Why, or why not?

Thanks in advance.

The next billionaire challenge: China’s wealthiest
It’s already become known as the Billionaires Banquet in Beijing — a gathering set for September 29th, hosted by two of the richest and most famous businessmen in the world: Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

Read more on Fortune via Yahoo! Finance

Donating to good causes is a great way to help people who are less fortunate. People have always been able to help good causes by giving up their time or handing over cash. Now the process is even easier.

Many charities now have branded credit cards that enable consumers to donate to the charity every time they spend. These charity credit cards are backed by major UK banks. The Royal Bank of Scotland, Halifax and the Cooperative Bank all support several charity credit cards.

Learning About Charity Credit Cards

When consumers first sign up for a charity credit card, the issuing bank makes a donation to the relevant charity. This sum ranges from £5 to more than £40. The actual sum donated will depend on the terms of the particular credit card deal. If consumers keep and use the card, then card issuers usually make a second donation at the end of six months or a year.

Charity credit cards also give ongoing support to charities by paying a percentage of any spending on the card to the nominated charity. For example, most cards contribute 0.25% of spending to the charity. This means that 25 pence is donated to charity for every pound spent on the card. Some charity credit cards offer a donation of as much as 1%, so the amount given to charity increases to match. This is worth thinking about when deciding which charity credit card to go for.

What Causes Can I Support With Charity Credit Cards?

There are cards for almost every good cause. These include:

- Cancer charities such as Cancer Research UK and Breakthrough Breast Cancer Trust

- Children’s charities such as the NSPCC, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Barnardos

- Animal charities such as the RSPCA and PDSA

- Aid agencies such as Christian Aid and Oxfam

- And many more.

To find out if the charity you want to support has a credit card, telephone them or visit their websites. There are also several credit card comparison sites to help consumers decided among the different credit card offers.

What Incentives Are There For Using Charity Credit Cards?

Charity credit cards offer the same incentives to new cardholders as other cards. This means that, depending on the offer, cardholders can benefit from:

- Low annual interest rates

- 0% balance transfer rates for a fixed period

- 0% interest on purchases for a fixed period

- other rewards and incentives.

Some credit card issuers may charge a one-off balance transfer fee. This should be considered when deciding on the right card.

As with all credit cards it is essential to make payments regularly and on time to avoid attracting any penalty fees.

Once people have selected the right charity card, making a donation is as simple as doing what they would do anyway. All they have to do is spend money in the usual places and their favourite charities will get the benefit.

I have just been nominated as the President of my Sorority and in the Sorority we do a lot of philanthropy work. I can help raise a lot of money but im not sure who to help out. I would prefer to help out smaller organizations, ones that really need help. I have a big heart and want to do some good this year. Any suggestions?

Isn’t it the most pathetic situation when someone knows death can strike any moment? For the Mesothelioma cancer patients the gap between life and death is very little. The only hope is to resist through treatments for the time being.

Parallel to the Government initiative, many charitable and voluntary organizations have started working on researches related to Mesothelioma and its curing possibilities. It is indeed a good sign that all over the world more and more people are becoming conscious about this matter and trying to get involved in the rescue mechanism from this deadly and yet incurable disease.

Different Mesothelioma Foundations have taken the challenge to research and find out a definite cure for this cancer and doctors, biologists and pharmaceutical organizations have joined hands in support to this charitable mission. It’s really a grand mission and should be applauded by all sectors of the society. In the civilized society why should such a disease sprout where a mineral becomes the cause of fatality. Is there no way of bringing an end to this situation?

Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America (MESORFA)

MESORFA is working to its level best in the American continent to uproot the problem of Mesothelioma as soon as possible. The prominent oath taken by this Foundation states that they are supporting and funding to all such research works that can find remedy and cure for Mesothelioma at the earliest not causing another case of fatality.

How is MESORFA really instigating its charitable mission to help out the real victims of Mesothelioma? Let’s take a quick look.

Mesothelioma Laboratory at USC and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles are the two main centers conducting research work as well as giving treatment to the patients of Mesothelioma. The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America (MESORFA) is funding these Research centers.

Veglin, the drug discovered

Already the Mesothelioma Laboratory at USC has made a successful endeavor. A particular drug has been formulated through the research that has proved effective on the Mesothelioma cancer patient. Veglin is the name of the drug and it is being used in a prescribed dose to remove the tumors through a shrinking process and this in turn is helping the fluid gathered in the lungs to reduce and come out. The healing rate is quite fast. The Lab is looking forward to discover an ultimate curing medicine for Mesothelioma. Had this charitable organization not stretched out its helping hands it would have never been so easy for such researches to take place.

Woman Accused of Scamming 27 People, Possibly More
A Savannah woman is accused of ripping off 27 people, by posing as an employee of a local charity and offering to pay the victims’ utility bills. Police said they believe there may be more victims out there.

Read more on WSAV Savannah

Tough economic times mean tough times for charities.  It is certainly not that people care less, it is just that they have less.  Indeed, there is some evidence that as times get tough, people may even give a greater percentage of what they have…but what they have is so much less that, in the end, less flows to the charities.  New, innovative, useful, meaningful ways to raise money are required to support worthy causes.  The Internet offers a primary solution.

GuideStar.org, a leading organization connecting people and organizations with information on the programs and finances IRS recognized nonprofits, has just released their “Seventh Annual GuideStar Nonprofit Survey Charitable Organizations and the Economy October 6-20, 2008”.  In this survey, participants  were asked to compare charitable contribution levels, as well as demand for charitable organization services for the first nine months of 2008, compared with the  first nine months of 2007.  (This survey is publicly available at the GuideStar.org website.)

It should come as no surprise that contributions to charitable organizations are down substantially from 2007.  It should also come as no surprise that demand for services from these same organizations are up markedly.  If you happen to be in the southeast or the southwest, both of these trends are strongest.    New England and the Plains fared best.

The news is even worse for smaller charities.  Those organizations which rely on many small donations from many small donors are struggling mightily, while demand for their help and support continues to increase.

A new approach to raising money is required.  The effectiveness of online fundraising for political candidates gives a real clue as to the answer.

What are the keys to effective fundraising in down economic climates:

1) Ask for money from people who have money

2) Give people real value for their money

3) Make giving money very easy

4) Make soliciting and receiving the money very efficient

5) Be different

How does online fundraising address these points?

1) People who are online today usual have high speed access, or at least some form of internet access, and they have computers…so you know that they are paying several hundred dollars a year for the privilege of being on line.  They have at least a few dollars for a worthy cause.

2) EProducts, digital downloads, offer great value in many cases.  EBooks have great content, software can be very useful.  Since there is no physical inventory, the actual cost is low and a greater portion of the portion can go to your cause.

3) People don’t want to have to work hard to give.  Cash is less common and checks are becoming passé’.  Online, with digital downloads, it is easy to pay by credit card or PayPal with very little effort.

4) Volunteers have less time to get out and do the hard work of soliciting donations.  Physical inventory handling cuts into the real flow of profits to a charity.  With the proper online programs the charity has only to direct people to websites and then wait to receive the collected contributions.   There is no cost to the program and no labor except perhaps an email or flyer campaign.

5) The last thing anyone wants is more of the same.  People get burned out on being asked to reach for their wallets in the same way time after time.  Online fundraising programs look different, feel different and are different.

There is no reason to continue to struggle as a charity in these tough times.  Turn to the Internet.  Turn to the modern era of digital downloads and fly in the face of the economic environment.  Drive your charitable organizations growth with unique online fundraising.

If you are the kind of person who buys gifts with a view of contributing something to charities, there are some shocking facts in store for you. Read on and find out whether the perfume or jewelry you bought is actually contributing anything of worth to a charity.

Cause related gift marketing cashes in on the humaneness of people who want to give a gift that benefits charities while bringing a smile on somebody’s face. But, the bare truth of the fact is that even with the best products, less than 10% of the proceeds go to charities. The rest goes to fill the coffers of the company selling the product.

Let us take an example. Suppose you were to buy a bottle of Ethos water. The people at Starbucks immediately contribute 5 cents to programs that provide clean drinking water in third world nations. Imagine how many bottles of water you would have to purchase to make a difference! Companies are under no pressure to reveal how much they are actually contributing to charity. So, you really have no idea how much of your money is going to the charities. Often, it is too little to make any real difference.

Many companies market charitable gifts only because they want to establish a good reputation. Ultimately, they spend more on marketing their relationship than in contribution to the charity of your choice. Ironic, but true.

Ostentatious marketing campaigns that flash a logo prominently but only come up with vague promises are to be taken with a good amount of salt. Remember, just because you see a pink ribbon, it has nothing to do with the AIDS foundation or with breast cancer. Anyone can slap a logo and cough up teary words.

There are some people who shop with affinity cards, in the belief that these cards donate a percentage of your purchase amount to a charity organization. Although the thought is lofty, when translated to practice, it deteriorates sadly. First, affinity cards have very high interest rates (sometimes as high as 18%). What’s worse is that charitable organizations may only get a paltry .5-1% of the amount. So, if you have swiped your card for $100, the charity might get only $1 or less.

So, what is a better way to give charitable gifts?

Why not contribute it as money to the organization of your choice directly? For instance, suppose you are to hold a dinner party and you do not want to be inundated with gifts that will ultimately find their way to the attic. But you understand that guests like to give gifts. So, you decide to ask them to donate what they can spare to a charity. Web services exist that allow you to send out electronic invites with a ‘Donate Now’ button. Interested guests may contribute whatever they can spare. There is no compulsion and the amount is kept confidential. The guest can have the pleasure of knowing that they have done their bit to make their host happy. And you would have added real meaning to charitable gifting when the web service turns over the money your guests contributed to the organization of their choice!

To be of any use, charitable gifting must contribute sufficiently to make change possible. Sadly, cause related product gifting is not a very bright idea because their attempts are often a case of giving too little, too late.

Markakis charity event Sunday
Markakis charity event Sunday

Read more on Baltimore Orioles