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A Unique Website That Revolutionizes Giving Last month’s column was about giving a gift that creates a better world. As you’ll see, this month I’m continuing the theme — even if it is after the official gift-giving holidays. The idea germinated after I read Anna Quindlen’s “The Last Word” column in the December 15, 2003, issue of Newsweek. The column voiced her frustration about the fact that many of the gifts she received wound up gathering dust in the back of her closets, and highlighted a unique alternative to traditional consumer-based gift-giving via a new website called Whatgoesaround.org™. I was intrigued because Whatgoesaround.org is an expansion on the theme of giving a gift for a better world that I wrote about last month. In fact, it’s a way to give a gift both to your friends and to the world. The home page of the site (www.whatgoesaround.org) states that Whatgoesaround.org is a new non-profit organization that’s revolutionizing giving in America. The goal is to “galvanize a sizable community of Everyday Philanthropists who are seeking more meaningful ways to connect to each other, and to their communities, by supporting the causes they care most about.” Not only can visitors directly support any of the more than 900,000 recognized public charities in the United States, they can make a gift donation in someone else’s name. In other words, instead of giving that set of coasters that may end up in someone’s clutter drawer, you can give a gift donation to the favorite charities of your family and friends. Here’s how it works Step One: Register at the site’s GiveList. Urge your friends and family to register, too. Step Two: After you register, you’ll be able to make a direct donation or create a GiveList. There are three types of GiveLists you can make: “Family and Friends,” “Memorial,” and “Wedding.” The “Family and Friends” list tells your loved ones the organizations to which you’d like to have your gift donations sent. The “Memorial” list allows you to set up a list in honor of a loved one’s name. The “Wedding” list allows the bride and groom to create an expanded dimension to their special day. Step Three: Make a list by clicking on the GiveList of your choice. You’ll be asked to name the list and add a personal statement (optional). I decided to do a “Family and Friends” list. My statement reads, “By giving a gift to help make the world a better place, you are giving a gift that makes my soul sing with joy. Thank you.” Step Four: Add charitable organizations to the list by filling in exact wording or key words. The site’s database will search for a match. For example, my first choice was Chicago Area Project, a non-profit that I work with. The result not only was exact, it included a good description: “Chicago Area Project was founded in 1934 by Clifford Shaw to work toward the eradication of juvenile delinquency in the most disadvantaged urban neighborhoods in Chicago.” Click on the organization’s name to get to a page with extensive information about the group. Then click on the select button to add it to your list. Once you select the organization, you can add a note about what that group means to you and why it’s on your list. Another organization I selected, by the way, is the Institute for Positive Living, an organization dedicated to teaching parents and children the value of reading. That organization may be of particular interest to readers since it was founded by the Rev. Marrice Coverson, a Spiritualist minister who was inspired to take this action through direct Spirit communication. When your friends and family want to make a gift donation, they click on the “Make a Give” link. After typing in the desired first and last name, etc., the database will search and find lists that match. The donation gift is sent in a fashion similar to any other site that uses a checkout function. Just fill in the amount that you want to give next to the organization of choice and click “proceed to checkout.” The donation will be sent via your credit card and the person in whose honor you are donating will be notified via email. It may sound a bit complicated, but it’s really very easy. Try it in 2004 when you’re thinking about giving that perfect gift. What could be more perfect than helping to make the world a better place? Mary Montgomery-Clifford is a certified web author and developer. Her company, Montgomery Media Enterprises ("Freelancing with Finesse!"), specializes in public relations, events, promotions, writing project and web authoring, development and publicity. Ms. Montgomery-Clifford has a Master's Degree in religious studies from Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) in June 2002 and is working on a Ph.D. with a focus on the new scholarship of Unlimited Love and the Other Regarding Virtues in the Fall of 2002. She is also in the process of completing the Morris Pratt Institute Course on Modern Spiritualism. Contact her via e-mail at Monty764@aol.com, by phone at 773-235-8821 or at her web site at www.montymedia.com. Next Article |
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