Thoughts in Philanthropy

TisBest Profiles: Kristie Tanner of HSUS

2011-12-02T08:43:00.000-08:00

TisBest Profiles: Kristie Tanner, Account Manager of Business Development and Corporate Relations at The Humane Society of the United States

Relationship to TisBest: The Humane Society of the United States is one of the organizations that TisBest represents and to date they have received more than $24,000 as a result of our partnership.

If you had to describe the core of your organization in a Tweet what would it say?
Here at The HSUS (@HumaneSociety) we’re celebrating animals and confronting cruelty… all day, every day!

What anecdote do you draw on when you need inspiration on a particularly difficult day?
Recently I was in Gainesville, Florida helping our Animal Rescue Team care for approximately 700 cats that were rescued from an alleged cruelty case. The days were long and exhausting and at times I felt a bit overwhelmed thinking about each of them needing a forever home, but knowing that I was helping change their lives gave me the energy to keep on going. That week I kept thinking about ‘the starfish story.’ A boy was walking along the beach throwing starfish back into the ocean before they died. A man came along and said to the little boy, “Don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference.” The boy picked another one up and threw it into the water and said, “but I made a difference for that one.” Our work for animals matters and the bigger our voice, the more we can save.

One quote - famous or not - that you think of frequently?
“Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.” – Rev. Dr. Albert Schweitzer At times, it’s hard not to want to turn a blind eye to the egregious cruelty animals suffer around the world, but we do nothing to help the cause when we don’t educate ourselves and take a stand for animals.

If you were given one superpower AND one wish to help your organization, what would they be and why?
If I were given a superpower to help The Humane Society of the United States, I would arm every person with behind-the-scenes knowledge of what truly goes on in factory farms, puppy mills, the fur trade, and animal research facilities. I truly believe if everyone knew the way animals are treated for food, clothing, research, or before they become a family pet, their buying decisions would be very different. I don’t think people purposely support these practices; I think they’re just unaware of the cruelty behind-the-scenes. My wish would be that more people would get involved with The Humane Society of the United States. Purchasing TisBest gift cards to benefit The Humane Society of the United States is just one easy way people can help. Every little bit counts. It adds up and allows us to accomplish more of our goals. Without your support, we can’t do as much as we need to do to celebrate all animals and confront cruelty. In addition to monetary support, we’re always looking for volunteers to help us in the field.

Learn more here:
The Humane Society of the United States is America’s mainstream force against cruelty, exploitation and neglect, as well as the most trusted voice extolling the human-animal bond.
A short video about HSUS
A summary of animal welfare issues
Volunteer

TisBest Profiles: Susan Messina of NHF

2011-11-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

TisBest Profiles: Susan Messina, Director of Communications and Special
Projects at National Hospice Foundation

Relationship to TisBest: National Hospice Foundation is one of the organizations that TisBest represents and to date they have received more than $7,000 as a result of our partnership.

If you had to describe the core of your organization in a Tweet what would it say?
Hospice helps people live fully until the end and then die at peace and in comfort. NHF works nationally to support that mission.

What anecdote do you draw on when you need inspiration on a particularly difficult day?
Lots of people leave money to charity in their wills but there was something extra special about the legacy that one woman left to the National Hospice Foundation. You see, while she was facing the end of her life with the support of her local hospice she knew she wanted to give something back in honor of the incredible care she was receiving from her hospice team. She changed her will to include hospice. She knew, as she was making that change, that she had only a small time left to live. To think that she spent part of her last months on the administrative details necessary to leave a bequest speaks volumes about how important her hospice care was to her. I contrast that with another woman. She is still very much alive; she is a member of our Legacy Society, which means she has put us in her will. Her explanation for her bequest is very different. She doesn’t even know anyone who has had hospice care! But she knows what it is and looking ahead, as a single woman with no children, she is very glad to know hospice will be there for her when she needs care at the end of her life. She wanted to make sure to make one last donation to NHF after she passes away. These two women for me embody what we are about: creating opportunities for people across the country to support hospice care, the best quality care at the end of life.

One quote - famous or not - that you think of frequently and why you
like it?
“There’s a world of pain out there.” This is a quote I once I heard from a funeral director at a funeral director’s conference. That sounds depressing, but to me it’s just true. There’s a lot of pain out there in the world, and it’s our job as humans to try to diminish it, or give others the tools to cope with it. Hospice does both.

If you were given one superpower AND one wish to help your organization, what would they be and why?
My superpower would be super speed. With the ability to zoom on my own two feet from city to city, I would become an icon for runners. My goal would be to encourage runners to participate in our athletic fundraising program, Run to Remember. Through this program people can raise money for hospice while memorializing someone they loved. Right now Run to Remember is relatively small; we don’t yet have the brand recognition of some other major fundraising efforts. However, with my superpower I would be easily able to draw attention to it and encourage hundreds of thousands of hospice supporters to participate and raise millions of dollars for our work to make high-quality hospice care accessible to all who need it. I wish that I could shatter myths about hospice as easily as I could shatter a pane of glass. One myth is that hospice means "giving up" and so patients and families are sometimes reluctant to participate, even though hospice care could improve their lives a great deal. Another myth is that hospice is only for the person with the illness, which is not true; family members also benefit tremendously from having the hospice team join in the care. Hospice is about living life as fully as possible until the end and relieving the burdens on family caregivers so they can be as emotionally present as possible to the dying person. NHF works to educate people about the power of hospice care to transform the end-of-life experience.

Learn more here:
National Hospice Foundation
Run to Remember
“Why I give”

Giving Back to the World by TisBest Intern, Travis Woo

2011-07-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Travis and I’m interning with TisBest Philanthropy to help make the world a better place. Let me introduce myself by telling you about what giving means to me.

In my experience I’ve found that many people give to what is close to them. I’ve seen parents support causes that help children, pet owners give to causes that help animals, and those near to someone who suffers from a disease support disease research and prevention. I believe that everyone, young or old, rich or poor has a cause that is close to them.

Right now I give time through interning at TisBest, and I try my hardest to give by first and foremost being a role model.

I believe that if I dream, work hard, and achieve, I can use my voice to inspire others. I can inspire them to follow me, to see what is possible, and to follow their own dreams. You don’t need to be rich or over a certain age to give- you can give with time or money.

I’ve thought about what I would do if I woke up tomorrow with a billion dollars. What would you do? I wouldn’t abandon my own dreams or stop working hard or stop achieving. But I would donate what money I could to help stop problems before they start: keep teenagers in school by reaching and teaching them when they are children. Community centers, Boys and Girls Clubs, and so on, keep children focused on school, music, and team sports. These causes are close to me right now and need financial support and the help of volunteers.

People can use our help both on the other side of the world and right in front of us. What is close to you?

Thanks for reading,
Travis

Our Day of Service at YouthCare

2011-05-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, the TisBest staff participated in a day of service. We planned, purchased, and prepared lunch at the Orion Center. The Orion Center is run by YouthCare, a Seattle organization that helps transition homeless kids off the streets and into school, jobs, and success. YouthCare is our newest charity partner, and the more we learn about them the more we admire their work.

Our staff fixed burritos and brownies for 40-60 teenagers. It was a big job for a group that usually spends their work days on computers or in meetings, but the challenge was incredibly rewarding! Here are some photos of us hard at work in the kitchen.

AeJung, Social Media & Marketing Intern,
creates a brownie plan-of-attack.

Janice, Social Media & Marketing Intern,
displaying brownie follow-through.

Executive Director Jon and Charity Relations Director Chad
in some fine-looking aprons.

Special Projects Manager Tegan, in her temporary capacity
as Manager of Kitchen Shouting.

We felt great about spending an afternoon for such
an amazing cause, and a truly worthy organization!

Five Ways to Teach Children About Giving

2011-05-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

Teaching children about giving is essential to the well-being of society. After all, they’re not going to be kids forever! Here are five ways you can teach children how important, fun and easy philanthropy can be.

Volunteering. You don’t have to go through a charity to volunteer your time. Encourage your children to imagine: who in your town could use a cheerful visit? What problems can they identify that you can find something small to do to help? This can be as simple as planting a tree, picking up litter, or making pictures and crafts to bring to folks at a retirement home.

Most kids adore animals, and animal shelters generally need a lot of help. Unfortunately, many animal shelters require volunteers to be at least 18 years of age, so playing with the cats and dogs might not be an option. But there are other ways to help. When your child’s birthday approaches, have a conversation with them about their love for animals. Discuss whether they would be willing to share birthday presents with the animals at the shelter. If they like the idea, they can request that their friends bring supplies to donate to the local animal shelter instead of or addition to birthday gifts. Up for a challenge? Consider becoming an animal rescue foster parent. Many animal shelters have litters of kittens and puppies that need temporary homes until they’re old enough to be adopted. This is a great way for your kids to experience the joy and excitement of living with baby animals, without contributing to pet overpopulation.

Fundraising is FUN! Ah, the old lemonade stand! Kids love doing it, so why not harness their enthusiasm and help others? Talk to your children about what charities and issues interest them and agree to donate the proceeds. Not only will children learn how good it feels to give, but they might gain some valuable business skills as well. There are dozens of other kid-friendly fundraising ideas.

Read On. Reading is a great way to spend quality time with your child as well as teach them valuable lessons. Pick out some stories that emphasize the invaluable rewards of giving, or read about a cause that you and your child are interested in. Some classic books about giving include The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein and The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. If your little one is a green kid, here’s a big list of story books about the environment.

Look and Learn. Learning doesn’t always have to be limited to books – the internet is a great resource! Talk to your child about what interests them and browse through various charities and organizations together to see what organization he or she would like to help. This is also a great time to give your child a Charity Gift Card “just for fun”—you can spend the time with them comparing charities and causes, and they get to pick who gets the donation.

Donate! Donations don’t always have to be money—gently-used toys, books, and clothing can be meaningful donations. If your children are like most kids, they might not like it at first. But getting children used to donating items that they no longer use will become a life-long practice that benefits all. “Spring Cleaning” is a good time to have your kids sort through their things to see if there are any they can give to others in need. But don’t stop at the toybox: help them go through the pantry for cans or packages of food items to donate, as well.

Modeling philanthropy for children doesn’t have to mean writing a check. It can be as simple as having a conversation about how other people live, and ways that we can help others. Giving is easy and helps children become socially-conscious, compassionate adults.

Thanks for reading!

-AeJung Yoon, TisBest Marketing Intern

Philanthropy Fit for a Prince (and Princess-to-Be)

2011-04-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

You're probably getting a little tired of hearing about the Royal Wedding (if not--nevermind! read on!), but we can't help mentioning how wonderful we think it is that the Prince William and his bride-to-be are requesting gifts of charity in lieu of the elaborate (and extravagant) gifts that were seen at previous royal nuptials.

Even better, one of the selected charities Earthwatch Institute, is a TisBest partner! We're happy to see recognition given to this sterling organization.

Since everybody else in the entire universe is using this wedding as an opportunity to sell commemorative plates and coffee (or tea, I guess) mugs, we're going to join in. But all we're selling is the excellent idea that William and Kate had: using this special day as a chance to give back!

If there's a wedding in your future, think of ways you can incorporate philanthropy into the day. Charity Gift Cards are a great way to do just that, hint hint! They make an elegant and ethical wedding gift for a conscientious couple. Or, if you’re the happy duo planning a wedding, giving Charity Gift Cards to your wedding party or guests reminds them that you appreciate their compassionate, giving nature as well as their friendship.

Giving is important to you, and charitable wedding gifts are a great way to incorporate that passion into one of the most memorable events of your life. Will you live up to Will and Kate's challenge?

Great Ideas for Giving: Limited Edition Charity Gift Cards!

2011-04-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

Check out this great, thoughtful way a TisBest donor is using Charity Gift Cards!

Katya Horner, a professional photographer and the creative engine behind Slight Clutter Photography, thought of a great way to spread the word about TisBest's mission. For every hundred dollars spent on prints in her Etsy store, Slight Clutter Photography is including $10 worth of charitable giving in the form of a Charity Gift Card. The best part is that the cards are printed with a limited-edition photograph, something you can't get anywhere else!

Katya creates atmospheric and enchanting images of nature that speak of the stillness and solitude of an early-morning fog lifting from a quiet forest. The gorgeous, golden trees and field on her limited-edition cards are strikingly lovely. This is a great way to say "thank you" for supporting independent artists, and an excellent opportunity to get people giving to charity!

Check out Katya's post on why Charity Gift Cards were her top pick for getting her customers giving back. And look the Slight Clutter Photography gallery--what beautiful photos! Perhaps we need one for the TisBest office...

Charity Gift Cards aren't just for birthdays and holidays. What creative ways have you used donation gifts? Leave a comment or send us a note at info@tisbest.org--we're eager to hear your story!

Give to Japan--or Don't

2011-04-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

Last week, Felix Salmon wrote a widely-circulated opinion piece for Reuters called “Don’t Give To Japan.” The title of the article is far more provocative than the content, which argues the following: earmarking funds for a specific program or disaster means that other, less attractive but equally important programs get neglected. Additionally, earmarking funds can restrict a charity from working flexibly within the context of what a devastated community might actually need.

In a similarly-titled 2010 argument against earmarking funds for recovery in Haiti, Salmon wrote “...for all its best efforts, the Red Cross has still only spent 83% of its $3.21 billion [2005 Asian] tsunami budget — which means that it has over half a billion dollars left to spend. Not to put too fine a point on it, but that’s money which could be spent in Haiti, if it weren’t for the fact that it was earmarked.”

Salmon’s point is not to convince people not to give, nor to convince people that Japan doesn’t need any international support.

His point is that earmarked funds can hinder the good work that a charity needs to do, and so those moved to give by a tragedy should give to general funds and accept that their money may not go to help the person they saw on TV. As another excellent blogger put it, “If you trust the organization, allow them to make professional decisions on how to best use your donation. If you don’t trust them then find another organization to donate to.”

But as provocateur, the title “Don’t Give to Japan” worked: it went viral, many people read the piece, and there are nearly 300 reader comments. Probably two thirds of those comments are from people so furious at the implications of the article—or what they thought the article would be after reading that title—that they accuse the author of standing in the way of recovery in Japan, of being heartless and stingy and cruel and racist, and even of actively undermining the well-being of the Japanese people. One reader goes as far as to state that the author is single-handedly responsible for the difference in donation totals between Haiti and Japan fundraising efforts.

So why does the conversation turn so venomous?

Well, one reason might be that many people were so upset by the title of the piece that they didn’t actually read the content. But surely some of those hundreds of angry people read the column and remained upset enough to blast the author, his character, and his publisher.

As compassionate people, it’s easy for donors to become overwhelmed by the breadth of social problems demanding attention, empathy, and often money. Making a positive impact in one’s daily life can seem horribly complex. We want to believe that there is an answer. We want to initiate a fix. We are given the opportunity to do something specific, something with effects that we think we’ll be able to see immediately.

Unfortunately, few things actually work like that, especially in the world of donations.

The implication that our well-meaning donations might cause problems in addition to solving them can frustrate or infuriate. As Salmon himself said in a follow-up to the Japan post, “’There’s nothing you can do to help’ is never a pleasant message to convey, and people tend to react strongly against it.”

The images of destruction from the recent tragedy in Japan are horrifying and heartbreaking, and it’s human nature that the suffering of others is a powerful motivator for giving. But it’s equally important to temper our hearts with our heads. Funds sent to Japan for disaster recovery will make a difference; yet funds sent to the Middle East to promote human rights make just as big an impact—perhaps even bigger. Tragedies and large-scale catastrophes remind us of our common humanity, but it’s vital to remember that tragedies and catastrophes happen to individuals every day, not just when epic disaster strikes.

Give to organizations working in Japan, if you still feel the urge. But give to Libya, as well. Give to Egypt and to food banks and to your local women’s shelter. Don’t restrict the funds—trust that your chosen charities know what they’re doing. Don’t restrict your passion, either. Pay attention to smaller tragedies, like the homeless kids you pass downtown or the lack of affordable healthcare for low-income families, or the trash you’ll walk by on the beach next weekend. Even if you can’t afford to give money to every cause, compassion is one of our few limitless resources. It’s important to give; it’s also important to give a damn.

Tragedy in Japan: Where to Give

2011-03-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

The devastation from the March 11th earthquake and tsunami is extensive, heartbreaking, with death tolls still in the unspecified tens of thousands. Over 350,000 people lost their homes in the disaster, and four days later the world still watches with breath held as the Japanese fight to contain significant failures at a nuclear power plant.

There are many ways to aid those struggling through this disaster. Following are some TisBest charity partners already acting in various ways to help the Japanese people.

American Humane Association,'s Red Star Animal Emergency Services teams are ready to deploy to care for and rescue the animals impacted by this disaster. 100% of donations to their Japan Relief Fund will be used to mobilize these teams once the Japanese government extends a formal invitation to animal rescue organizations.
American Red Cross is sending funds and support to the Japanese Red Cross, which operates 92 hospitals in the country. These facilities have received over a thousand victims already, and many, many more people are grateful for the opportunity to sleep in the buildings' warm hallways and waiting rooms.

Convoy of Hope has a team standing by in the Philippines, waiting for air traffic to Japan to reopen.

Doctors Without Borders "currently has a team... conducting mobile clinics and assessments in Miyagi prefecture" and is waiting on word from Japanese officials before they mobilize additional doctors.

Hope Worldwide's Japan volunteers are running a center for evacuees, providing shelter, food, and water. They anticipate an enormous need for more evacuation facilities, as people are still pouring in from devastated communities and areas under potential nuclear threat.

Lions Clubs International members "live in the affected communities, so they... are able to respond quickly and efficiently. Lions in Japan are coordinating their relief efforts via social media and are using the Japan Lions Office in Tokyo as emergency relief headquarters."

Mercy Corps has already raised half a million dollars for their partner, Peace Winds Japan, who is delivering food, water, and emergency supplies. Meanwhile, Mercy Corps is also preparing a team of relief workers to deploy once their partner determines which skills are most needed.

Salvation Army USA says that "the Salvation Army in Japan has three emergency service relief teams working in areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami. One of the teams is assisting people who have been evacuated from areas threatened by the damage of nuclear power plants."

Save the Children has deployed a team to assess needs in the hardest-hit areas, focusing on providing safe places for kids while their parents work to make sense of their devastated lives.

Shelter Box was on the ground within 24 hours of the quake, and is busy setting up emergency housing for people displaced by the quake and tsunami.

Tzu Chi is a Buddhist relief foundation with strong ties throughout Asia and so is in an excellent position to provide aid. Their Tokyo branch opened a relief center within four hours of the quake, which among other things provides internet access for refugees to contact their loved ones. The organization has already shipped items like instant rice and emergency blankets to the hardest-hit areas.

World Vision's veteran Japan team is already on the ground and working to create Child-Friendly Spaces, their trademark programs that provide structure, security, play, and healing for child victims of disaster.

Please consider donating directly to any of these organizations. Our hearts go out to those touched by this disaster.

Compassion = Passion

2011-02-03T09:41:00.000-08:00

OK, so we don’t make chocolates and we don’t sell flowers. In fact, we don’t sell any of the usual stuff that’s associated with Valentine’s Day. What we do offer is the opportunity to help make the world just a little bit better. But isn’t that a marvelous gift?

So consider adding the gift of charity to your Valentine’s gift this year. Buy some chocolates, add a TisBest Charity Gift Card. Giving flowers? Tuck a card between the stems. Fancy dinner? Add a card for dessert. Even a modest amount supports the world changing impact of our 250+ charity partners.

You can even personalize your Charity Gift Card with your favorite photo or image at no additional cost. And your sweetheart will love you for it.

Compassion can be very sexy.

TisBest Expands its Support of Local Charities!

2010-12-29T13:20:00.000-08:00

After months of hard work, TisBest is pleased to announce a large expansion of our Local Charity program! We added four new cities to our Local Charities Tab: Portland-Vancouver, Phoenix, Chicago, and Los Angeles. And we added five new charities that are located in two cities we already cover: Seattle-Tacoma and Minneapolis-St. Paul. We hope to move into New York, Dallas-Ft Worth, and other metro areas very soon.

Each of the local organizations listed on TisBest is impressive in its own way. Click on the links below to learn about the work each charity is doing in its community - it is heartwarming and fascinating. We feel fortunate that we're able to support those doing vital work in their communities, whether they're rescuing animals, bringing food to the hungry, teaching job skills, empowering kids, or creating amazing art.

If you don't see your favorite local charity on the list, send a note to charitymanager@tisbest.org and we'll check out your suggestions.
Four new Cities have been added to the TisBest Local Charities Tab!
Portland & Vancouver
Children's Book Bank
Columbia Springs
Lifeworks Northwest
Oregon Ballet Theatre
Parks Foundation of Clark County
Project Access NOW
Share
The Pixie Project
Transition Projects

Phoenix
A Stepping Stone Foundation
Arizona’s Children Association
Be A Leader Foundation
Ear Candy
ICAN
P.O.P.S.I.C.L.E. Center
Peer Solutions
Phoenix Youth at Risk
Valley Youth Theatre

Chicago

Two Big Hearts Foundation

Climate Cycle

EPIC

Girls in the Game

Inspiration Corporation

Open Books

Los Angeles

Busted Foundation

Childrens Institute International

CoachArt

Free Arts for Abused Children

Project Angel Food

Five New Charities added in Seattle-Tacoma and Minneapolis-St.Paul!
Seattle-Tacoma
Emergency Food Network
Seattle Humane - The Humane Society for Seattle/King County
Sno-King Youth Club
Rainier Scholars

Minneapolis-St. Paul
Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA)

Happy New Year, and thanks for helping give a better world!
Tegan

Other Centered

2010-12-13T16:29:00.000-08:00

Seattle is a town of restaurants and Canlis is a restaurant fabled among them - expensive, exquisite, an unmatched view, a wine list longer than any other and servers in kimonos. Certainly not the usual fare for those of us in the nonprofit trenches. And so we were thrilled when Canlis invited us to join them for a party yesterday evening, to celebrate their 60^th anniversary as a restaurant. We arrived to find a festive crowd of 200 people, all like us - dedicated members of the Seattle nonprofit/social enterprise arena.

We learned that Canlis is run by close family (all of the Canlis name and all of them present last night) and that they decided to honor all of us with this party. They explained that they initially wanted to hold a charity event to celebrate the restaurant’s 60^th anniversary, but realized that such an event becomes an “ask.” Instead they wanted to do a “give.” "It's our birthday party, but we'd like to give the present and not receive it," said Mark Canlis. They identified that what they had to give was food and hospitality, and so give they did. The food poured from the kitchen all night long, the wine was outstanding and three wonderful musical ensembles kept the music flowing.

Not only was the evening a great time, I think a lot of us felt really great to be honored in this way. Yes, people tell us all the time that the work we do is valuable, and thank us for our dedication. But not many people “put the food where their mouth is." What Canlis did was very Other Centered--that is their term, actually. Other Centered is one of the three Canlis family/company values. And they demonstrated it last night in spades. And so from Jon and Erik at TisBest, and all 200 other invitees, to the Canlis Family - thank you for a wonderful evening. Seattle is fortunate to have such institutions as your restaurant, your family and your collective heart.

--Erik

Take the Just 51 Bucks Challenge

2010-11-30T17:15:00.000-08:00

According to the National Retail Federation, the average person will spend $510 on holiday gifts this year. Some of those gifts will be wonderful and thoughtful. But we’re willing to bet that at least some of them will miss the mark of "meaningful gift."

Many of our charity partners and the populations they serve are in greater need than ever this season. In light of this, we challenge you to empower your holiday gifts and devote 10% of your gift budget to charity. If we all dedicate that 10%, or $51, to Charity Gift Cards instead of "more stuff," we will play a vital role in closing the budget gap for organizations that do invaluable work in our communities. Plus, we're confident that your recipient will appreciate the gift as much as the charities will!

Click here to learn more, and to take the Just 51 Bucks Challenge.

What's Your Silliest Gift? A Video by Reel Grrls

2010-11-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

Our Seattle Local charity partner Reel Grrls made these videos last year on Black Friday. They braved the cold outside a downtown shopping center and asked passers-by two questions: What's the silliest gift you've ever received? Who's hardest to shop for?

And after you've checked out the videos, tell us your answers in the comments: what's the strangest, silliest gift you've ever been given? Who do you have trouble finding a meaningful gift for?

Cheers to the crew at Reel Grrls, who help guide and empower young women through teaching them the ins and outs of filmmaking. And thanks as well to the amazing grrls who made the videos! They do an awesome job--check out their other projects here.

Tisbest: What's the silliest gift you've ever received? from Reel Grrls on Vimeo.

Tisbest: Who's Hardest to Shop For? from Reel Grrls on Vimeo.

Happy Thanksgiving!
the TisBest Team

Help us Pick a New Christmas Charity Gift Card!

2010-11-18T09:31:00.000-08:00

pollOnline Surveys & Market Research

Thanks for voting! We're eager to see what you pick. We will announce the winner on Friday, November 26th, just in time for Christmas shopping!

The TisBest Team

Three New Charities in the TisBest 250

2010-11-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow—November 17^th—is National Philanthropy Day. Well, okay, in some places it was celebrated on Monday… and in other places it’s Thursday. And in more precocious locations, National Philanthropy Day was November 5^th. We figure it’s like the Orthodox calendar, where the dates don’t always line up but the effect is still the same. Either way, we’re excited to make an announcement:

In honor of National Philanthropy Day(s), TisBest welcomes three new charities to the TisBest 250!

Nurse-Family Partnership is an organization that provides low-income, first-time parents with a relationship they can count on. A trusted, respected, and compassionate public health nurse visits the mom from the beginning of her pregnancy until her child is two years old. The program has proven results including effective preventative health care, improved childhood development, and better economic self-sufficiency through a mentor-like role that the nurse plays in the mother's life. Wow... just wow!

Operation Homefront, developed to support the families of deployed military personnel in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, provides emergency assistance to military families in need. They give everything from food assistance to household appliances, and build a community around those waiting for their soldiers to come home. They've also created support programs for those wounded in action. Maybe I'm a crybaby, but the stories on their site always make me well up!

World Concern is a Christian international humanitarian group that does everything. From microloans to disaster response, from digging wells to fighting human trafficking, World Concern offers life, opportunity and hope in 22 of the most desperate countries on earth. They're incredibly well-respected, and effective in so many different ways. A really impressive organization!

Keep an eye on the blog, as we'll be announcing even more new charity partners in the next few weeks.

Best,
Tegan

"Black November"?

2010-11-10T15:20:00.000-08:00

Does it seem like Christmas has come earlier this year?

No, we’re not noticing a marked upswing in levels of eggnog-related good cheer. It is not snowing, nor are we already gathered to spend time with family, reconnect with friends, and gorge on traditional delicacies (like my little sister’s amazing orange-glazed cream cheese cake). No, the part of Christmas that’s moved way up is the part that gets pretty stressful sometimes: the buying of stuff.

A number of stores started talking up “Black Friday” deals the week before Halloween, a sign that the retail industry is moving towards a “Black November” instead of relying on traditional post-Thanksgiving sales. Wal-Mart, Loews, BestBuy, and Sears have already launched their Christmas bargains. And Amazon’s “Black Friday” deals started last Friday, while in 2009 those sales didn’t start until November 23^rd.

Sure, this might pump up retail sales in a down economy. And people will have more time to find good deals on things they might really need (like a new plasma-screen TV—Dexter never looked so good!). But it’s also likely to result in Christmas burnout much earlier in the season. What do you think? Do longer sales mean that people will ultimately spend more on stuff they don’t need, or is this a better idea than stampede-inducing midnight blowouts?

Want

2010-10-25T17:21:00.000-07:00

In the lunchroom of the office TisBest shares, I find on the table a cardboard box with a shiny new stainless steel insulated mug inside - no wait - there is a thermos and a mug both! I want it. I want the shiny stainless steel with pretty logos and the nice box and the faux-leather carry bag that comes with it.

Then I realize how bizarre this is. Here I am at TisBest’s office and I am wanting stuff. My family has more than one thermos and travel mug per person at home. I have no use for this stuff. But I nevertheless feel a remarkably strong desire to make it mine.

I ponder.

I have invested a large part of my life in building TisBest because I want to give people an alternative to gifts of “more stuff.” And yet this shiny new gift set (that I have no use for) captivates me at a deep level.

Very odd. I think about it for a few days, and I don’t have any great answers. I don’t know why I want to own shiny new things in a box that I have no use for. Is it hoarding? Is it the inevitable result of a lifetime consuming Madison Avenue output? Is it a simple lust for more? I wish I knew.

-Erik Marks

Facebook Causes Hits California Stores

2010-10-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

If you live in California, you might find these hanging next to the iTunes gift cards at your local supermarket. Facebook Causes now allows its users to make a donation through the purchase of a gift card, and direct the funds online via the Causes app. The limited California launch means that Causes is testing the water to see how popular these gift cards are.

While I'm excited to see the idea of the charity gift card spreading and charitable gift alternatives becoming more popular, I'm skeptical of the Causes engine. Don't get me wrong--people talking about the causes they're passionate about gets other people thinking, and sometimes even doing, and that's a great thing. But there's been a lot of debate over whether or not Causes is an effective tool.

The most awesome thing about Facebook Causes is that it's a grassroots tool. Everyday people are encouraged to start their own Cause, recruit others to it, circulate petitions, and hook their Cause up with a nonprofit that reflects their goals. Any money raised for the Cause goes to the nonprofit. If Sally thinks dogfighting is horrible and starts a Cause to end it, she'll create her own messaging, recruit her own friends and acquaintances to join, and connect her Cause to the ASPCA, who campaign against dogfighting as well. Any donations made will not go to Sally--who doesn't really have the tools to stop dogfighting--but to the ASPCA. Grassroots growth is the future of nonprofit, and Causes is a great tool for that. So far, so good.

There's one catch: so far, Causes has not been an effective fundraiser. Sally's anti-dogfighting Cause might take off and gain 100, 150 members--maybe even a thousand. But statistically, most of the members will click "join" and promptly move on, wallet firmly shut. It's too easy to be all talk on Facebook. If a Cause is going to raise substantial funds for its nonprofit, it's got to have a well-planned, extensive marketing strategy and a tireless, loud-voiced person behind that. Only a few Causes have managed really successful fundraisers. Some of these successful Causes are built and operated by the nonprofits they fund, which is fine--but hardly the grassroots movement that Causes was meant to embody.

None of this is really that bad. Even if Causes isn't a perfect tool, it's a great idea, it does make people aware of organizations and their needs, and there's no saying what it will evolve into in the future. And a Causes gift card is certainly a smarter purchase than Farmville dollars.

Best,
Tegan

KaBOOM! and Viral Volunteerism

2010-10-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

We were excited to hear a story about KaBOOM! on NPR's Morning Edition in the car on the way to work this morning. KaBOOM does amazing work building playgrounds in under-served neighborhoods--and according to the interview, their volunteers built this entire playground in one day.

We're always excited to hear when our charities get recognized. But the coolest thing about KaBOOM! is their focus on fueling volunteerism. One of their seasoned volunteers made a bet that at least one person from each build will remain an active volunteer: "It may not be building a playground, but they will have caught this volunteer spirit and go out and do other projects."

I believe it. We've watched the non-material gift giving movement spread the same way. I'm willing to make the same wager that KaBOOM did: If you give a half-dozen Charity Gift Cards, one of those people you gave to will love the idea so much that they turn around and give them to others. The seed of giving is a powerful little concept, and that kind of organic growth is way more powerful than advertising.

Best,
Tegan

Cute Animal Picture Alert - Seattle Humane Society Visit

2010-09-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon we met with the Seattle Humane Society to talk about partnering together. Each TisBest staff member is a dog, cat, and/or rabbit lover so meeting the animals in the adoption facilities was a blast. Here a few pictures from our visit:

This lab practices his agility skills in the auditorium.

A warehouse full of donated pet food the SHS collects and delivers to low-income families.

This guy can't wait to find a lap to call his own!

There were several more highlights on our tour of their campus. Seattle Humane's facilities are clean, cheerful, and have this great, bustling sense of optimism about them. The animals are treated with the greatest care and affection by a passionate and caring staff. We look forward to serving their worthy cause in the future! Check 'em out at www.seattlehumane.org/.

Chad Edwards
TisBest Charity Gift Cards - www.tisbest.org

Alexandra's Donor Story: Giving Across Generations

2010-08-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

Alexandra shared with us the wonderful story of how she decided to use TisBest Charity Gift Cards to teach her grandkids about giving. She already sets a positive example for them with her own charitable efforts, but wanted to show them first-hand how great it feels to know you’re doing good for others.

"I was not raised in a family that thought about charity. We were so darn poor growing up, my parents struggled just to put food on the table. But the older I get the more I realize how blessed I am. Not in material things… but in love and a sense of security because of that love.

"My grandchildren are blessed with a stable loving family and they never want for 'things.' How will they know that there are people in this world who haven’t, for whatever reason, been blessed in that same way?"

Alexandra found TisBest online and says she thinks the gift cards and easy-to-use online database are “brilliant.” She and her daughter guided the kids through the TisBest website and helped them think through where their gift would go.

"I hope they will carefully look at the charities and see which ones help someone, somewhere, to get a little boost so they can help themselves.

And here’s the thing. I know right now my grandkids could care less about researching and making an informed decision. But I am planting a seed. It took me a long time to learn the lesson of sharing and the miracle of emptying your cup so it can be filled again. I’m hoping they will learn that lesson a lot earlier.

When I am long gone, I want to think that they will be teaching their grandchildren the fine art of sharing their blessings. Selfishly, that thought brings me great comfort."

Thanks for reading,
The TisBest Team

www.tisbest.org

Giving corporate gifts? Read this amazing post from SkillStorm highlighting their 2009 TisBest Charity Gift Card program

2010-07-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

The following is an excerpt from a SkillStorm.com blog post.

As You Begin to Think About Your Holiday Budget for 2010, Consider the Gift that Keeps on Giving

"'Gifts are a part of business culture, but meaningful gifts aren’t easy to find. That’s where the TisBest Charity Gift Card comes in. It’s a meaningful gift you can give to anybody, anytime.' – TisBest

Although the holiday season is several months away, it’s never too early to start considering your holiday budget. How about sharing the gift that keeps on giving – a Charity Gift Card from TisBest! There are many options out there when considering business gifts, but TisBest Gift Cards are unlike any other. Charity gift cards are gaining popularity in the corporate gift giving world. In fact, 40 percent of the charity gift card sales are to businesses who in turn give them to employees, clients, prospects, etc.

Last holiday season, we partnered with TisBest.org to donate $15,000 to charities chosen by our very own employees. To do this, we first sent a survey out to employees at our organization on whether they wanted to receive employee gifts and parties or instead donate monetary donations to charities across the country. When all was said and done, the decision was unanimous: employees elected to forego expensive holiday parties for the benefit of charity..." Click here to continue reading.

A big "way to go" to the leadership and staff at SkillStorm for leading and fueling the giving movement!

-The TisBest Staff
www.tisbest.org

Seattle 2.0 Awards Pictures and Another Honor for TisBest!

2010-05-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

The TisBest Team holding the Seattle 2.0 Award for "Best Nonprofit Startup." The team from right to left: Lorraine Craft, Jim Branch, Jon Siegel, Erik Marks, Jim Phillips, and Chad Edwards

TisBest Founder, Erik Marks, giving a brief acceptance speech at the Seattle 2.0 Awards. Over 400 people attended the 2nd annual gala honoring the top innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors in the Seattle Startup Community.

Jon Siegel talking about TisBest Charity Gift Cards with entrepreneur, Ron Wiener, at the Seattle 2.0 Award Reception.

TisBest Philanthropy received the “Best Non-Profit Start-Up” award at the Seattle 2.0 awards event on Wednesday, May 19. This is a great honor for TisBest, and wonderful recognition of our efforts to connect individuals and businesses to the causes and charities they feel passionate about.

Our founder, Erik Marks, has succeeded in combining technology with the goals of micro philanthropy, and created an entire new category – the charity gift card – in the process. That the technology hotbed of Seattle recognized the work we do is especially gratifying.

Launched in November of 2007, TisBest truly is a start-up. And TisBest has gone through many (if not all) of the usual challenges faced by new technology ventures. Now a scant 2.5 years later, TisBest has raised over $1 million for charity and created a significant following of people who are looking for a way to give a meaningful gift without giving “more stuff.”

One of the reasons I’m so pleased to receive this award is that it validates my belief that the entire world of giving – of philanthropy – is going through a massive set of changes. Just a few months ago, tens of millions of dollars were raised for Haiti relief using text messaging. That new development has forever changed the way we’ll respond to future catastrophes. New organizations such as Jolkona Foundation (www.jolkona.org) are springing up, creating imaginative ways for donors to better see the results of their donations. And a new generation is recognizing that one needn’t be rich to be a philanthropist.

TisBest is thrilled to be a significant part of the world of philanthropy. At its most basic level, “philanthropy,” from the Greek, means “loving humankind.” In today’s world, that meaning has broadened to include loving our planet, the plants and animals that live on it, the air we breathe, and even the freedoms we so enjoy.

So thank you to the Seattle Community and our national community of supporters for recognizing TisBest Philanthropy. We think the best is yet to come. Our goal is to create more awareness and open new sources funding for worthy charities in the years to come, and to make gift-giving a more meaningful experience for giver and recipient alike.

Jon Siegel, TisBest Executive Director
www.tisbest.org

Featured Charity: The Moyer Foundation

2010-04-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

If you’ve followed Major League All-Star pitcher Jaime Moyer’s celebrated career, you know that he has been recognized as much for his work off the field as on. In 2000, Jamie and his wife Karen established The Moyer Foundation. Since then, the Foundation has raised more than $19 million to provide comfort and support to hundreds of programs that provide direct services and support to children enduring a time of profound physical, emotional, or financial distress.

Their work strikes a very personal cord for me. When my wife and her twin sister were 15 years old, they lost their dad to cancer. Both described feeling isolated and lonely in the years following his death as they struggled to connect to kids their age that had experienced such a deep loss.

Stories like this led The Moyer Foundation to create Camp Erin, a bereavement camp for children and teens who have experienced the death of someone close to them. I had tears in my eyes as I heard about the comfort and understanding Camp Erin participants find as they build friendships with other children who have gone through a similar season of loss. You can see a few of these kids in this powerful 60 second video on the foundation’s YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CteEhsGsdmg

The weekend-long Camp Erin experiences are filled with traditional, fun, camp activities combined with grief education and emotional support -- facilitated by grief professionals and trained volunteers. These kids have the opportunity to address their feelings and memorialize their loved ones with other kids just like them.

Incredibly, Camp Erin is free to all campers. The Moyer Foundation has established 36 of these camps in 23 states making it the largest network of bereavement camps in the United States. Each Camp Erin is facilitated through a long term partnership with a local bereavement agency. With the community’s support, The Moyer Foundation intends to raise funds to bring Camp Erin to as many as 60 cities nationwide.

Camp Erin is just one of several unique Moyer Foundation programs. You can find more inspiring information and ways to support the organization by going to www.moyerfoundation.org. We at TisBest congratulate The Moyer Foundation on 10 years of bringing comfort and support to children in distress.

Thanks for reading,
Chad Edwards – Charity and Community Relations Manager

Best Nonprofit Startup! We Need Your Vote!

2010-04-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

TisBest Philanthropy is honored to be chosen as a finalist in the 2010 edition of the Seattle 2.0 Awards. TisBest was nominated in the Best Nonprofit Startup category. The winner is determined by votes cast, so I encourage you to go to the Seattle 2.0 site and vote for TisBest! The link is http://www.seattle20.com/awards/vote.aspx

According to Seattle 2.0’s website, “Technology startups have been the birthplace of some of the biggest changes in our way of life this century, from how we buy houses to how we manage our family photos, from how we entertain ourselves on the web to how we run our businesses.”

I’d add, “ . . . to how we give meaningful gifts and how we support important charitable causes.”

As technology continues to become an increasingly important part of our lives, it shouldn’t be a big surprise that technology is also playing an increasingly important role in the world of philanthropy. At TisBest, we see ourselves on the cutting edge of philanthropic giving and donor development.

Our vision is to introduce millions and millions of people to the joy of philanthropic giving – one gift at a time. We do it with the TisBest Charity Gift Card. If you’re reading this blog, it’s very likely that you’re a part of our vision!

We’re pleased and proud that one of the world’s centers of technological innovation – Seattle – recognizes the uniqueness and the value of what we’re doing. We’ll continue to create new ways to introduce people to the many worthy causes and tremendous organizations that exist to meet needs around the world.

Thank you for being a part of our success! (And remember to vote.)

Jon Siegel, Executive Director

The President’s Donations

2010-03-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

President Obama’s announcement that he will donate his Nobel Prize money ($1.4 million) to 10 charities is terrific news. These are important charitable organizations which will use the money well.

We’re especially pleased that of the ten charities identified by the White House, five of them are part of the TisBest Philanthropy 250 charity list. Those are: Central Asia Institute, United Negro College Fund, American Indian College Fund, The Posse Foundation, and College Summit.

That’s a pretty remarkable correlation, considering there are 1.2 million charitable organizations in the U.S.

To each of these organizations we say, “Congratulations!” You are very deserving.

Jon Siegel

Parade Magazine Survey: Americans giving generously despite recession.

2010-03-08T15:11:00.000-08:00

A story in Sunday’s Parade Magazine titled, “Compassion Counts More Than Ever,” reports that even during this economic recession, Americans are giving generously to support the causes that are important to them. In addition, Americans in large numbers are donating their time to a wide variety of worthy causes.

It’s very encouraging to see that in difficult times – when it’s easy to focus on one’s own needs and difficulties –Americans are continuing to make sacrifices to meet great needs that exist in their own communities and around the world.

Parade asked 1,008 Americans what they’d do if given $100,000 to donate to charity. Of the 16 choices, the top five were:

Food and shelter for the needy
Research to cure disease
Disaster relief
Animal welfare
5. Youth programs

These results correlate very closely to the charities selected by recipients of TisBest Charity Gift Cards.

Thank you for your continued support of TisBest Philanthropy, and the hundreds of charities we work with. This Mother’s Day, I encourage you to consider supplementing those flowers with a gift of charity. Your Mom will love you for it!

If you would like to learn more about the Parade survey, take a few moments to watch this interview with the editor of Parade and two volunteers that aired Monday on the The Morning Show on CBS:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Thanks for reading,
Jon Siegel, TisBest E.D.

And yet another earthquake

2010-03-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

Several major charities have taken flack in recent weeks for spending less than 100% of the donations they have received for Haiti relief. Yet the recent earthquake in Chile is a grim reminder that financial reserves are essential if we are to be prepared to respond to the next disaster. It appears that keeping some resources in reserve is prudent.

We tend to think that calamitous natural disasters happen every four or five years or so. At that pace, there’s time to breathe between moments of urgent financial need. But this time, we were fooled. The ninth strongest earthquake ever measured struck just weeks after Haiti received a devastating blow. Relief agencies which are already stretched and weary may need to open a second front in what feels like a war against nature.

We encourage you to continue to support the agencies and organizations that provide food, shelter, medical treatment, and other assistance during this difficult time in Haiti and Chile. It takes a steady flow of donations in the quiet times in order to be ready to jump when the next disaster strikes.

Thank you for your selfless support.
Jon Siegel

Image credit: www.cmalliance.org

Featured Charity: Best Friends Animal Society

2009-12-30T15:29:00.000-08:00

I was reminded of the great work of Best Friends Animal Society while looking for a charity to recommend to my 10-year-old niece. My wife and I bought her a TisBest card for Christmas and wanted to give her a starting point for her search. I thought of her passion for helping animals as I read about the group of animal lovers who founded Best Friends as a small animal sanctuary 25 years ago. Their pilot program rescuing dogs and cats on their way to "E-Day" (euthanasia) led them to build a haven for animals at Angel Canyon in Southern Utah. Today, their 33,000-acre ranch is the nation's largest animal sanctuary for homeless animals.

On any given day, the sanctuary houses about 2,000 dogs, cats, horses, burros, birds, rabbits, and an assortment of other creatures. Most of the animals have special physical or behavioral needs. Through the care of Best Friends' veterinarians, trainers, and caregivers, most of these animals - approximately three out of four - are able to go to good homes after just a few weeks. Animals who are unable to be adopted because of major trauma, age, or chronic illness find a permanent home at the sanctuary.

Best Friends Animal Society has been a leader in the "No More Homeless Pets" campaign: a spay/neuter, adoption, and public awareness program to bring an end to the killing of homeless animals in shelters. They have partnered with organizations across the nation to provide assistance and training to groups looking to create "no-kill" communities. And they are seeing results. According to the website www.utahpets.org, the number of animals euthanized in Utah shelters since 1999 has decreased by 30%.

Best Friends provides a whole host of other services including adoption, spay/neuter, and educational programs; the Best Friends Network; and Best Friends, the nation's largest-interest animal magazine. I encourage you to hop, trot, prance, or strut over to the Best Friends website (www.bestfriends.org) where you'll find incredibly cute pictures of the animals they work with and important information on their work.

We at TisBest congratulate Best Friends Animal Society on 25 years of building a better world through kindness to animals.

Chad Edwards
Charity & Community Relations Manager

Erik Marks, TisBest Founder, Honored as a Seattle Executive Recruiting 40 Over 40

2009-12-15T16:28:00.000-08:00

Last week, TisBest founder, Erik Marks, was honored by Seattle Executive Recruiting as one of the 40 people they "admire for their influence and accomplishments and who have emerged from their experiences with integrity, style, and gravitas," over the age of 40 years old.

The team here at TisBest was ecstatic to see Erik honored with this much deserved award. You can read Gina Peckman's full article and interview with Erik below or click here to be redirected to the original article. Congrats Erik!

TisBest Founder, Erik Marks, Joins 40 Over 40
by Gina Peckman

I had the pleasure of interviewing Erik Marks as our newest member of our 40 over 40 group. It has been an honor getting to know the founder of such a great social enterprise as TisBest. He was a pleasure to speak with, and I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know him as I did.

Erik is a social entrepreneur, who founded TisBest Philanthropy and the TisBest Charity Gift Card — www.tisbest.org— a very timely and useful resource for gifts this time of year. . He is a member of Social Venture Partners, volunteers at his local Union Gospel Mission and supports the Nature Conservancy and Sierra Club.

Erik also serves as general counsel at EDG Commercial Real Estate, a medical real estate services firm.Prior to that, he was a business transactions attorney at Cairncross & Hempelmann and Perkins Coie. He graduated with highest honors from Williams College (Philosophy) and Harvard Law School, and is married living with his wife, 2 stepdaughters, 2 cats and a volatile quantity of fish in West Seattle.

How did you earn your first dollar?
My sister and I ran a lemonade stand. It was a great little business at a dime a cup, until our wholesale supplier (Mom) started invoicing us. Our mom wanted us to learn lessons about business, and we did. Among other things we learned that when marginal income decreases, hours worked also decrease.

What do you appreciate about being over 40?
I think the best thing is a changing perspective on time. I am more willing to take on long term projects. When I was 34, I decided to leave my career as a lawyer. At the time I gave myself 3 years to try out something new. Well, I am still trying something new 8 years later! I have made this interesting and counterintuitive observation: a 70 year old person is more likely to take on a 50-year project than is a 20 year old person.

What or who inspired you to get where you are today?
I had a couple of friends who started very small and grew their own businesses - Chris Martin at CleanScapes and Scott Shapiro at Eagle Rock Ventures. They both worked at large and respected organizations and then made a conscious choice to work for themselves instead. When I made the decision to leave the law practice, these friends counseled me not to just find a “job” but to do what I was passionate about. Today I am thrilled to have spent my time creating and nurturing the TisBest Charity Gift card concept.

What advice do you have for the under 40 crowd?
Opportunities are like investments - they both grow at a compound rate. We all know what that means for money - life is finite, so invest early. Opportunities follow the same growth curve. If you want to pursue something in your professional life, get started early so that the opportunities in your new field have an opportunity to grow. If you are in a career path that you want to change, change now so that you can start creating opportunities in your new professional field. Waiting to change careers has a major cost because opportunity follows a compound growth curve.

What are you passionate about?
Surfing and fishing. But you probably want a “serious answer.” I get pretty wound up about internal consistency in our legal and moral systems. An example would the state lottery. Supposedly the State regulates gambling because it is not good for people (like illegal drugs and prostitution). And at the same time the State runs the lottery - and not only that the State has now started ADVERTISING the lottery, and the message in the advertising focuses on the value of the winnings!!!! This makes me sick - the government is on the one hand saying that gambling is bad and regulating casinos and on the other hand the government is running its own lottery and ENCOURAGING people to participate. Yea, that gets me passionate.

How do you balance work and life?
Still trying to figure that out! I will go to my grave trying to figure that out! The best avenue is a continuum between your personal life and your work life, combining the two.

What other career would you like to try?
Navy Seal.

What other person would you like to meet – living or dead?
President Obama – he is intellectually and political honest. Rare in a politician.

What superpower do you want?
The ability to remain calm at all times.

Favorite books?
Anything by Hemingway or Steinbeck. I have read For Whom the Bell Tolls at least four times. And East of Eden is a great book - it teaches you to not complain about your life. The closing scene puts tears in my eyes just to think about it.

Guilty pleasure?
My gas guzzling camping truck -12 miles to the gallon is pretty hard to justify, so I try to use it only when a regular car will not work. It is set up so I can drive out on any river bar and have everything I need to camp right there with me.

What is your favorite quote?
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
—Teddy Roosevelt

Published by Gina Peckman

Charity Gift Cards Changing Giving? We Think So...

2009-12-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

Want to know more about why TisBest exists and why it matters? Read Erik Marks' thoughts on the topic in Kristi Heim's article in The Seattle Times entitled "Q&A with TisBest Founder on Charity Gift Cards." Read the full article here: http://ow.ly/Lirw.

Erik addresses many of the common questions surrounding TisBest and the Charity Gift Card category including:

Why are charity gift cards better than direct donations?
TisBest has less than 300 charities to choose from, why not thousands or millions?
How does TisBest find organizations for the list?
What is the $1.95 transaction fee for?

One of my favorite responses is Erik's answer to the question, "How are commercial products like charity gift cards changing philanthropy?" He talks about the "democratization" of philanthropy that allows individual donors to have a greater direct impact on the causes they believe in. Plus, he says, "It's making philanthropy more fun and more accessible to more people."

The article reminded me of a great TED.com talk by Katherine Fulton entitled "You are the future of Philanthropy." If you have 12 minutes to spare, it's worth seeing:

TED plug: TED.com is a fascinating website with hundreds of riveting talks from leading thinkers and inspiring world changers.

Thanks for reading and giving a better world,

Chad Edwards

Charity and Community Relations Manager

www.tisbest.org

We are in outstanding company according to TheStreet.com

2009-12-11T11:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, TheStreet.com named its list of the Five Best Gift Cards in the United States. The best gift cards, by category, are:

Category-Best Gift Card
Retail: Costco
Online: Amazon.com
Bank: American Express
Restaurant: Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Capital Grille)
Charity: TisBest Charity Gift Cards

We’re pleased to be included in such outstanding company. After all, this is only our third holiday season in operation. In that short time we’ve not only been instrumental in creating an entirely new category (charity gift cards) but we’ve been identified by TheStreet.com as being the best in class.

Our dream of replacing gifts of “more stuff” with gifts of “more meaning” is really taking root. We have seen a tremendous increase in demand for our charity gift cards each year – we are tracking at 2.5x as many cards this year over last – and we have every reason to believe that growth will continue for years to come. That bodes well for the charities we support, for the landfills that don’t fill quite as quickly, and for all the important causes that are funded.

Best wishes during this wonderful holiday season,
Jon Siegel, executive director
www.tisbest.org

'Tis the Elves That Make The Cards

2009-12-10T15:43:00.001-08:00

People often ask how TisBest produces and sends out hundreds or thousands of charity gift cards each day - each with a different image and code - and each packaged in a greeting card with a unique and personal message. (Our error rate is less than 0.1%)

The answer is elves hard at work.

Seriously though, we do it with hard work, attention to detail and a really cool technology system that we developed. We work in a loft space that Jim Phillips (on our Board of Directors and President at Berschauer Phillips Construction Company) provides to TisBest Philanthropy without charge. Thank you Jim!

The photo above shows our core year-around TisBest team. From left to right are: Erik Marks, Chad Edwards, Breanna Edwards and Jon Siegel. Chad and Breanna are not related - it’s just a really random coincidence that they have the same last name. During the holidays we expand our team a bit, and everyone works around the clock to get the right cards into the right envelopes and ship everything on time. In fact, at this point we have gotten so efficient that about 50% of the Charity Gift Cards ordered are shipping on the same day they are ordered!

If you are one of the wonderful people who have already ordered your TisBest Charity Gift Cards, Thank You! If you haven’t ordered yours yet, what are you waiting for?

Featured Charity: Operation Smile

2009-11-28T13:01:00.001-08:00

A good friend of mine had twin boys several years ago. Both were good-looking and healthy with one exception: one of the boys had a cleft lip and pallet. A cleft is an opening in the lip, the roof of the mouth or the soft tissue in the back of the mouth. This little guy had all three. It is painful look at and, if untreated, has life-long consequences. Surgery provides excellent results but many of the 200,000+ children born each year with a severe cleft condition live in areas where their parents can’t afford to give them this essential surgery.

Operation Smile touches many of these lives directly by providing free surgeries to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities for children around the globe. And they address a big problem since clefting occurs in approximately 1 per 500-700 births, the ratio varying considerably across geographic areas and ethnic groupings.

Looking through the “before” pictures of these children, it’s easy to imagine the consequences if untreated. Ear disease and dental problems occur frequently, as do problems with proper speech development. Children may have difficulty eating, speaking, socializing, and simply smiling. A child’s very life and livelihood are threatened. They are shunned and rejected. They need help.

Operation Smile is able to perform a 45 minute cleft lip surgery for only $240, saving these innocent children from a lifetime of shame. The Organization has more than 4,000 credentialed medical volunteers who have performed over 135,000 surgeries since 1982.

Operation Smile also conducts international training programs which empower their partner countries to treat more children on their own. They support medical diplomacy and research to find the root cause of clefting.

I believe in the work of Operation Smile-I’ve seen the impact of this condition first hand. My friend’s son endured three difficult surgeries before he was 18 months old. Though these surgeries are tough for both family and child, it’s difficult to imagine what life would have been like without it. We at TisBest support Operation Smile’s work in making this dream a reality for children around the globe.

Chad Edwards
Manager, Charity and Community Relations

TisBest Philanthropy
www.tisbest.org

Black Friday Recap

2009-11-28T11:37:00.000-08:00

While this is not normally a news site, we’re happy to report that no one was trampled to death during yesterday’s “Black Friday” shopping excesses. Your intrepid TisBest reporters dutifully scoured the newspapers and online sites for pictures of boot prints on faces and blood-drenched T-shirts at Macy’s, but no, there were none to be found. Nobody’s life was squeezed out of them in the pursuit of this year’s ‘gotta-have-it’ electronic item, this month’s “can’t-live-without-it” plush toy, or the decade’s only “shoes-to-die-for.” Perhaps some dignity was lost, but gratefully, not a life.
There was, however, reported shoving, jostling, bumping and pushing at malls and shopping outlets around the country as people queued up to purchase the PERFECT GIFTS that recipients will enjoy for several minutes before pushing them to the bottom of their sock drawers or exiling them to that special storage place in the garage.
DOOT –DOOT - DOOT – DOOT - DOOT
Newsflash
Police say a Wal-mart store in California was closed for several hours before dawn after some Black Friday shoppers began fighting over bargain merchandise. Police herded customers into a parking lot until small groups were released for shopping.
Meanwhile, charities across the U.S. reported zero arrests due to assaults among charity gift card shoppers.

Kiva Is Not A Four-Letter Word

2009-11-10T14:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in the New York Times was an article about Kiva and its lending practices. NYT: The Fiction of Kiva's Loans. Kiva is famous for making direct connection between ordinary citizens and recipients of microloans. If I have $30, for example, I can search on Kiva for a needy entrepreneur who can use my $30 to expand her llama wool hat line. However, the article points out that when I make that loan on Kiva to “Maria,” it is not the case that “Maria” actually receives my money; and in fact it is not even the case that “Maria” receives any money at all from Kiva. This is nothing new - it is how Kiva always worked - but after the gig on Oprah, Kiva was so popular that no one wanted to see the truth of it.

Kiva actually runs a great program and raises a lot of money for microfinance. I think Kiva deserves admiration for personalizing the connection between donor and recipient. The personalized philanthropy run by Kiva is good for introducing people to philanthropy. And I hope that donors introduced by Kiva will eventually graduate from Kiva’s personalized direct philanthropy to a more mature organizational-level philanthropy.

Children start out with fairy tales and imaginary friends in order to make sense of the world; later in life the children mature, and while the fairy tales and imaginary friends continue as metaphors for the world, the world itself becomes that which is lived in and understood. Similarly, Kiva provides a fictional connection between giving and creating change in the world. With Kiva, donors can see, feel and appreciate the impact of their giving. But when Kiva donors are ready to mature in their philanthropy, it is time to move beyond the fiction of giving to “Maria” and to give in general - to organizations - based on the leadership, track record and vision of the organizations. Paul Shoemaker makes the point for organizational-level-support well in this post on the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Kiva should not be criticized because its loans are fictional. The fictional loans of Kiva are good, just as children’s fairy tales are good. Many donors introduced to philanthropy through Kiva will mature and become real philanthropists, supporting the organizations that work hard every day to build a better world. Let’s celebrate Kiva for what it is - a good and powerful portal to philanthropy.

Erik Marks
Founder, TisBest Philanthropy
www.TisBest.org

Featured Charity: Covenant House

2009-11-03T13:01:00.000-08:00

It has been far too long since our last "Spotlight" post, especially considering the caliber of the 250 National Charities and the list of amazing local charities that is growing daily from across the nation!

We are starting a new series and are really excited to kick it off with a post about the work of one of our national partners: Covenant House.

Covenant House reaches out to a population that, here in Seattle, we most often see in abandoned doorways. Dirty, slumped, sad, cold, wet. And young, really young. They should be playing, learning, figuring out their future, figuring out the world. But they're not. Who knows the reason. Who cares the reason. They are not culpable for being there. They need help.

Covenant House steps up and helps. They focus on homeless kids. They give the kids an ear to talk to, a warm room, a meal, space to think things through. The stories on their website will bring tears to your eyes:

o I'm tired, I'm so tired. I never thought in a million years that this was the way my life was going to be.

o I told my mom we'd still make it, and I took care of her. I stopped going to school so I could help her. I did my best. But it wasn’t enough.

o All I was looking for was a bed, but I found a haven. Covenant House is different than other shelters. It’s like a home. There are lots of ‘parents’ here….

Here is one such story: at 16 years old, Matt had been beaten senseless by a gang, was in trouble with the law, and trying to recover from a 3 month coma induced by the beating. He found Covenant House and was transformed. Today he volunteers to help other kids: “The kids sit there and listen to me, and shake my hand. I’m doing God’s job. That’s the best I could do in life, to give the message of hope to other kids.”

Covenant House runs multiple programs in cities across the US - a crisis hotline, shelters, transitional housing, jobs training - and the Outreach Van, a program that reaches out and offers help where the kids need it, right on the street. Volunteers look for homeless kids, give them a sandwich, offer to talk. It’s so simple and it is exactly what that cold, hungry and scared 15 year old kid needs.

We at TisBest Philanthropy heartily applaud Covenant House for their work and hope you will too. If you give them $20, that can hand out 20 sandwiches to kids on the street. That sandwich is the first step a kid needs to reach shelter, counseling, a future, and maybe even an M.D. like “Joe” did. Simple and high impact. Thank you Covenant House for your work!

-Erik and Chad

Remembering What Is Important About Gift Giving

2009-10-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

As we go through our lives, we often forget the reasons we give in the first place. Jon and I thought it would be fun to chat with you about what we think is important about gift giving. We hope you enjoy the video!

What is important to you about gift giving? We'd love your thoughts!

-Erik

Our First Homemade Video: Why Charity Gift Cards?

2009-10-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

Erik and I wanted to introduce ourselves to you all in person, and at the same time to tell you a little bit about why we do what we do.

Here's a little video we made with Re-Vision Labs - enjoy!

(And hey, if you like the video, would you please share it with your friends and families? We're hoping to really spread the idea of charity gift giving this holiday season. Thank you!!)

-Jon

"I'll bet he doesn't have one of these!"

2009-10-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

I saw this truck in the nearby Goodwill parking lot today and I couldn't help myself. I had to take a picture. It struck me as a reminder of just how much stuff we tend to collect. Our family is desperately trying to de-stuffify, but it's a difficult job. We've got excess stuff jammed in every closet, in every nook and cranny, on every garage shelf, and even under a bed or two. And that's after giving bag after bag of stuff to the Goodwill.

One of my favorite items got unearthed a couple of weekends ago as my wife was rearranging a kitchen cabinet. She found a double beer can upright chicken cooker that I received as a birthday present from my younger brother. It was a wonderful gesture, but, sorry Tom, it just isn't gonna get used again. I know what he was thinking: "I'll bet he doesn't have one of these!" Right you are. I didn't. And now I don't once again.

Spotlight on American Indian College Fund

2009-09-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

The American Indian College Fund (AICF) provides scholarships and other support for American Indian students and tribal colleges. Tribal colleges, the vast majority of which are located on or near reservations, provide opportunity and access to post-secondary education. Offering accredited degrees while keeping Indian culture and tradition at the heart of their curricula, tribal colleges are changing the face of Indian education, one graduate at a time.
The typical AICF student is anything but typical – at least when compared to the populations of most undergraduate colleges or universities. In fact, ninety-one percent of Fund scholarship recipients are "non-traditional" students— they have dependents, are older than 24, work full-time—or a combination of these characteristics.
Shirley Holds the Enemy is a case in point. Raised by her grandparents on the Crow Indian Reservation, Shirley married young and had three children. She struggled in an abusive relationship involving alcohol. The deaths of her grandparents were difficult events for her.
When she turned 30, Shirley says she realized she had to be strong because she has no one else to depend upon. “I am a strong woman who is responsible and has gained independence for myself and for my children…now that my oldest daughter is 14 years old, I believe that I should become a positive role model for her in pursuing my education,” Shirley says.
Shirley is attending Little Big Horn College, where she is studying pre-nursing, and plans to transfer to Salish Kootenai College to earn her bachelor’s degree. Shirley has proven that anything is possible at any stage of life if you are committed to yourself, your family, and your dreams.
The Fund disburses approximately 5,000 scholarships annually for American Indian students seeking to better their lives through continued education. As part of its support of the tribal colleges, the Fund also provides support for other needs at the schools ranging from capital support to cultural preservation activities. There are now more than 30 tribal colleges located in 13 states and serving more than 250 American Indian Nations from every geographic region in the United States.

Better Business Bureau recognizes TisBest Philanthropy

2009-09-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

TisBest Philanthropy has been granted Accredited Charity status by the Better Business Bureau. To receive this status, TisBest had to meet the BBB’s 20 Standards of Charity Accountability. Frankly, it was a surprisingly rigorous process. But that’s good news for those of you who are concerned about where your charitable dollars are going . . . and hopefully that’s everybody who ever makes a charitable donation. Not every non-profit organization that applies for this recognition receives it. It requires strict adherence to a set of standards that take considerable effort to meet. But to get the BBB’s “stamp of approval” . . . well, it’s worth it. And if it means greater peace of mind for the many people who give and receive TisBest Charity Gift Cards, we’re thrilled.
Jon Siegel
Executive Director

Spotlight on National Hospice Foundation

2009-09-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

“The National Hospice Foundation envisions a world where everyone facing serious illness, death, and grief will experience the best that humankind can offer.” For 17 years, NHF has been offering support to those facing serious illness and death.

The National Hospice Foundation seeks to increase the quality of hospice care as well as educate Americans on the benefits of hospice. NHF has helped many people come to realize that hospice is not a scary thing.

Tammy Frye learned about hospice when her grandmother needed the kind of care that hospice provides. Tammy wrote, “This is now what hospice means to me:

Having
Only
Special
People
In
Caring
Environments

“My life has been changed by this experience,” Tammy said, “and I am going to look for ways to volunteer time to help those other special people feel love before they go.” The NHF helped Tammy gain this understanding and gave her grandmother the comfort that she needed and deserved.

Hospice is defined as, “Care to people in the final phase of a terminal illness and focus on comfort and quality of life, rather than cure. The goal of hospice care is to enable patients to be comfortable and free of pain, so that they live each day as fully as possible.” The importance of hospice is well stated by Kraemer Sims Becker when she explains why she made a donation to NHF. Kraemer says, “The hospice component was very important because the end point is so much larger than anyone can deal with by themselves. Hospice provides comfort and support to families during a critical, emotional time.”

The National Hospice Foundation has made a significant difference in the world of hospice. I think Tammy Frye says it best when she states, “Thank you so much for this wonderful organization (NHF) - I will never, ever be scared of the word hospice again.”

TisBest is very excited to be supporting this great cause through its charity gift card program.

- Breanna Edwards

The HSUS Fights Dogfighting

2009-08-10T16:03:00.000-07:00

Dogfighting has received a great deal of attention since the arrest and conviction of National Football League player Michael Vick. High profile cases such as Vick’s bring more attention to problems that have existed, but often go unnoticed by many. The Humane Society of the United States ( The HSUS) is one of the organizations taking a prominent position in eliminating dog fighting in the U.S. One pledge Mr. Vick must fulfill in order to continue his transition back to the NFL is to work with The HSUS on community-based programs to reach at-risk youth about steering clear of dogfighting. You can read more about the work being done by The HSUS on their Animal Cruelty & Fighting website. We agree with Benjamin Franklin that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and we applaud the efforts of The HSUS.
Jon Siegel, Executive Director

Young Women's Leadership Network

2009-07-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

Today we begin a series of posts that celebrate the work of the TisBest 250 Charities, as chosen by our staff.

Young Women's Leadership Network

The YWL Network is at the forefront of the nation’s school reform movement and is one of the most important forces in creating choice for students in urban public school systems.

We partner with school districts, parents and community leaders to create single-gender public schools and college access programs across the country. We are in the business of raising expectations, improving student performance, and inspiring leadership.

Since 1996, we have been opening girls’ public schools that offer single-gender college prep education to inner city students. Our first school, which made history and headlines, is the highly renowned and successful Young Women’s Leadership School of East Harlem in New York City. All of our schools are available to ordinary students who have a desire to achieve.

YWL Network believes that every student deserves the opportunity to build a strong foundation for his or her future. Our vision is to create first rate schools and programs that enable students to reach their fullest potential.

We are the creators of a network of all-girls' public schools and CollegeBound Initiative – a school-based college counseling service. The primary role of YWL Network is to build partnerships and support programs that enhance the educational experience of students.

More on Young Women's Leadership Network

TisBest Philanthropy is a 501c3 charity. Our purpose is to create and promote gifts of charity rather than gifts of "stuff." We operate www.TisBest.org, from which TisBest Charity Gift Cards may be purchased. Our Charity Gift Cards are fully customizable and elegant gifts that come from the heart, not the store.

2009-07-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

JUMPING CRACKER BEANS TEAMS WITH TISBEST

TO INTRODUCE NEW GREETING CARDS THAT BENEFIT CHARITIES

San Jose, California, July 28, 2009 – At a time when charitable giving levels have dipped precipitously along with the economy, international Card of the Year winner Jumping Cracker Beans, LLC is teaming with TisBest Philanthropy to make it easy to give a one dollar donation whenever you send a holiday, birthday, thank you or all occasion greeting card. Each greeting card in this new 12-design collection comes printed on textured, core-dyed card stock with an elegant iridescent envelope, and features a one dollar TisBest charity gift card. Card recipients simply go to the TisBest website, www.TisBest.org, and select one of more than 250 charitable organizations to receive their one dollar donation.

Charitable organizations on the TisBest website include such mainstays of charitable giving as the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanities, UNICEF, Sierra Club, Doctors Without Borders, PBS, and the American Heart Association, as well as numerous other well-known and less well-known organizations working to make a better world.

Many charities can put a single dollar to good use for generic medicines, nails for shelters, food and other basic needs. At the American Humane Association, for example, a single dollar donation can feed a starving, abandoned pet for a day, provide a daily dose of antibiotics to an abused, suffering animal, or supply bandages for a pet hurt in a natural disaster.

Cumulatively, such single dollar donations can add up to create significant support for charitable organizations. One of the new Jumping Cracker Beans charity donation greeting cards features a charity gift card with the image of a drop of water magnifying the tiny veins of a leaf. As the card’s message says: “a single drop …amazing…and with enough you can fill an ocean.”

Jumping Cracker Beans greeting cards are handmade in the U.S. by Goodwill, and all, including these new charity donation greeting cards, retail for $4.95. See them online at www.jumpingcrackerbeans.com, or request a printed wholesale catalog at info@jumpingcrackerbeans.com; or by phone: 408.416.1676; or toll free fax: 866-723-9092.

Thoughts on Memorial Day

2009-05-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid growing up in the 60s in a tiny town in the Midwest, Memorial Day (we called it Decoration Day then) was a very big deal. Schools were out, of course, and practically the whole town turned out for the parade and speeches in the city park, and the inevitable reading of “In Flanders Fields.” Stores were closed. It wasn’t a day for sales and sidewalk spectaculars. You couldn’t even buy a carton of milk. Nobody thought of it as a vacation day.

It was common to see tears on many cheeks. Several had lost husbands or brothers or cousins in World War II or Korea. Some of the older ones had experienced the losses of World War I. My mother had a difficult time: my oldest brother was in Viet Nam during one of those Decoration Days. My dad, a decorated World War II Marine veteran, had much to remember. He’d seen the horrors of battle up close and been fortunate enough to survive his injuries.

Today, fewer of us Americans are personally touched by war. At no time in our nation’s history has a smaller percentage of Americans lost their lives in armed conflict. I think that’s why many of us don’t give Memorial Day the attention it used to get. Please understand: I’m not implying that war and its results today are less tragic or horrific than they used to be. I’m merely making a statistical observation. Most of us don’t know anybody personally who has died in combat.

That was hardly the case in the beginning. When Decoration Day was first observed just a few years after the conclusion of the Civil War, nearly everybody had lost either a family member or a close friend in the war. In that four year war, 620,000 soldiers were killed, and in a nation of only 31.4 million people. Not wounded or made homeless. Killed. There was indeed much to memorialize, and much to heal.

The vast majority of us today don’t have the same kind of memories as did the families who experienced the Civil War, the World Wars, or even the Vietnam War. But that doesn’t mean we should forget about the needs of the people who serve our country now or who served in the past.

Perhaps we can observe Memorial Day somewhat differently today. I encourage you to check out two of the charitable organizations supported by TisBest Philanthropy. The Paralyzed Veterans of America (www.SupportVeterans.org) provides Veterans suffering spinal cord injuries with advocacy, legal services, healthcare access and recreational activities. Soldiers’ Angels (www.SoldiersAngels.org) provides care packages, outreach and other comfort to active soldiers and military families. Perhaps we can remember and honor our nation’s fallen soldiers by helping today’ soldiers and veterans.

I trust that you’ll have a memorable weekend; and I hope you’ll take the time to reflect on the sacrifices made by so many in the service of this remarkable country.

Jon Siegel, Executive Director
TisBest Philanthropy

Pluck: a wheelchair in the slush

2008-12-19T09:39:00.001-08:00

This past week has brought a lot of snow and cold weather to Seattle. The main downtown streets are empty of the usual cars and pedestrians. But our TisBest office is on the edge of downtown and near some of the shelters and so it is a different scene entirely. As I drove home on Friday through the dark slushy streets of Pioneer Square I had to slow down for a while because the traffic lane was occupied by a man in a wheelchair, doing his best to move along with the use of two arms and one leg. As I crept along behind I realized what was going on - the sidewalks were covered in ice and although the street had 5" of dirty slush, the street was better than the ice for a wheelchair. I don't know where this man came from or where he was going, but he was getting along, taking care of himself and doing what was necessary under adverse conditions. Last night I finished reading The Sea Wolf by Jack London - a story about Humphrey Van Weyden, a physically unfit intellectual coming to terms with the demanding physical conditions of the arctic ocean and then extricating himself from it. This morning I read in the news about Yann Elies, a singlehanded sailor who is in the Southern Ocean right now with a broken femur, waiting for rescue which is 5 days away and struggling to move 6' across his boat so as to access his store of morphine. And as I walked around in the business district last week I saw that people were staying home because it was cold and there was snow on the ground. I applaud the man in the wheelchair, Humphry and Yann. And I applaud everyone else who is out there making a go of it in the world, not looking for a bailout and offering a hand to others where they can. The word for this is 'pluck.' Pluck: the trait of showing courage and determination in spite of possible loss or injury. America and Americans used to have a lot of pluck. If America is going to be great again, each of us and all of us need to find our pluck. Charity is a very good thing, but the beneficiaries of charity must also, truly and honestly and with integrity, try help themselves with all of the pluck they can gather.

How do you choose TisBest charities?

2008-12-10T17:08:00.000-08:00

I am frequently asked "How do you choose TisBest charities?" There is never an easy answer to this question, but I wanted to share a recent email exchange that provides some interesting insight to that question as well as fodder for thought:

To: TisBest
From: "John Smith"

Hello! I have just become aware of TisBest Philanthropy and think it's fantastic! However, I'm disappointed that you include the Boy Scouts of America on your charity list. As you undoubtedly know, the Boy Scouts of America blatantly and outrightly discriminates against gays. For that reason, I would respectfully request that you reconsider including them on your list. To be honest, I'm not sure I'll use your organization until I know that this discriminatory and hateful group is not on your list. I had planned on using the giftcard idea for my holiday and birthday shopping on a forward-going basis. I appreciate your attention to my email.

***************

To: John Smith
From: TisBest

Hi John, Thank you for taking the time to write.

I will tell you an interesting story. We added 21 new charities to our list this fall and one of them was GLAAD, which provides a variety of support to the gay and lesbian communities, as you may know.

In response to our notice about adding the 21 new charities, I received an email from a woman who was irate that we had added GLAAD – it was entirely counter to her value system and she swore she would never give a TisBest Charity Gift Card again. I explained to her my theory on our list of charities. My goal is to be inclusive and to include a charity for most major interest groups so that everyone who receives a gift card will find something on the list for them. It was pointed out to us that we did not have a charity focusing on issues related to the gay and lesbian community and so we added GLAAD. My explanation was adequate for her and she decided that she would in fact continue to send our cards as gifts! I was pleased.

Now, you write from precisely the opposite perspective. I say to you what I said to her - we do not judge the substance of the charities on our list. We just try to be inclusive of all interest groups. And in the course of that, there are organizations on the list that anyone who is a strong thinker may disagree with. For me this is what makes America great – we have this amazing free expression of ideas and goals in a larger community.

TisBest does not stand for one or another goal of the charities on our list. We stand for the proposition that if all of America spent a little less money on material consumption, and a little more on trying to make the world a better place – whatever that means to them – then we would be a stronger nation for it.

Sincerely,
Erik Marks
Executive Director
TisBest Philanthropy

*************

To: TisBest
From: John Smith

Interesting perspective, Erik, and thank you for your prompt and thoughtful response. However, there is a big difference in the GLAAD woman's complaint and mine. Her complaint was based on GLAAD's mission running counter to her belief system: she simply doesn't believe gays and lesbians should not be portrayed positively in the media (I am a big supporter of GLAAD). My complaint is not necessarily based on the fact that BSA's mission is counter to my "value system." In fact, I was in the Boy Scouts for many years. My criticism is based on the fact that BSA blatantly discriminates against gay people, which in many states, including in Washington, is just illegal. If your goal is to simply be inclusive and find something for everyone, why wouldn't you include the KKK on your list?

Your mission is admirable and important. Yes, philanthropy is intended to better the world, but some philanthropies try to do so in the wrong way. Philanthropies that carry on their mission in discriminatory ways, such as BSA, are, in my opinion, not worth supporting. I'm not asking you to choose between me and the GLAAD woman, but perhaps you might consider reevaluating your criteria for including groups on your charity list to only include charities that do not discriminate in any manner whatsoever.

*****************

To: John Smith
From: TisBest

John, Your point is a good one. I agree with you that the two perspectives are fundamentally different. With GLAAD it is a focus on the mission of the organization. With BSA you are looking at how the organization operates, and not its mission.

I fear that engaging in an analysis of either mission, or operation, would be a slippery slope for us. Another organization we have been criticized for is PETA. The purebred dog owners associations got wind that we had PETA on our list and inundated us with email criticizing us for it. They did not have a specific complaint about PETA but a wide array of complaints, with the underlying motive presumably being that PETA was opposed to all breeding operations. But in the course of their email they criticized PETA for engaging in euthanasia, for releasing zoo animals, for terrorizing research laboratories, etc. Those activities are allegedly part of PETA’s operations. Probably some or all of those activities are illegal.

America has a long tradition of free speech through activities that are at times illegal. The Boston Tea Party was illegal. Freeing slaves was illegal. The civil rights rallies were illegal. TisBest is neither capable of, nor entitled to, stand in judgment of whether or not nonprofit organization acts illegally, and if so, whether not that illegal activity is justified by the intended goals. We choose organizations that operate with internal integrity towards the beliefs of their members. We do not judge the moral quality or legal compliance of the organization’s mission or operations in advancement of that mission.

So why not the KKK? A fair question. The easy answer is that they are not a 501c3. But that is too easy. What if they were? We would not put them on the list of TisBest Charities because their substantive mission, as well as their operations, are supported by a tiny minority, and are criticized by a vast majority. In short, their mission is not supported by a critical mass of supporters, when looking at the country as a whole.

I hope you see that my focus in this regard is towards inclusion – precisely the goal you espouse. Our goal is that the voices and opinions of all of America’s diversity may be represented on our list of Charities.

Tis The Season

2008-11-25T17:02:00.000-08:00

With the world economy in turmoil and a high-level of uncertainty in our professional lives, this holiday season is a great time to remember what we are actually celebrating.

Often around this time of year, it is common to hear people say that we should limit or even forgo giving gifts and instead, focus our attention on family and our loved ones. This they say is much more in tune with what the Christmas, Hanukkah, and holiday season is all about. At TisBest, we think this is a good start, but only half the picture.

As consumer spending drops and household budgets become tighter in this economic atmosphere, the world’s charities are finding it exceedingly difficult to meet the needs of those they serve. Food banks are nearly empty, pledges are down from years past, and our focus is being increasingly narrowed on our own needs. As disappointing as this is to hear, we know that now more than ever, every dollar we give and everything we do is going to make a big impact.

To round off the above picture for this holiday season, we think that giving intentionally is the way to go. This could mean giving our family something they truly need, or giving them the means to make an impact in the lives of those much less fortunate. A TisBest charity gift card is the perfect first step for this, as it includes both the gift giver and receiver in the act of giving.

We also suggest you take a look at our friends at Celebrate Green for other intentional gifts that are good for keeping the focus on what’s important.

Happy Holidays!

21 New Charities for TisBest

2008-10-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

We received hundreds of charity nominations over the past year. Here is the list of 21 that we just added to TisBest, and our thoughts about each.

If you want to nominate a charity for TisBest, please send email to charitymanager@tisbest.org. We review the nominations each summer and we add new charities in the fall. We look for charities that have revenues over $3 million and demonstrated widespread endorsement, fiscal responsibility, ingenuity and success within their areas of operation.

Name, Address, Website	Statement of Purpose	Why We Chose Them
American Humane Association 63 Inverness Drive East Englewood, CO 80112 www.americanhumane.org	Protecting children and animals from abuse and neglect since 1877.	We heard from a lot of people about American Humane Association. American Humane Association was founded in 1877 and is unique in that its constituency includes both animals and children. In general American Human tries to ensure that humans do not subject powerless living things to neglect or abuse. American Human maintains an office in Los Angeles and among other duties provides oversight to ensure animals are not abused in the entertainment industry, including guidelines, set inspections, etc.
American Jewish World Service 45 West 36^th Street New York, NY 10018 www.ajws.org	Inspiring Jews to become global citizens by drawing on Judaism’s religious and cultural traditions to inspire a more just world, both within and outside the Jewish community.	TisBest featured a good number of Christian aid organizations, but we really did not have good representatives for Jewish Aid Organizations. American Jewish World Service is a standout and widely recognized as responsible, effective and well run.
American Refugee Committee International 430 Oak Grove Street Suite 204 Minneapolis, MN 55403 www.arcrelief.org	Helping refugees of war and conflict survive and rebuild their lives.	Perhaps there is no one more indisputably deserving of charitable aid than refugees – typically women and children – fleeing war, violence, drought or other calamity. We chose ARC because it has a solid track record of helping refugees, both with handouts and with guidance towards rebuilding a life of dignity.
American Rivers 1101 14^th Street NW Suite 1400 Washington, DC 20005 www.americanrivers.org	Fighting for healthy rivers from Maine to California.	We feature a good number of general environmental organizations, but for some people rivers are the spiritual center of the universe. You know those people – sun-wrinkled faces, teva tan lines on their feet, kayaks on top of the Subaru and a big smile on their faces. We added American Rivers for them. American Rivers is the only national organization dedicated to rivers.
Ashoka 1700 N. Moore St, St 2000 Arlington, VA 22209 www.ashoka.org	Supporting "social entrepreneurs", towards a world where everyone is a changemaker with the freedom, confidence and societal support to address any social problem and drive change.	Ashoka supports social entrepreneurs and TisBest is a social entrepreneur. The connection is easy to see. Check out the various arenas that Ashoka affiliates have succeeded in– it is quite amazing really. Ashoka also has a subsidiary organization called Youth Venture – and the kids in Youth Venture uses TisBest Charity Gift Cards for fundraising.
Catholic Relief Services 228 W. Lexington St. Baltimore, MD 21201-3413 www.crs.org	Alleviating human suffering, ensuring dignity and strengthening local organizations through programs in agriculture, HIV/AIDS, health, education, peace building, civil rights and micro-finance.	If you are Catholic, or even if you are not, this organization is impressive in the reach and delivery of mission services. CRS spent over a half billion dollars in 2007, supporting programs in more than 100 countries, towards the Catholic ideal of supporting the poor and suffering of the world.
Direct Relief International 27 S. La Patera Lane Santa Barbara, CA 93117 www.directrelief.org	Delivering non-sectarian health services to rural, impoverished, disaster-stricken and war-torn areas of the globe.	Direct Relief International delivers simple humanitarian and health care services to poor and struggling people around the globe. In 2007 Direct Relief delivered health care support in 59 countries, including to support poor people in the United States. DRI takes pride in its evaluation procedures, which include pre-grant analysis, mid-program assessment trips and detailed post-program debriefing.
Ducks Unlimited One Waterfowl Way Memphis, Tennessee 38120 www.ducks.org	Conserving, restoring and managing wetlands and other waterfowl habitat so that the skies are filled with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.	For a lot of people who don’t have hunters in their family, Ducks Unlimited is an odd choice. In fact, Ducks Unlimited is a very important contributor to wetlands conservation in North America; and of course wetlands are the building block for healthy ecosystems – and so almost accidentally Ducks Unlimited provides tremendous support for healthy ecosystems in America.
Epilepsy Foundation 8301 Professional Place, East Landover, MD 20785 www.epilepsyfoundation.org	A national volunteer agency dedicated to the welfare of people in the United States living with epilepsy, seeking both a cure and improved quality of life for those with seizure disorders.	Epilepsy touches the family of Erik Marks, TisBest’s Executive Director. And so adding Epilepsy Foundation to TisBest was an easy decision to make on a personal level. Several TisBest customers requested Epilepsy Foundation as well.
FINCA International 1101 14^th St NW 11^th Floor Washington, DC 20005 www.villagebanking.org	Making microloans to the world’s lowest income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living.	We have all read a lot about microlending in recent years (at least before the headlines turned to subprime lending). FINCA was a pioneer in microlending, beginning in 1984 when John Hatch introduced the “Village Banking” method. Today FINCA reaches half a million families in 21 countries.
Friends of the Earth 1717 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, DC 20036 www.foe.org	Committed people fighting daily for a healthy and just world.	Friends of the Earth takes a no-nonsense, no glitz approach to environmental conservation. Sometimes criticized for their methods, FOE has fervent backers who believe strongly in the organization.
GLAAD – Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation 5455 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 1500 Los Angeles, CA 90036 www.glaad.org	Ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.	We received numerous requests that we add a charity working in the areas of gender identity and sexual orientation in the community. We chose GLAAD for their consistent and widely admired efforts to change minds through media cooperation and positive reinforcement.
Greenpeace Fund 702 H St NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20001 www.greenpeacefund.org	Halting environmental destruction and promoting a safe environment for future generations with a focus on ancient forests, global warming, toxic chemicals, oceans, genetic engineering and nuclear risk.	Greenpeace is the poster child of environmental protection organizations. We know them for fighting whaling, but they focus as well on many other areas of environmental protection.
Heifer Project International One World Avenue Little Rock, AR 72202 www.heifer.org	Fighting world hunger with livestock and agricultural training.	There must be a whole lot of Heifer International fans out there judging from the number of emails we received. We are happy to add Heifer International and support their work using sustainable agriculture as a route to ending hunger.
Humane Society of the United States 2100 L St. NW Washington, DC 20037 www.hsus.org	Working for a humane world in which animals are free from abuse and valued.	We remember as kids going to a Humane Society shelter to adopt a new kitten or dog. Humane Society is more than that, providing disaster relief for animals (recall Hurricane Katrina), wildlife rehabilitation and animal sanctuaries.
Hunger Project Five Union Square, W New York, NY 10003 www.thp.org	Fighting hunger by mobilizing villages, empowering women and forging partnerships with local government.	We had not heard of the Hunger Project before someone recommended it to us. We admire the Hunger Project for clearly stating their goal of eliminating hunger, setting out a strategy for the goal and then getting down to implementation and delivering on the strategy. No smoke and mirrors here.
New York Road Runners Foundation 845 Third Avenue, 11^th Floor New York, NY 10022 www.nyrrfoundation.org	Building physical health and emotional well-being through running programs for underserved populations of both children and adults.	To be honest, when we got a lot of emails from NYRR members, we were dubious – we certainly didn’t want to feature a jogging charity on TisBest. But we looked into it and NYRR Foundation is a good organization. They set up community programs around New York that use running as a tool to teach about healthy living, goal setting, self esteem and discipline. America could use more kids growing up with those qualities, so NYRR Foundation, welcome to TisBest!
Soldiers Angels 1792 E. Washington Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91104 www.soldiersangels.org	Provides care packages, outreach and other comfort to soldiers and military families with the goal that no soldier feels unloved.	We received numerous requests for military charities. We chose Soldiers Angels because it is heartfully run by uncompensated volunteers dedicated to fulfilling its slogan that, “May no soldier go unloved.” It was founded in 2003 by Patti Patton-Bader, and “ordinary mother” of two American soldiers. Examples of programs include homemade baked goods, blankets, handmade canes for wounded soldiers, calling cards and virtual baby showers.
United Jewish Communities 111 Eighth Ave Suite 11E New York, NY 10011 www.ujc.org	Enhancing the well-being of Jews around the world with a focus on the core values of chesed (compassion), Torah (Jewish learning), tikkun olam (world repair) and tzdakah (social justice).	United Jewish Communities is a hub of information, opportunities and service to the Jewish community. UJC works through “Federations” which it describes as “the one place that belongs to every Jew, the place where philanthropy, volunteerism and shared commitment come together to make a difference, to repair the world.” We are pleased to support such programs through TisBest.
USO (United Service Organizations) 2111 Wilson Blvd Arlington, VA 22201 www.uso.org	Enhancing the quality of life for military personnel and their families by providing access to USO centers and programs around the world.	We received numerous requests for military charities. The USO was an obvious choice because is the largest and oldest organizations supporting our troops abroad. The USO operates family centers, canteens, libraries, game rooms and other facilities providing support and refuge for American military abroad.
Young Life 420 N. Cascade Ave Colorado Springs, CO 80903 www.younglife.org	Bringing the message of Jesus Christ to adolescents and helping them grow in their faith and as citizens of the community.	Young Life started in 1938 as a youth leader’s project in a local Texas Church. Today Young Life reaches over a half million children in the United States and also operates 597 ministries abroad in 58 different countries. Here in Seattle, the Young Life programs are admired and we have heard many anecdotes about Young Life being a key contributor to the lives of many of our admired citizens.

Tribute to my Mother-In-Law

2008-05-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

LaVern (Holly) Hollister Shriver Benike (1918 – 2009)

My mother-in-law died last night. For some people, losing one’s mother-in-law would be an event to cheer. But not for me. I loved my second mom. In the 33 years I knew her, we never had an argument; I’m pretty sure we didn’t have any disagreements. We did, however, share a lot of laughs.

And toast. We both loved toast. I think I became an acceptable son-in-law the moment she learned of my fondness for toast. She was a supportive, encouraging, dignified, fun-loving, cherished part of our family. She would have been 91 next week.

During the last two years she suffered from dementia. It may have been the result of a fall when she hurt her head, but it may also have been the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. She exhibited significant dementia at various times. She was often tormented by imaginary people who “took” her things from her little room at the assisted living home, who crawled into her bed, and who generally made parts of her day a walking nightmare. It’s ironic, really. She was a registered nurse for much of her life, and in the early part of her career in the 1930s, she was a private duty nurse for a wealthy gentleman who could afford personal care. She provided the kind of care she would later come to depend on.

I am grateful that she is in a better place now. But according to the Alzheimer’s Association (one of the charities supported by TisBest), there are more than 5 million Americans living with this disease right now. And many of them are suffering just as my mother-in-law suffered.

I’m pleased that TisBest supports the Alzheimer’s Association. The Association funds important research into a disease that, as of yet, has no cure.

I encourage you to visit the Association’s website to learn more about this disease, the progress that is being made in important research programs, and the many ways you can help the people who suffer from it.

Jon Siegel, Executive Director

TisBest Philanthropy

On Healing

2008-04-14T16:25:00.001-07:00

Healing. It comes from nature or God or time or whatever you want to call the source of goodness from which balance and equilibrium is reinstated after a time of turmoil.

Here at TisBest (www.tisbest.org) we recently experienced healing. We were so successful in launching TisBest Charity Gift Cards in November 2007 that we stumbled over our own feet. Our website designers ran out of bandwith for all of our ideas and we had to switch to new web consultants who could move more quickly. Some of our banking services were not set up efficiently for the volume of money we were receiving and we had to restructure those banking services. The TisBest concept was larger than we had anticipated and rather than being able to savor our success, we were beset with challenges. What was our reaction? We just kept working hard, and we kept looking for an opportunity to allow the hand of healing to have its effect.

First and foremost, we focused on customer satisfaction. I am proud to say that our customers love TisBest! Have a look at the About Tab on our website to see the various endorsements and kudos we received. Sure, some customers ran into issues, but we worked very hard to resolve all the questions and concerns, and in the end I think down to the last person every customer is happy with their TisBest experience.

Earlier in 2008 I was proud to post 180 checks to charities, as our first distribution of funds. We raised over $350,000 for the charities in the last 6 weeks of 2007!! We will be posting the allocation among the top 50 or so charities on our website very soon.

Now, we are off and running with new innovations for TisBest Charity Gift Cards in 2008. Here are some of the improvements we have in store. You will be able to provide your own image for the cards by uploading it! You will be able to order either the instant gift cards we offer now or hard cards (biodegradable). And you will be able to give $1.00 of our money to a charity of your choice for each TisBest Gift Card that you order!

**************

Going back to healing. Charitable donations are about bringing to others the opportunity for healing. Sometimes that means healing the sick through medical care, sometimes it means healing the land or shoreline, sometimes it means healing the balance of nature, and sometimes it means healing society through education and opportunity for children. But it is always about healing.

Erik Marks

Executive Director of TisBest

The Flip Side of Funding

2007-11-30T15:47:00.000-08:00

What are we doing? Organizations are funded based on how great their development department tells donors their nonprofit is. It’s as if Amazon makes money because a group of donors believed they should, so gave them their revenue for the year. No, Amazon makes money because customers value their service and want to purchase the products they offer. We should expect the same thing of our nonprofits: deliver a product or service that people want to buy, using surveys as a proxy for payment.

That’s the accountability problem in the nonprofit world: currently, customer experience doesn’t factor into the funding process. Successful nonprofits raise money because a skilled grant writer, coupled with elaborate metrics (meals served, children tutored) and a few tear-jerking client stories convinced someone that the organization was worthy. (How can any of us resist those starry-eyed children?)

Let’s change that. If a nonprofit served 1000 at-risk teens, survey those teens to discover whether their experience was worth the money. If funding is tied to customer satisfaction, the nonprofit can be free to focus on making customers happy, instead of diverting precious resources to satisfy donor criteria. Forget about those overhead numbers, and focus on whether the money is changing people’s lives. So, let’s ask them!

I’m not suggesting that no customers are happy – in fact, many are, or nonprofits couldn’t support program fees (as an industry, roughly 50% of operating expenses). What I am suggesting is that from a macro perspective, very little of the $688 billion we give to nonprofits is spend on exactly what is needed or wanted. This doesn’t serve the people in need, donors, or even nonprofits themselves. As a former nonprofit director, it would have been much easier to receive funding based on what our customers thought, than how compelling we made our program descriptions and how rosy we made our “outcome” numbers and overhead percentages. (Trust me, everyone does this. I’ve worked at enough nonprofits large and small to know what needs to be done to get the money).

And, as an individual donor, wouldn’t it be great to see reports on the program’s effectiveness—in the eyes of their participants? Say, 70% thought the program made a difference, versus a nonprofit where only 30% thought it helped. Then it becomes an easy decision to give because you know that the program really works.

The Pesky Overhead Question

2007-11-14T22:58:00.000-08:00

I've been asked that question a lot, too. Actually, not so much as a question but as a statement, "Oh, I only give to nonprofits that have less than x% overhead. I mean, really, the money should be going to the people being served, right?"

Well, sort of. Here's the catch... everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) fudges those numbers. Here's how.

Take nonprofit X, which has several programs. Those programs serve people, or save things, so all of their expenses are considered "direct" and are not considered overhead. However, those expenses do include staff and paper and office space, etc., because you have to have staff and paper and an office to run the program. It's not like people who work for homeless shelters are handing out money to the people they serve. No, they are providing a service TO those individuals.

So you see the problem... where do you draw the line? Only at the direct line staff? How about the manager that oversees the line staff, but is needed to provide the relationships to other nonprofits, set the strategic direction and raise money? What about the paper... if we purchase it in bulk at the main office, can we distribute and expense it at the program level and not have it count towards overhead? ABSOLUTELY!

That's what happens. To the extent possible, costs are allocated down to the program level where they don't "count" in official overhead reporting, even if that includes multiple layers of management, parceled office space, etc. (My program had to pay for my own cubicle at a nonprofit, which, of course, was considered a program expense when reported because I, as a Program Director, was sitting there).

This is where I step in and say "Forget about the overhead!" That's actually what you are paying for... your donations are going to support an organization that does great things. But to do those great things, it needs resources spent on unsexy things like staff and office space. When deciding on where to donate, instead of jumping straight for that overhead percent, I find it more helpful to look for things like their mission... does it resonate? What success stories do they publish about how their programs affect lives? Do you have friends or relatives that are affiliated with the organization? Where have I been helped in my life, and does the organization help others in a similar situation?

When you find the answers to these questions, you will have found a great place to give - something that has meaning, and resonates with your experience and values. And in doing so, you'll know that you're helping to make the world a better place... by paying for the staff (and paper!) that serves the people, animals and places you'd like to help.

What kind of donor am I?

2007-11-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

Something to consider when giving to a nonprofit: what is most critical? Over the course of my years in nonprofit management, many people have asked what charities I support. That’s not really the point – the goal is to find a nonprofit that YOU can get excited about.

So, imagine this:

You are standing by a river, when you start to notice a bunch of kids drifting down the river... they just keep coming! What do you do?

A) Throw lifelines out to them, hop in a boat and try to get them onto shore.

B) Jump in and teach them how to swim.

C) Run upstream to find where they are coming from.

Three different, valid options. Where you gravitate says a lot about where you should give. If A, you probably want to support organizations whose mission is to “rescue”, ie, help people in immediate need or distress. These would be shelters, soup kitchens, animal rescue groups, or disaster relief organizations. If B, you like to see people become self-sufficient. You might want to consider job training programs, transitional housing, or life-skills nonprofits. And if C, you are into correcting the source of the problem—educational charities, medical research centers, or advocacy groups that try to affect policy changes.

We need all three strategies, so there are no right answers. It’s just a matter of where your passion lies, and what you think is most critical and effective.