Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World

by Wendy Smith

Overview

"With open hearts and open hands, we gave what we could, and a little became a lot." --from Give a Little

Dimes destroyed polio. Five bucks can beat malaria. Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World not only contains remarkable, inspiring stories of how small donations are making an extraordinary difference in the lives of millions both here in the United States and around the world, but also lays out where and how to start giving . . . today.

Together, ordinary Americans have far more transformational power than any government or big foundation. In 2007, giving by American individuals amounted to $229 billion--that is, 82 times the amount the Gates Foundation gave that same year. Simple, inexpensive things--a water filter, a bike, an irrigation pump, a bed net, a goat--cause a ripple effect that lifts a whole family, a town, and, astonishingly, even a nation out of poverty.

Inspired by Smith's twenty years in the nonprofit sector, Give a Little shows how easily we can dip into our pockets and, with just a few dollars, change the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781401323400
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	11/03/2009
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.18(w) x 7.98(h) x 0.96(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Wendy Smith has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than twenty years in direct services, program administration, development, consulting and board membership; she is a Certified Fundraising Professional. She also has a master's degree in education and a bachelor's degree in marketing. To write Give a Little and pursue its promotion and mission , she has taken an indefinite leave from her job as the Director of Foundation and Government Relations at Building with Books, an international organization that constructs schools in developing countries and runs youth development programs in the US. She is lives in Highland Park, Illinois, with her two daughters.

Table of Contents

Introduction xiii

part 1 how and why we give

chapter 1 Doers and Donors 3

chapter 2 Four Big Secrets About Giving 11

chapter 3 Ripple Effect Giving 27

chapter 4 Ending Extreme and Cyclical Poverty 33

part 2 hunger

chapter 5 Filling Bowls with Small Gifts 43

chapter 6 KickStart 51

chapter 7 Heifer International 61

chapter 8 Feeding America 74

part 3 health

chapter 9 The Cycle of Poverty and Poor Health 87

chapter 10 Asthma Care on Wheels 95

chapter 11 The Big Three 106

chapter 12 Path 120

part 4 education

chapter 13 Education and Poverty 133

chapter 14 Developments in Literacy 138

chapter 15 Safe Passage 157

chapter 16 Ounce of Prevention Fund 167

part 5 infrastructure, tools, and technology

chapter 17 Bridges, Bikes, and Buckets (of Clean Water)! 181

chapter 18 Bridges to Prosperity 186

chapter 19 Potters for Peace 203

chapter 20 World Bicycle Relief 224

part 6 giving, lending, and clicking for good

chapter 21 The Multi-Front Attack 237

chapter 22 Social Investment and Fair Trade Purchasing 244

chapter 23 In a League of Its Own 262

chapter 24 Sixteen More Ways to Make Waves 270

appendix a Organization Contact Information 299

appendix b Charity Navigator's Approach to Evaluating Nonprofit Financial Health 305

Author's notes 311

Endnotes 317

Acknowledgments 343

Editorial Reviews

Inspired by the generosity of everyday Americans in the aftermath of 2004's tsunami, Smith, a longtime fund-raiser for nonprofits, winnows through the “muddle of hyperbolic language found in fund-raising letters” to explain how even the smallest, seemingly insignificant gifts to charitable organizations can make huge differences. Sobering statistics address the four critical issues of hunger, health, education and access to tools, technology and infrastructure as Smith explains how forgoing an inexpensive luxury just once a week—and donating the corresponding few dollars—can fix a bridge, feed a child or bring clean water to a family, possibly redirecting lives in an entire Third World village or U.S. city. Cultural mythology says that pocket change doesn't make poverty change, but Smith's research proves otherwise: small donations make a difference around the world and at home, and giving is psychologically beneficial to donors. This book occasionally devolves into maudlin appeals, but it is redeemed by its positive premise and practical approach. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly