Charities Blog

Giving Something Back

Can You Give More Than You Can Save?

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One thing about giving this coming Christmas, a lot of usually generous patrons are bound to save more. The economy is something to fear from recent months and the layoffs and the faltering business tycoons are factors that can strike fear in what the future holds for most of us. So in the end, victims include charities who may have to make do with whoever can spare some of their wealth for this year’s holiday season.

It is not the first time that we have encountered this problem. In fact, we have seen this happen centuries before. While many have been gallant as far as helping out charities, money is certainly the least to be expected as far as help is concerned. Alternative help comes in the form of clothing, food or even company. These are factors that are equally helpful and people just have to stick to the fact that the occurrences that has hit the whole world is something beyond their hands.

As far as charitable efforts in trying to raise funds, it can still help. But don’t expect it to impact in the forecasted revenue it can generate. People are buying less and regardless if it is of superior or heartfelt quality, people are certainly going to pick up things that they really need and pass on what they don’t really have use for.

Charities may brace for the worst. But the good thing is they can expect this to improve as the economic storm can only prove better tomorrows for people of today.

Lehman Closure Affects Charities

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If you think that the closure of Lehman Brothers only affects the business world, guess again. Lehman Brothers also does it share of social work and donating to charity is certainly among their long list of past accomplishments. Actually, you may even call it a regular habit that they do and with the bankruptcy filing that they had done, even charitable institutions are bound to be affected by it.

A big question was whether commitments would be honored. “If it’s a commitment out of the Lehman Foundation, a separate charitable entity, it legally needs to be honored,” says Melissa Berman, president of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. “At the same time, if the foundation has made more commitments than assets, it’s not clear what could be done.”

According to tax forms filed by Lehman Brothers Foundation, it had $23.7 million in total assets at the end of its 2007 fiscal year ending in November. At that time, it had $11.3 million in grants payable.

Source

On whether this was a commitment or not is really highly technical at this point. With no organization up to constantly disburse those funds for a worthy cause, that is one less donor to the world of charitable work. It is something that cannot be avoided but the only good thing that can perhaps be seen from all of it is the fact that at least you can see troubled companies doing their fair share for society regardless of the situation they are in.