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Make A Philanthropic Gift Instead of Sending Out Physical Greeting Cards
I’ve never totally understood the "send out physical greeting cards" thing. I get that it’s a "tradition", but it has always seemed like a waste of time, energy, and money to me. Yes – I know I’ve signed my share of these cards – I’ve just played along, but it doesn’t change the way I feel about them.
I now get a flood of electronic cards (and birthday wishes – thanks everyone!) These make me smile and often generate a response via email from me to people I haven’t talked to in a while. I received very few physical birthday cards this year (which is good) since pretty much everyone that would send me a card sent me an electronic one.
I just received an email greeting card from my friends at KKO. In it, they say "In lieu of mailing holiday cards we have made a charitable donation to Emergency Family Assistance Association."
As this is likely to be a horrible year for charitable giving (based on the downturn in the economy), I think this is a fantastic idea. Even if it is a modest amount of money, I (a) got my greeting card from KKO and (b) the money they gave to EFFA is going to be put to good use.
Nicely done guys.


Ray Dalio's family foundation is taking a similar tactic. http://www.redefine-christmas.org/
He leads Bridgewater Associates in CT. He also gave his employees the opportunity to designate a donation from his foundation to a charity of his choice. People Making a Difference (http://www.PMD.org)received its second annual gift in this manner, thanks to a personal friend who works there.
Last week at the New York Tech Meetup, someone introduced me to:
http://changingthepresent.org/
They support tons of causes. Be sure to check out the PSA's:
http://changingthepresent.org/film