualify organizations for the 2010 program. Nonprofits must apply again this year, even if they were part of the 2009 program.  Information and application forms are available at www.PickClickGive.org, by calling 1-888-785-GIFT (4438) or by emailing pfdinfo@forakergroup.org.

The 2009 Pick. Click. Give. public awareness campaign was made possible through financial support from  the Rasmuson Foundation, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, ConocoPhillips and BP.  The Alaska Giving Coalition, The Foraker Group and the United Way of Anchorage are working with the Rasmuson Foundation and the Department of Revenue to implement the program.

Homer Foundation Ex. Director Joy Steward is very excited that the Foundation is to be the beneficiary of the “Homer Eagle Lady Special” auction.  “It is a win/win situation.  The End of the Spit and Generous Adventures websites receive more traffic, the generous donors of the tour packages get more exposure, winning bidders end up with some excellent Alaskan tourism opportunities for themselves or their visitors, and best of all, the Homer Foundation will have additional resources to support our community.”

The Homer Foundation encourages folks to check out the “Homer Eagle Lady Special” often as items change weekly.  And if there are Alaskan tour operators that would like to donate an item or trip for the auction, they can contact Joy Steward at 235-0541 or email jsteward@homerfund.org.