I read today that the American Cancer Society just received a $10 million dollar gift by AstraZeneca PLC, a pharmaceutical company.  That’s impressive, even for a corporation.  The article notes that the American Cancer Society recieves around $1 Billion each year as grants and donations, but only 2% of that comes from corporations!  So good for AstraZeneca.  But the interesting part was that the largest gift in the Society’s history was a $13 million private estate gift from an undisclosed donor.  Most of us are not concerned with donating incredible sums of money to deserving charities however.  Donating to charity is such a personal thing.  I know people who give to others, but prefer it be a subtle event without records or formalities.  And for many of us, choosing the charity is sometimes difficult- often it can be a spur of the moment decision when something appeals to our emotions.  From a planning viewpoint, I try to focus on “the most bang for the buck.” In other words, which charitable organizations are going to use the donation most effectively after administrative costs?  I personally focus on financial donations to organizations that have less than 20 % overhead, and prefer less than 10%.  Sometimes however, it is the small spur-of-the-moment event that can be the most significant.  Not to our karma, or ego, or self-esteem… but simply feeling something deeply within where we recognize in some way that we can make a difference.  Every little bit can help.  For me that was during a car wash years ago… $20 bucks brought a smile and sincere gratitude that I won’t ever forget.  I like to think that it made a difference, even for a day.

This is a concept… an idea, a dream and a journey.  To find creative approaches to giving something back to others.  In the simplest terms we hope to share and exchange methods and ideas for charitable giving.  Creative expression can transform into amazing results. 

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

                                                          Albert Einstein