We all know that childhood is one of the most important periods in our lives. It sets the stage for what we’ll do and how we’ll do as we become adults, and it’s a time where it’s extremely important to make sure that the basics are accounted for. That’s why Cradles to Crayons exists. They’re a Brighton, MA based non-profit that is focused on “providing to children ages 0 to 12 some of the most important basics of life—free of charge.” For Cradles to Crayons, the focus is on hard goods–things like clothes, school supplies, and toys.
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Earlier in the week we took a look at Balboa Capital, a company that helps businesses finance equipment. While they offer a great service to companies that need help making capital expenditures, their motive is profit driven. Some businesses need a different kind of help by utilizing the right technology to improve your business, and that’s what Mission Asset Fund offers. They’re a San Francisco, CA based non-profit that is “transforming the financial services sector with the best tools for finances so that all hardworking families have a shot at achieving their dreams.” How do they do this? It ranges from conducting groundbreaking research to social lending.
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This year Amy and I signed up for a CSA (it stands for community supported agriculture). It’s essentially a share of a nearby farm’s output for the growing season. That means we get a ton of locally grown fruits and vegetables every week, and it forces us to eat them. I already feel healthier because of it. The only problem is that it’s pretty expensive. We can solve a lot of societal problems “by increasing affordability and access to fresh, locally grown food.” That’s exactly what Wholesome Wave does. They’re a Bridgeport, CT based non-profit with a mission “to empower people in underserved urban and rural communities to make healthier food choices.” Not only can this be good for the environment and public health, but it can also stimulate local economies.
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From what I’ve seen, the non-profits that work at the community level often have the most impact. They may be smaller, but they’re in touch with the most pressing needs and able to react quickly to them. A great model for big non-profits might be to work through smaller non-profits. In fact, that’s exactly what Local Initiatives Support Corporation does. They are a New York, NY based organization that “has connected local organizations and community leaders with resources to revitalize neighborhoods and improve quality of life” over the last three and a half decades. They do this by bringing together public and private resources and making it easy for partners to access them.
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Gardening is a lot like life. If you work hard, do things right, and get a little lucky, you’ll be handsomely rewarded. That’s why tending to a garden is great for kids. Not only do they learn about the rewards of hard work, but they also get to watch something as it grows from a pile of dirt into something beautiful or delicious. City Blossoms is a Washington, DC based non-profit that is “dedicated to kid-driven, community engaging, creative green spaces.” While they are cultivators of youth; youth are their main cultivators.
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Our federal, state, and local governments do a lot of things that are bad for their constituents, but one of the worst has to be state-run lotteries. They are great at generating income for things like schools, but they are a massive regressive tax that disproportionately harms lower-income individuals. It’s almost as if people see lotteries as a savings account instead of a long shot bet. For a long time I’ve had an idea that state lotteries should be transitioned into an investment vehicle. Imagine how much better off people would be if a one dollar scratch off ticket contributed 50 cents to savings account, 40 cents to prizes, and 10 cents to education or something similar. You could even engineer it so that people win “prizes” out of their own savings accounts. To my surprise I recently learned about a non-profit that is working on similar ideas. It’s called Doorways to Dreams Fund, and they’re based in Allston, MA. They work “with the financial services industry, government agencies, national non-profit groups, grassroots community agencies, and public policy organizations to generate promising ideas, pilot test financial products and services, build awareness of the needs and potential of low-income communities, and advocate inclusive social and economic policies.”
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I believe that entrepreneurship is the natural human state; however, today most people choose the security of a more stable work situation. Our society needs more entrepreneurs, but it’s hard to take such a big risk without circumstances that make it a less risky proposition. Since we can’t give everybody rich parents, we need to provide people with information and resources that will increase the likelihood of success in entrepreneurial endeavors. This is what Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center does. They are a San Francisco, CA based non-profit “small business development organization dedicated to helping women and men who traditionally lack access to resources and information to achieve financial self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship.” Every year they help more than 1,500 low-moderate income people in the Bay Area “launch and grow businesses.”
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I often hear from readers that we cover too many opportunities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Unfortunately, I have no control over where the best opportunities pop up. San Francisco’s economy has been booming for a while now, and that makes an already exciting city even more exciting. The San Francisco Foundation is a non-profit that was founded in 1948 “to pull the community together to create pride and unity and improve quality of life” in the Bay Area. Having awarded more than $800 million in grants over the past decade, the Foundation has certainly played a strong role in making San Francisco the place it is today.
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If there’s a time to get out and enjoy your city’s parks, it’s right now. The weather is beautiful, everything is in bloom, and most people will be in a good mood as they enjoy the first few weeks of great weather. While a nice park is great on its own, it can be even better with some top notch programming to bring the community together. City Parks Foundation is a New York, NY based non-profit that creates “programs in parks throughout all five boroughs of New York City.” They got their start in 1989, and since then they’ve been enriching and connecting “New Yorkers through free and accessible arts, sports, education and community-building initiatives.”
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For as long as charitable organizations have existed, they’ve been feeding people. Yesterday we looked at Food & Friends and how they’re feeding people who are suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other illnesses. Today we’re going to look at an organization that is more focused on the quality of food that we eat. Seattle Tilth aims “to inspire and educate people to safeguard our natural resources while building an equitable and sustainable local food system.” The organization is all about maximizing the health of the community through agriculture that respects the environment.
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I love cooking for friends and family. There’s something extremely rewarding about feeding people and helping to fulfill one of their most basic needs. But there’s more to it than that. Sharing a meal creates a connection and brings people together. That’s why Food & Friends exists. They’re a Washington, DC based non-profit that fosters “a community caring for men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses by preparing and delivering specialized meals and groceries in conjunction with nutrition counseling.” The organization started in a church basement in 1988, and has continued to grow since. They are now able to serve 5,300 square miles surrounding the DC area.
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While there are plenty of non-profits that want to save the world in one way or another, many are content with focusing on their communities. Some focus on a specific need, and others try to do their best to offer a complete range of programs and services. The Educational Alliance is a perfect example of the latter. They’re a New York, NY based organization that “currently serves 50,000 New Yorkers annually via 39 programs, including preschools, camps, after school programs, senior centers, health & wellness programs, arts & culture classes, and addiction recovery programs.” They may only reach a small slice of New York City’s population, but anywhere else that’s a huge number.
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Our society is on an endless quest for growth. From the largest corporations to the smallest non-profits, there’s a shared goal of improving the status quo (though the definition of what that means varies widely). But for every problem that growth solves, it seems to unearth a new challenge. There is a constant tradeoff between the speed of growth and control–the faster something grows, the less control you have over it. Sometimes it’s easier to grow fast and clean up the mess later, but that’s rarely the case when it comes to infrastructure. Smart Growth America is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that believes “smart growth solutions support thriving businesses and jobs, provide more options for how people get around and make it more affordable to live near work and the grocery store.” They’re willing to sacrifice a little speed for more control because they see the long-term benefits of well planned communities.
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I don’t know why adults even bother asking kids what their favorite class is. They’re obviously going to either say recess or make something up because they know that they’re not supposed to say recess. As a kid I felt bad for liking recess more than the rest of the school day, but now I realize that recess is totally underrated. It’s a time for social interaction, safe risk taking (or are monkey bars banned now?), decision making, and more. It’s also a fantastic way to get kids to burn off energy so that they can be more focused in the classroom. Playworks is an Oakland, CA based non-profit (but they work in cities across the country) that aims to “improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.” In other words, they’re all about recess.
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Over the years I’ve come across quite a few non-profits that use sports as a tool to enact social change. Most of them focus on youth. It makes sense–when you’re young it’s easy to pick up new sports and you stand to gain the most from the positive influences of being on a team. Lately, I’ve started to see a few organizations that are using sports to help end homelessness. A few months ago I wrote about Back On My Feet which “promotes the self-sufficiency of people experiencing homelessness by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem.” Today I came across Street Soccer USA, which is a New York, NY based non-profit that “to get homeless men, women, and youth off the streets, scoring goals on the field, and achieving their goals in life.” It’s a really neat idea, and it seems to be working.
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The domestication of animals has to be one of the biggest developments in human history. They are obviously a wonderful direct food source, but they’re even better as an indirect food source when they provide things like milk, eggs, fertilizer, and more animals. So when we talk about battling poverty, it makes sense to go back to what worked for us in the past: animals. That’s what Heifer International does. They’re a Little Rock, AR based non-profit that enables people to “donate animals to poor countries.” It’s an ingenious idea, and it’s even kind of fun. Not only does an animal provide a source for food and other products, but it also requires responsibility. Caring for an animal is an ultimate life lesson.
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Education doesn’t have to be expensive, but it often is. In the U.S. we have a culture of financing education for people. Parents put aside college funds, colleges provide financial aid, private organizations offer scholarships, and there are all kind of student loans available. In much of the rest of the world, education is seen as a luxury. Vittana is a Seattle, WA based non-profit that is working to change that through microfinance. They “envision a world of opportunity, where educated minds and skillful hands work together to uplift the next generation, breaking the cycle of poverty.”
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For most of us hunger means that we’ll be eating soon–it’s a sign from our bodies to walk to the kitchen. That’s why it’s hard to grasp that hunger is still a problem in our communities, especially with obesity becoming such a big problem. Food insecurity might be a better name for today’s version of the problem (though that sounds like when someone feels bad after they eat). Whatever you want to call it, WhyHunger is a New York, NY based non-profit that is trying to fix it. They are “a leader in building the movement to end hunger and poverty by connecting people to nutritious, affordable food and by supporting grassroots solutions that inspire self-reliance and community empowerment.”
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Have you ever bought Easter candy after Easter? They’re usually giving it away at about 90% off. We live in a country where food is so plentiful that it becomes undesirable if it’s not the right color or in the right packaging for the time of year. Those egg shaped Reese’s instantly won’t sell, even though they have a better peanut butter to chocolate ratio than the normal cups. It’s easy to forget how lucky we are to live in a society where one of our biggest problems is an overabundance of calories. The International Food Policy Research Institute is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that serves those who aren’t so lucky. The IFPRI envisions “a world where every person has secure access to sufficient and safe food to sustain a healthy and productive life and where food-related policy decisions are made transparently, including the participation of consumers and producers.”
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Amy and I are going to the International Kennel Club of Chicago Dog Show today. We’re not thinking about getting a dog yet, but we’re thinking about thinking about it. Since dogs are on my mind today, I figured I’d look for an animal friendly non-profit. You’d be hard pressed to find an organization more animal friendly than The Humane Society of the United States. They are “the nation’s largest and most effective animal protection organization” with support from more than 11 million people in the U.S. Their national headquarters is based in Washington, DC, but you’re probably familiar with local humane societies. While the local societies are not directly connected with The Humane Society of the United States, they do get support from it.
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Yesterday I picked my parents up from the airport. Because of traffic, I ended up spending more time in the car to do a roundtrip of about 35 miles then than they spent on the plane flying from New York City to Chicago. It’s amazing how far we’ve come in terms of transportation over the course of human history, but we still have a long way to go. Society still has a ton to gain economically and environmentally through innovation in transportation. That’s why the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy exists. They’re a New York, NY based non-profit organization that “works with cities worldwide to bring about sustainable transport solutions that cut greenhouse gas emissions, reduce poverty, and improve the quality of urban life.” They have offices in Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, so it’s clear that their mission is as much about international development as it is about transportation.
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I used to wake up every day, look out the window, and see the Chicago skyline. In my new place, I wake up and see a whole bunch of trees. Though I know I’ll miss being able to watch the city from a few hundred feet up, it’s a nice change. Who doesn’t love trees? Well, the people at the Sacramento Tree Foundation probably love trees even more than the average person. The Sacramento Tree Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Sacramento, CA that is “working to grow healthy, livable communities in the Sacramento region by empowering people to plant, protect, and learn about trees.” They have a goal of planting 5 million trees in the area by 2025. Though they have a long way to go, they’ve already gotten off to a great start.
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As my actions show, I’m a strong believer that entrepreneurship can solve most of societies problems. It’s amazing what you can create with your own labor and a little bit of investment. That’s why I find the microfinance movement so interesting. What I don’t understand is why there isn’t more focus on this kind of lending in the United States. Grameen America is a five-year old non-profit that is changing this. They’re based in New York, NY, and they’re aiming for “a market where any individual with a dream can receive affordable financial products regardless of income, previous credit history, education, or business experience.” Grameen America is attacking poverty head on, and it seems like they’re having some great success.
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For me water is all about recreation. It’s a place to fish, swim, kayak, and hopefully one day learn how to surf. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy drinking water–I’ve had servers at restaurant tell me that I drink more water than any other customer they’ve served–but it’s mostly an afterthought. Unfortunately, for nearly a billion people across the globe water is neither fun nor an afterthought. “Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.” charity: water is a non-profit organization that is “bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.” They’re based in New York, NY, but they’re doing work all over the world. One of the most interesting things about charity: water is that they’re able to put 100% of the public donations that they receive towards clean water projects. This is possible because a small group of private donors has committed to covering the organization’s operating expenses.
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When I hear the word innovation, I usually think high-tech. It’s really just about finding new things that work, even if they’re old ideas. Innovations for Poverty Action is a New Haven, CT based non-profit organization that is “dedicated to discovering what works to help the world’s poor.” By using the scientific method in everything that they do, Innovations for Poverty Action is able to optimize their programs for maximum return on investment. That means they’re able to help more people with less money, which is absolutely essential when you’re fighting poverty. It’s pretty cool that they’ve been able to create a system for reliably developing new innovations.
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Yesterday we looked at an organization called Youth Service America that encourages youth to get involved in their communities. Today we’re going to look at an organization with a similar, but slightly different approach. Mobilize.org is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that aims “to improve the way democracy works by investing in Millennial-driven solutions.” I kind of hate the term Millennial, but it is important that our generation makes an effort to act together in our shared best interest. It all started with a guy named David Smith who was a student at UC Berkeley. He learned of another tuition increase, and instead of taking it, he mobilized some peers and made some noise. It worked, and David decided to make the movement national by starting Mobilizing America’s Youth, which eventually became Mobilize.org.
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It’s hard to think about a hunger during a holiday weekend that is known for backyard parties and grilling, but summer is actually one of the worst periods for childhood hunger. There are 21-million children that rely on free or reduced-price lunches during the school year–school isn’t just a place to learn, but also a place to get a nutritious meal. In the summer when school is out, less than 3 million of these kids are in situations where they still get meals provided for them. That’s a huge gap and a major problem. Share Our Strength is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that envisions a world with “No Kid Hungry.” They were founded in 1984 and since then they’ve working tirelessly to make sure that every child that they can reach gets the nutrition that he or she needs to stay healthy and keep growing.
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Helping people find jobs is obviously a cause that is close to my heart. I chose to focus on the college market for two reasons: I was familiar with it because I had struggled through my own entry level job search and I wasn’t really qualified to help anyone else when I started. As tough as it is for college grads to find jobs these days, you’ll actually have it pretty easy. You’re educated, energetic, and don’t need to make all that much to get by. It may seem hopeless now, but you will land a job and get your career started soon. You just need to keep pushing and be smarter about how you approach employers. There are others out there who need a lot more help, which is why organizations like Seedco exist. Seedco is a New York, NY based non-profit that “designs and implements innovative programs and services for workers, families, and businesses in need.” They’re all about driving economic growth and helping people be their most productive selves.
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While I was fishing yesterday (in a winter hat during the month of June I might add), I was tying knots, casting, wading through the river, and catching and releasing lots of fish. Though I wouldn’t by any means call it a strenuous workout, I was certainly putting all of my joints to use–from my fingers to my ankles. Most young people take for granted that their bodies work like they were built to, but it’s not so easy for some people. We often associate arthritis with aging, and it’s definitely linked to that, but it’s a group of disorders that can affect people of all ages (2/3 of people with arthritis are under the age of 65 according to the CDC). There are more than 100 types of arthritis and related conditions, which is why theArthritis Foundation was founded in 1948. They’re an Atlanta, GA based non-profit organization that “helps people take control of arthritis by providing public health education; pursuing public policy and legislation; and conducting evidence-based programs to improve the quality of life for those living with arthritis.” Considering how debilitating arthritis can be for the more than 50 million people who suffer from it, it’s a good thing that the Arthritis Foundation is doing what they do.
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While most of us have become accustomed to higher energy prices, this latest spike has been pretty ugly. I haven’t seen any gas prices starting with a 5 yet, but I’ve seen a few come dangerously close. The situation for home energy doesn’t appear to be quite as dire right now, but it all adds up (and it’s May when most of us turn our heaters off and haven’t yet turned our air conditioners on). Energy costs keep increasing as a percentage of household budgets, and this has an especially negative effect on low-income families and individuals. GRID Alternatives is an Oakland, CA based non-profit organization that is trying to fix this problem. They “empower communities in need by providing renewable energy and energy efficiency services, equipment and training.” Not only are they helping people manage and lower energy costs, but they’re also creating jobs and training people to fill these jobs.
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