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The Giving Season

by Mary Odbert

It is giving season. This time of year is already busy with holidays and other obligations, but it’s when we choose to consider gifts to charity. In added emphasis this year, former President Clinton released his new book called, “Giving.” Clinton believes we can build international communities that create a better world through giving.

Certainly, the IRS deadline drives the practical reason for donations at this time of year. The more emotional reason for the giving season is the holidays. They focus us on being thankful and giving to each other. It is also a time of year when people in need are more noticeable. The homeless need warmth, the sad get sadder, food is no longer plenty and the holidays become bittersweet when someone you love is dying.

Nonprofit agencies fill critical gaps warming the homeless, feeding the hungry and comforting the dying. Your charitable gifts enable nonprofits to make services available. They allow Yolo Hospice to provide services to everyone regardless of ability to pay, bridging the gap between reimbursement and actual costs.

According to Clinton, there is an explosion of people serving others around the world – year round. He says, he is convinced “…almost everyone – regardless of income, available time, age, and skills – can do something useful for others and, in the process, strengthen the fabric of our shared humanity.” He encourages us all to do so. He also points out that giving is not a new concept for Americans. Benjamin Franklin formed Philadelphia’s first volunteer fire department in 1736.
Despite that early start, estimated giving in the U.S. in 2003 was only slightly more than 2 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (New York Times, June 22, 2004). We have a long way to go in terms of giving. Yet Clinton’s review of what is already being accomplished is uplifting and heartening.
Pick a nonprofit agency in a field you are interested, a cause you believe in or a group that helped a loved one. Then Give. Give any time or all the time. Give in the way that suits you best. 
Traditional Giving
Give a one-time donation any time you want. Most charities can accept checks and credit cards. Some let you give on line -- Yolo Hospice does at www.Yolohospice.org.

Monthly Donations
If you’d like to do it a little at a time, monthly donations give nonprofits a solid base of dependable income, which enables the year’s activities to be planned with confidence.
Planned Giving
Planned gifts can fulfill immediate needs or endow programs to ensure services continue for future generations. You can also create your own legacy with an endowment by providing a scholarship or a program in your name.
Examples of planned giving include a:

  • bequest in a will or living trust that specifies an amount of money or property
  • contingent bequest that names a nonprofit as a secondary beneficiary
  • lifetime charitable trust which can save you both income and estate taxes
  • charitable gift annuity which allows you to receive life income in exchange for a gift

The simplest planned gift is to remember a nonprofit in your will or estate. Keep in mind, most of planned gift options require consultation with your personal legal and financial advisors.
Volunteering
You can choose what truly interests you and who (or what) is most deserving of your time. You can care for animals or work with children. At Yolo Hospice, you have many choices. You can work directly with patients, work on community events or work in our thrift store. The choice is yours.

You don’t have to give money. Former President Clinton didn’t have enough money to endow a foundation like Bill Gates did. He uses his talents and resources to create results. Volunteering offers needed support to nonprofit agencies.

Martin Luther King said, “life’s most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'” What he didn’t say was that we in the nonprofit world rely on people doing for others all year long -- you change our world season by season.

 

 

 

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Quotes

Judy Norton
"Coping with terminal illness is all consuming for patient and family. As a hospice nurse, I feel it is most important to advocate, respect and use the knowledge we have to make the end of life the most comfortable it can be while always keeping in mind the unique needs of each patient."
~Jody Norton, RN