Article courtesy of: "The Official Kwanzaa Website graphicKwanzaa - A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture" by Dr. Maulana Karenga
Kwanzaa is the annual African American celebration that honors the values and principles of African culture. During the week after Christmas (December 26-January, a different principle is celebrated each day. Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following principles (or Nguzo Saba):
* Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
* Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
* Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems, and to solve them together.
* Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
* Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
* Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
* Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
As I read through all these principles, I realized that there were lessons embedded in each one that we could also learn from in the nonprofit sector. In 2010 and beyond, nonprofits will need to exhibit some very different behaviors if our organizations are to succeed and continue to impact the communities we serve. Consider the possibilities if we were to commit ourselves, as a collective to adhere to the following ideas. How much more could we grow and thrive and do more to improve the world?
Umoja (Unity)
Nonprofits have always had a sense of competition with one another for funding. As the economy has worsened for our clients and our organizational budgets, the turf wars have gotten a lot more vicious. The concepts of marketing and fundraising tell us that we have to showcase what’s different about us, what makes us better than that other nonprofit across the street. As a result, we often think of organizations with similar missions as competitors instead of allies. So when opportunities come up for collaboration that will allow us to serve more people and change more lives, sometimes we pass on them or don’t even see them in the first place. Yet, if nonprofits are to be effective into the future, a sense of of unity in the nonprofit sector will become more and more important. Nonprofit CEOs will need to drop their gang colors and begin to trust and confide in one another. Then, and only then will we be able to fully maximize strained resources and take advantage of new opportunities.
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
The ongoing debate about the term “nonprofit sector” has raged on for many years, but seems to have come to a head this year with several new monikers being floated: social profits, humanity sector, community benefit organizations, and so on. While none of them are perfect, the concept of redefining ourselves is one we should explore. Even if “nonprofit sector” continues as the norm, it’s up to our organizations to really define what that means – not that we don’t create value (profit), but that we provide the kind of social value that’s essential for communities to survive. In the next decade, nonprofit leaders will need to speak up for ourselves and let the public know what we’re really about, not rely on the media and others to paint an inaccurate picture of us.
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
Many groups have begun to understand that working together gets your further than working alone, especially in this new environment. Through the V3 Campaign, many nonprofit communities around the country have come together to put pressure on local governments and political leaders to put their money where their mouths are. In North Carolina, Crossroads Charlotte has been a highly successful collaborative effort to transform an entire community. In Maryland, Envision Prince Georges seeks to do the same thing. Because all of our causes – hunger, affordable housing, education – are inevitable connected, no longer will nonprofits be able to operate in silos apart from the larger community and political landscape.
Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
More joint fundraising will need to happen in 2010 and beyond. As organized philanthropy shrinks from foundations and corporations, nonprofits will need to think creatively about new funding models and how to leverage resources through bartering and projects like GiveMN.org. There never has been, nor ever will be, enough money to go around. Along with financial cooperation, of course, nonprofits will also need to engage in true collaboration for the most impact. As Margaret McKenna from the Walmart Foundation lamented last month: “We’ve given grants for collaborative work to four organizations, then after we leave, they just split up the money.”
Nia (Purpose)
Nonprofit leaders continue to be overworked and underpaid. It is those that cannot connect back to the true purpose of why they do the work of social change that get burned out and leave the sector. It pains me that most nonprofit management (and even leadership programs) do not create a space in the curriculum for students and executives to reflect on their purpose, the reason they started working in the nonprofit field. Going into the next decade, nonprofit leaders will need to reflect upon their purpose in doing this work and convert that into renewed energy to continue to do it, even as it gets more and more difficult. We will also have to be more compassionate to one another as colleagues and help others become more resilient nonprofit leaders within our organizations.
Kuumba (Creativity)
After decades of what many consider slow progress in creating social change, there is an incredible need for greater creativity in the nonprofit sector to come up with better and more efficient ways of fulfilling our missions. The White House Office of Social Innovation has made the idea of nonprofit innovation much more popular than it has been in recent years. While some nonprofit leaders get excited about new ways to do the work, others hear “risk” and run far in the other direction. The biggest obstacle to implementing new ideas, however, is not that nonprofit leaders don’t have any. In my recent interview with Trabian Shorters, VP at the Knight Foundation, he pointed out that most innovative ideas fall by the wayside as soon as they are met with the slightest resistance. Yet we know that the urgency of our work demands that we overcome our resistance to change and push forward with the kinds of creative ideas that not only change organizations, but entire communities.
Imani (Faith)
Every single nonprofit leader that works on behalf of a cause should have faith that they can make a difference. If you came here just because you needed a job, we don’t need you. Simply working at a nonprofit does not equal social change, so go rest your laurels somewhere else. The nonprofit sector needs leaders that really and truly believe that change can and will happen because of their work. We need leaders that have the kind of burning faith that breeds courage to make the impossible possible. We also need leaders that will challenge the status quo and risk new methods and strategies and innovations to put bold action behind that faith.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Closing the Books on 2010: Donate To A Charity
This is a blog post from my good friend Tisa Silver's blog www.tisasilver.com / http://tisasilver.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/closing-the-books-on-2010-donate-to-a-charity/#comment-41
This is the first of five in a series of daily posts to help you close the books on 2010 and get a fresh start on 2011!
The end of the year is eleven days away, but there is plenty of time to do something good that can help you while you help others…
Donate to a charity!
This tip is extremely personal to me. In addition to writing books and teaching finance, I am the president of a non-profit organization based in Delaware, the Good Works Coalition. We are a small corporation, our board members make up a large percentage of our volunteer base and we are funded completely by donations from the general public.
Generous donations have allowed us to award over $15,000 in college scholarships since 2007. Those same donations have allowed our contributors (including myself) to claim a deduction on their taxes.
Before you make a year-end charitable contribution, consider the following points:
Contributions are deducted in the year they are made – In order to receive the tax benefit of a charitable contribution for a given tax year, your contribution must be made during the same year. So, if you are looking for a break on your tax return to be filed in 2011, then you need to make your donation by the end of 2010.
Be prepared to wait a bit – Many charities accept online donations, however if you are looking to make a non-monetary contribution (i.e. donating clothes to Goodwill), you should be prepared to encounter some wait time. Every year, plenty of people wait until after Christmas to make their donations.
Tax deduction eligibility- Make sure the organization is recognized as a charity by the IRS or else your contribution may not be tax-deductible. There are plenty of organizations which have a good cause, but a good cause does not mean the organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. You can check the status of an organization by visiting the IRS website.
Your place of worship – The list of eligible organizations provided by the IRS may not include churches, mosques, temples or synagogues even though they are eligible to receive charitable contributions.
Ask for a receipt – Be sure to get a receipt for your charitable contribution, particularly if you make a donation of $250 or more. If the amount of your donation is less than $250, the IRS still expects you to have proof by way of a bank record or a written correspondence from the charity providing the terms of your gift. Make an itemized list for your records if you are making non-cash contributions.
Standard or itemized deductions - If you elect the standard deduction when filing your income tax return, you will not be able to claim a deduction for charitable contributions. The contribution will only be applicable if you itemize your deductions.
Happy Giving!
Disclaimer: These tips are not all-inclusive or to be considered as professional tax or legal advice. For detailed advice to fit your personal circumstances or preferences, seek professional counsel.
This is the first of five in a series of daily posts to help you close the books on 2010 and get a fresh start on 2011!
The end of the year is eleven days away, but there is plenty of time to do something good that can help you while you help others…
Donate to a charity!
This tip is extremely personal to me. In addition to writing books and teaching finance, I am the president of a non-profit organization based in Delaware, the Good Works Coalition. We are a small corporation, our board members make up a large percentage of our volunteer base and we are funded completely by donations from the general public.
Generous donations have allowed us to award over $15,000 in college scholarships since 2007. Those same donations have allowed our contributors (including myself) to claim a deduction on their taxes.
Before you make a year-end charitable contribution, consider the following points:
Contributions are deducted in the year they are made – In order to receive the tax benefit of a charitable contribution for a given tax year, your contribution must be made during the same year. So, if you are looking for a break on your tax return to be filed in 2011, then you need to make your donation by the end of 2010.
Be prepared to wait a bit – Many charities accept online donations, however if you are looking to make a non-monetary contribution (i.e. donating clothes to Goodwill), you should be prepared to encounter some wait time. Every year, plenty of people wait until after Christmas to make their donations.
Tax deduction eligibility- Make sure the organization is recognized as a charity by the IRS or else your contribution may not be tax-deductible. There are plenty of organizations which have a good cause, but a good cause does not mean the organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. You can check the status of an organization by visiting the IRS website.
Your place of worship – The list of eligible organizations provided by the IRS may not include churches, mosques, temples or synagogues even though they are eligible to receive charitable contributions.
Ask for a receipt – Be sure to get a receipt for your charitable contribution, particularly if you make a donation of $250 or more. If the amount of your donation is less than $250, the IRS still expects you to have proof by way of a bank record or a written correspondence from the charity providing the terms of your gift. Make an itemized list for your records if you are making non-cash contributions.
Standard or itemized deductions - If you elect the standard deduction when filing your income tax return, you will not be able to claim a deduction for charitable contributions. The contribution will only be applicable if you itemize your deductions.
Happy Giving!
Disclaimer: These tips are not all-inclusive or to be considered as professional tax or legal advice. For detailed advice to fit your personal circumstances or preferences, seek professional counsel.
TWF Winter Coat Drive
THE WARFORD FOUNDATION
http://thewarfordfoundation.org
www.thewarfordfoundation.blogspot.com
TWF seeks your support for a WINTER COAT DRIVE
Please donate new or gently used winter coats and help single mothers and military widow families this winter.
Where:
Andrews Air Force Base
CDC1 (Bldg 4575)
CDC2 (Bldg 4783)
J.P.Hoyer (Bldg 3725)
Youth Center (Bldg 4700)
Airman and Family Readiness Center (Bldg 1191)
The Warford Foundation (info@thewarfordfoundation.org)
When: 23 December 2010 – 20 January 2011
Do you have an extra gently used coat in your closet? Want to help the less fortunate in our military community? You can do both during our Winter Coat Drive for needy single mother and military widow families this season. TWF will be collecting clean, gently used winter coats and jackets at various locations on Andrews Air Force Base and The Warford Foundation headquarters. Please bring a new or gently used fall or winter coat and warm up someone’s winter. Coats of all shapes and sizes are welcome and will be distributed free of charge, directly to single mother and military widow /widower families at Andrews Air Force Base.
For more information, please contact:
Parthenia Warford Richardson info@thewarfordfoundation.org
2LT Rheannin H. Geis rheannin.geis@afncr.af.mil
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Unemployed African American Single Moms Not an Average Statistic in 2010 Economic Recovery
On the average the typical unemployed person is a man. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) most recent release gives the unemployment rate for men at 10% of the male workforce who are 20 years old or over. It is 7.9 % for women of a similar description. In December 2007 both men and women had the same 4.4% rate of unemployment. The overall average rate of unemployment now stands at 9.7% of the American work force age 20 and over.
There is a subgroup hidden within the data. Single women with children at 11.6% are twice as likely to be unemployed as married women with a spouse in the home at 6.1%. The proportion has remained the same for a decade but now collectively the rates are 68% higher than before the recession.
The results are exacerbated during difficult economic times. On average a woman earns 77% of that earned by the average man. Children as well are disproportionately affected. Families headed by a single mother have 20% of the nation’s children.
Demographically unmarried men and women tend to be less educated and younger and diverse ethnically than their married counterparts. There is a discrepancy between the college graduates with an unemployment rate of 5% and the opposite end of the education spectrum with an unemployment rate of 15.6%.
The racial divide is as stark. At one point in 2010 15% of African Americans were unemployed vs. 8.8% of White Americans.
The effects of unemployment on Single African American Mothers have been described as cascading. There is no one to baby sit while they are seeking other jobs. They loose benefits not only for themselves but also for their children. There is less margin in money available to provide for school supplies and extra-curricular activities. The safety net has been shredded. They are much more likely to end up homeless. There is no savings cushion to see them through. The effects of unemployment hit their families immediately.
http://personalfinancebulletin.com/unemployed-african-american-single-moms-not-an-average-statistic-in-2010-economic-recovery/4253/
Project Impact Scholars Candidate
The Warford Foundation established a Project Impact Scholars Program to expand the opportunities of single mother and military widow families by increasing self sufficiency through scholastic growth and achievement.
We asked for interested applicants to:
1. Submit online application
2. Submit a 250-350 words essay. How will achieving your nursing education impact your life and your child/children?
3. Telephone interview with a foundation member after receipt of necessary documentation.
We only had one applicant to apply, she wasn't a single mother or military widow she thought her case would be so compelling that she would be considered. She was correct, Ashley will be interviewed on December 15, 2010 at 8:30pm by Victoria Gaither and you will see for yourself why she was selected.
We asked for interested applicants to:
1. Submit online application
2. Submit a 250-350 words essay. How will achieving your nursing education impact your life and your child/children?
3. Telephone interview with a foundation member after receipt of necessary documentation.
We only had one applicant to apply, she wasn't a single mother or military widow she thought her case would be so compelling that she would be considered. She was correct, Ashley will be interviewed on December 15, 2010 at 8:30pm by Victoria Gaither and you will see for yourself why she was selected.
Wealth Management Luncheon - Polly Rosenstein
Polly Rosenstein is the Vice President of The Warford Foundation Board of Directors and is hosting her Last Wealth Management Luncheon of the 2010: Learn about Innovative Securities for Income. Polly is also the President, Redstone Financial Advisors, LLC
Don't miss out on the opportunity to come and learn about an offering sponsored by Priority Capital Group, who strives to create innovative securities tailored to the priorities of investors who value dividend and principal security above capital appreciation for a portion of their investment portfolios.
We will be discussing this investment idea at our luncheon:
When: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM, Friday December 3, 2010
Where: Tutto Bene Restaurant, 501 N. Randolph St., Arlington, Va. 22203
Please RSVP if you want to attend.
Don't miss out on the opportunity to come and learn about an offering sponsored by Priority Capital Group, who strives to create innovative securities tailored to the priorities of investors who value dividend and principal security above capital appreciation for a portion of their investment portfolios.
We will be discussing this investment idea at our luncheon:
When: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM, Friday December 3, 2010
Where: Tutto Bene Restaurant, 501 N. Randolph St., Arlington, Va. 22203
Please RSVP if you want to attend.