Medal Of Honor Recipients Sacrificed, And Now They're Giving More

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As a young Army officer in Vietnam, Jack Jacobs walked into an ambush that killed dozens of his troops in just a few seconds. He responded by single-handedly fighting off repeated Viet Cong attacks. He overcame his own life-threatening injuries to make several trips through enemy fire to evacuate allied wounded.

He saved 14 lives. His country decorated him with the Medal of Honor.

More than 40 years later, Jacobs, a retired colonel, and his fellow Congressional Medal of Honor recipients are bringing their conspicuous gallantry to the cause of education. They are offering students priceless lessons in character, courage and selfless service.

Read the whole story at www.cnn.com

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen: The Limitless Potential of Giving

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Founder of Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society; Founder of Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2); Author, NYT Bestseller 'Giving 2.0: Transform Your Giving and Our World'

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In 1955, a young man with an irrepressible will and a voracious appetite for learning embarked on a degree at Stanford University. One of five children born and raised in Inglewood, California, he's now among Silicon Valley's most active real estate developers and one of America's most generous philanthropists. His latest act of generosity, announced last week, is the remarkable gift of $151 million to Stanford University, its largest ever from a living donor.

The man behind that gift is my father, John Arrillaga Sr., a spectacular community servant and an unparalleled parent. Few people demonstrate more powerfully the way that generosity's impact outlasts the act of giving. That is to say, when we give, we transform the lives of individuals who themselves may become impassioned givers -- fueling a circle of giving with limitless potential.

For John Arrillaga, that circle of giving began in college. For what enabled him to attend college was a basketball scholarship. Through the generosity of someone he'd never met -- an individual who believed in fostering the potential of an unknown youth -- my father was awarded a basketball scholarship.

His work ethic at Stanford was exceptional. His scholarship paid his tuition but not living expenses, so while completing his studies (he achieved stellar grades) and excelling at his athletic requirements (he eventually became an All-American basketball player), he held six jobs, from washing dishes to delivering mail and working as a gardener.

My father's philanthropy came long before his business success. He made his first gift to Stanford -- a two-figure donation -- just after graduating. It was what he could give at the time, and even then the gift stretched him financially.

Soon, his service and generosity would be shared with my late mother, Frances, a sixth grade teacher and also a Stanford graduate. A few years after my mother graduated, the couple fell deeply in love, married and started a family life.

Theirs was a beautiful partnership of family, service and generosity. Together, they embodied the philanthropic spirit at its finest, creating the Arrillaga Foundation and contributing to countless causes. They were an incredible team -- my angel mother was the public face of their giving and served on dozens of nonprofit boards. My father was the silent force behind her volunteerism, supporting her with stability, resources and love.

For my father, writing checks is not enough. Over the past three decades, he's dedicated at least half of his time to his philanthropic efforts -- still working seven days a week at the age of 76. He believes, as I do, that successful philanthropy means combining financial resources with brainpower, skills and networks to amplify the number of lives he can touch and help transform. His philanthropy is actional not transactional -- and his model is one that in my own life I strive to follow. In fact, just prior to my mother's death I committed my life to service and giving, and my parents' complete dedication to giving is the torch that lights my own philanthropic fire.

His first nine-figure donation to Stanford went far beyond money. He single-handedly led and managed construction of the university's state-of-the-art football stadium, making decisions on design and landscaping while scrutinizing every detail -- he selected the palm trees, worked out the best form for every structural element and created his own designs for the seating. And, in a remarkable achievement, he completed the stadium construction in just 42 weeks-and under budget.

Over the past five decades, he's used his deep expertise, financial resources and business acumen to complete dozens of essential building projects for local schools, universities and nonprofits within the broader Silicon Valley community.

The project nearest to my heart is Stanford's Frances Arrillaga Alumni Center. As an active member of the Stanford alumni board my mother identified a significant disconnect between the university's development office and its alumni association. To honor her memory and to meet a critical need, my father created a building that achieved both a physical and institutional integration of these two departments.

My father taught me many important giving lessons, but two stand out. First, always give as much as you possibly can. And second, give equally from among your resources -- your time, your mind and your capital. These are principles I live by.

As my father's example so compellingly demonstrates, what we do for others defines who we are. And because the way we express our generosity is among the few things in life we can control, we must think carefully about how to write the giving chapter of our lives. We have the ability to shape our legacy from start to finish and work, as my father has done, to combine all our resources to maximize their impact. We must always give to our greatest potential.

Reflecting on my beloved father's latest gift to Stanford University and his immeasurable philanthropy to date, I find the beauty of his giving chapter breathtaking. For, in his generosity to the university, he has created a new circle of giving -- one whose impact will, by providing a better education for countless others, have limitless potential.

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen is the author of New York Times bestseller Giving 2.0: Transform Your Giving and Our World (Wiley's Jossey-Bass, November 2011) and founder and CEO of Giving 2.0, a philanthropic innovation lab on a mission to educate, empower and engage people to give in a way that matters more. For a host of philanthropic resources, please visit www.giving2.com.

Follow Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/laagiving2

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Lisa M. Dietlin: Making a Difference: The World of Giving -- US Charitable Giving in 2012 Increases Again But Slowly

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CEO, Lisa M. Dietlin and Associates, Inc., philanthropic advisor, author

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Yes, it's that time of year again when the numbers for donations in the previous year are released and everyone is wondering what happened in 2012. Did Americans make more or less charitable donations to their favorite charitable causes? Will giving ever return to the levels seen in 2007 which was the height of philanthropic contributions before the recession hit?

Giving USA Foundation with its research partner the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, released their annual look at philanthropy in the United States (a survey done annually since 1956) today, and the news for 2012 is very interesting, giving a snapshot of not just the landscape of charitable donations but of our people and country overall.

The good news is that, for the second year in a row, donations to the nonprofit sector increased. In 2012 they increased by 3.5% percent (1.5% when adjusted for inflation). This means gifts made by individuals, including bequests, as well as donations from corporations and foundations totaled $316.23 billion!

Americans continue to be seen as the most generous people in the world. Did you know that giving by INDIVIDUALS -- people like you and me -- account for almost 80% of all donations made in 2012 especially when you include bequests? And this is not unique to last year, but has been the trend for the last few years, even throughout the recent economic recession.

Here is a closer look at some of the interesting facts of this report. While individuals still account for the largest portion of the donations, there was a large increase from the corporate sector -- 12.2% -- to an estimated $18.15 billion. While this is far from the amounts individuals contribute, it is a sign that the strong gains being made in the corporate sector, especially in pre-tax profits, are being translated into higher donations to the charitable sector as a whole. However, even with this large increase, corporate giving represents only 6% of the total contributions made in 2012 and this includes an estimated $131 million made to relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

2012, following trends from 2011, continues to show encouraging signs of a recovery in the nonprofit sector. As shared last year, this steady increase in giving is definitely good news but the recovery has been slow with some experts saying the slowest recovery in the last 40 years following a recession. Some may ask, with so many Americans still struggling with the recovery, how could there be an increase in the charitable donations? Some reading this will question how they can make a difference, often mistakenly thinking that the ultra-wealthy are the only ones able to make gifts to charity. I would counter by sharing that past surveys usually indicate that half of the donations from individuals come from people with household incomes under $100,000. I expect this trend to continue. Remember, Americans, even in tough times, continue to give - neighbors still help neighbors; friends and family members still look out for each other, all believing they can and should be Making a Difference®.

For Americans wanting to make a difference there are plenty of choices. Right now more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations exist in the US and most are trying to change things for the better nationally as well as internationally. And as the IRS receives an average of 100 applications a day from for new nonprofits to be formed; hence, the choices of where to make your donation are endless. To narrow down the options, I recommend looking at the sectors in which you would like to make a difference. See how they did last year; perhaps you will want to choose a sector that did well or one that needs increased support.

Remember, individuals -- just like you -- have an opportunity to affect what gets done and how.

And YOU are able to make the change happen with the issues and causes you care most about by making a donation of $25 or $50, $100, $500, $1,000 or much more.

So in 2012, here is how American giving sorted out...

Individuals represented, as noted above, 73% of total giving or228.93 billionBequests were at 7% or23.41 billionCorporate giving (corporations and corporate foundations) had the largest increase as shared earlier in this blog at 12.2% or18.15 billionFoundation donations were up by 4.4% to an estimated45.74 billion

... and where that money is going, with the subsectors that saw increases:

Education again saw increases for the second year totaling 7% or41.33 billion; this sector still ranks far behind religion, which while flat (meaning no increase or decrease in comparison to 2011) received donations of101.54 billion (another sector that was flat was International Affairs after seeing a 6% increase last year)Human Services was up again by 3.8% or40.40 billion; again this includes223 million in support giving to organizations working on Hurricane Sandy relief and recovery effortsHealth donations also saw an increase for the second year; the increase was 4.9% or28.12 billionPublic-Society benefit support (such as the United Way, Combined Federal Campaign and other groups that redistribute donations) was up 5.4% or21.63 billion; this sector also received54 million donated to nonprofit organizations assisting people affected by Hurricane Sandy.Support of Arts, Culture and Humanities was up by 7.8% with online giving being a strong component of the increaseGiving to Environmental and Animal organizations rose by 6.8% or8.3 billion

These two subsectors saw decreases in donations:

Giving to Foundations decreased by 4.6%, but adjusted for inflation that number increases to 6.5%Giving to Individuals also decreased for a second year by 6.8%; as an FYI the majority of these donations are in-kind gifts of medications to patients made through the Patient Assistance Program of pharmaceutical companies' operating foundations

So how do you fit in? How can you participate? How do you work to make a difference?

Here are five (5) tips you might want to consider for making your charitable donations this year while ensuring you will be Making A Difference (M.A.D.):

Ponder the things in your world you care about. What are your deepest interests? Then develop a plan to support organizations that works for change in those areas - locally or regionally or nationally or even internationally.Consider the needs of your community, and which nonprofit organizations are handling them; you can find this out by looking online, reading the newspaper, watching a newscast or asking your neighbors, family members or friends.Add charitable donations to your annual budget, so that your support can grow without straining your other needs; you can even set up a donation plan so your gift happens automatically on a monthly or quarterly basis via your bank debit card or credit card.Teach your children the habit of philanthropy by putting aside a part of their allowance or money they make for making donations; research with them where it can go at the end of the year (and if you match this gift it can go twice as far)!Learn about estate planning so you can make a difference far into the future; in fact, you'll find there are planned gifts that pay YOU on a regular basis (look into "charitable gift annuities" to learn more).

Even though 2012 is showing an increase in giving again, the need continues to be great. Some experts predict it could take up to seven (7) years for charitable donations to return to pre-recession giving numbers. It's important to remember that all of us working will ensure those in need will have access to the services and programs. So take a look at where you want to Make a Difference®; there are lots of ways to get there. Just consider, are you M.A.D. today?

To learn more about the study on 2012 giving, please visit: www.givingusareports.org

Follow Lisa M. Dietlin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lisadietlin

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Blanche Lincoln: Giving Independent Contractors a Voice

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Former U.S. Senator (D-AR); Chair, It's My Business coalition

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Independent contractors are the quiet engine of our economy, providing nearly all of the net growth in U.S. employment over the last 30 years. Yet the economic survival of the 10.3 million people who choose to be their own bosses and grow their own businesses are being jeopardized by overwhelming regulations at the national and state level.

It's My Business, a newly formed coalition of individuals and organizations who support the rights of independent contractors, is giving a voice to the millions of people who have chosen to be entrepreneurs and have the opportunity to build their own businesses.

At a time when our nation's workforce is changing, we believe it is critical to raise awareness about the vital contribution independent contractors make to our economy and put a spotlight on the numerous legal and regulatory threats that are making it more difficult for them, and the businesses they support, to succeed.

On the national front, the federal government has allocated $25 million for a joint IRS-Department of Labor initiative that is making it harder, if not illegal, for independent contractors and their clients to work together. Targeting mainly small businesses is a strategic decision because they are easier to prosecute than larger companies with more legal resources.

In addition, federal agencies have joined forces with 11 states to jointly investigate and prosecute independent contracting arrangements.

At the state level, more than half of the states have either approved or proposed new laws restricting independent contracting arrangements. Several other states have also formed statewide task forces to increase audits and prosecutions of independent contractors and their clients.

These new regulatory actions are based largely on misinformation about the individuals who are willingly exercising their right to work for themselves. A U.S. government study shows that 82.3 percent of those who are self-employed prefer their jobs to working as salaried or hourly employees. The actions also ignore the vital role that independent contracting plays in the U.S. economy, creating new jobs and providing services more efficiently and effectively than would be possible under a different structure. Most importantly, adequate laws currently exist to deal with willful misclassification of workers.

Throughout my career, I have been a staunch proponent for small businesses and entrepreneurs and I fought hard for their rights during my time serving Arkansas in the U.S. Senate. Their contributions to virtually every aspect of our economy simply cannot be overlooked.

It's My Business is carrying that same torch today. We are committed to protecting the right of independent contractors to choose a way of life that works best for them, and the right of businessmen and women to pursue a business model that provides lifestyle flexibility for them and their families and creates jobs and competitiveness for America.

But we can't do it alone. We are asking you to get engaged and take a stand, too. Tell your elected state and federal bureaucrats to stop their attacks on independent contractors. They are the embodiment of the entrepreneurial spirit in this country, not to mention a powerful engine driving our economic recovery. They deserve our protection. This country can't afford to let them down.

Senator Blanche Lincoln is chairwoman of It's My Business, a coalition comprising individuals and organizations that support the 10.3 million independent contractors in the U.S. Lincoln represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1999 to 2011 and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1997.

Follow Blanche Lincoln on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SensibleRegs

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