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Charitable giving not just for the ultra-rich
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Bill Gates and Warren Buffett started it. Now a small but growing group of far-less-wealthy people are joining in by taking a public pledge to leave money to charity after they're gone. And it doesn't require being one of America's billionaires. The point is not about how much you're giving, but why. "Everyone can leave a bequest to charity of something ... We want to change the idea that you have to be rich to leave money to charity," said Elfrena Foord, a certified financial planner and co-founder of the California Plan Your Giving Project. Charitable bequests certainly aren't a new concept. Any number of museums, symphonies, nonprofits, churches and charities continually ask donors to leave something behind in their wills. And many people, especially at year-end tax time, routinely make financial donations to causes they care about. But giving seems to be coming back in vogue. Nationally, total giving in 2011 by individuals was $218 billion - up by nearly 4 percent from 2010, according to Giving USA, the research arm of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Donations by individuals are 73 percent of all charitable giving, it said.And it comes in all sizes. Billionaires like investor Warren Buffett, along with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, garnered big headlines in 2010 when they launched The Giving Pledge, which asks America's billionaires to pledge at least 50 percent of their wealth to charity in their lifetime or after. Nearly 100 individuals and families have taken the pledge, from 28-year-old Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to aging oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens. Just last month, another 12 signed on, including Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and Intel co-founder George Moore. A more modest slice of the philanthropy movement are so-called "giving circles," where like-minded people pool their money and give to causes they deem important. One of those, the One Percent Foundation, aimed at those in their 20s and 30s, was co-founded in 2007 by Daniel Kaufman. Over conversations while at the University of California-Los Angeles law school, he and some friends realized they rarely gave to any significant causes. "This is a very socially conscious, very involved generation," Kaufman said, "... but most of us felt we couldn't afford to give, didn't know where to give or thought our donation wouldn't have any impact." Inspired, he and his friends pooled their money and sent $500 to a hunger relief organization voted on by the group. The idea caught on among their west Los Angeles friends. After graduating and scattering across the country, the group formalized itself online as the One Percent Foundation in 2009. Like the name implies, participants donate 1 percent of their annual income. For graduate students living on loans, that might mean a few bucks a month. For a recent grad with a $35,000 job, it's a monthly $29.17. It's all done online. Every quarter, the One Percenters dole out two grants in a designated category: environment, education, health, international aid or poverty. Members nominate organizations they'd like to see funded and the entire membership votes. Everyone gets one vote, no matter how much they give. "Part of it is getting people in the mind-set that they can do this. With rent, student loans, credit card payments, many (young adults) think 'No way,' " said Kaufman, 33. "But if you change that to giving $20 a month, now it looks like a couple beers or going to the movies and buying popcorn. It totally changes how they think about (giving)." Today, One Percent has about 500 members who have donated more than $200,000 in the past three years. "It's turned into an effort to engage an entire generation through their 30s ... by building a habit of thoughtful, sustained giving," said Kaufman, a lawyer who has since launched Third Plateau, a philanthropic consulting firm. Judy McGarry, a retired Sacramento County, Calif., probation and compliance officer, was inspired by the California Plan Your Giving Project, Foord's group. She recently set up a five-figure endowment and upped the percentage she's leaving in her trust to the Sacramento Senior Safe House, a residential respite for abused or neglected seniors. "I did some soul-searching and looked at what causes are important to me. I'm very passionate about this," said McGarry, on a recent tour of the Safe House, an immaculate six-bedroom home tucked away on a quiet residential street in northeast Sacramento. Staffed mainly by volunteers, the 24-hour facility enables abused seniors to get back on their feet emotionally and financially. Its $250,000 budget is funded entirely by donations. McGarry, who made her financial gifts in memory of her late mother, sees it as a personal legacy that will live on long after she's gone. GIVING TO GOOD CAUSES - One Percent Foundation: Aimed at young adults in their 20s and 30s, the San Francisco-based group pools donations - ideally, 1 percent of annual income - and members vote on where to donate, based on categories (education, environment, health, global aid, poverty). http://www.onepercentfoundation.org/ - The Giving Pledge: Started by Warren Buffett, and Melinda and Bill Gates, it asks U.S. billionaires to commit to giving away half of their wealth to causes/charities they support. To see signed letters from some of the 92 individuals and families who've taken the pledge: http://www.givingpledge.org - Giving Circles: The Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers has how-to tips and resources for starting a giving circle; http://www.givingforum.org. - Giving Circles Network is a grassroots group: http://www.givingcircles.org 
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Today is Sunday, May 19, the 139th day of 2013. There are 226 days left in the year.
1863 -- 150 years ago: The Rt. Rev. Harry I. Witherspoon, D.D. Bishop of Illinois, willpreach in Trinity (Episcopal) Church, in this city this evening.
1888 -- 125 years ago: At 1 o'clock yesterday afternoon the Mississippi River flooded itsbanks at Rock Island, destroying the warehouse of the Rock Island Lumber companyand damaging the Lumber Company and arsenal power plant. Total loss isestimated at $100.000.
1913 -- 100 years ago: Residents of South Rock Island township are circulating a petitionfavoring the annexation of that area to the city of Rock Island.
1938 -- 75 years ago: Mrs. Thomas Ackles, of Rock Island, has been elected president ofthe Playcrafters for the next season. She succeeds Warren Leonard.
1963 -- 50 years ago: Some 8,000 people filed through the gates of Rock Island Arsenal on Saturday to view a display of a part of the nation's armed strength. The occasion was theannual observance of Armed Forces Day.
1988 -- 25 years ago: Willis Kuschmann, of Moline, who already has won his laurels as oneof the most artistic men in the Quad-Cities area, has a new hobby. He is deeply involvedin miniature railroading. At the age of 88, when many other seniors are dozing in theirchairs or sitting before the television, Mr. Kuschmann is planning and working on hiscollection.
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