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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."

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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.

 

 

 

Categories: Philanthropy    

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2 Comments on “Make A Philanthropic Gift Instead of Sending Out Physical Greeting Cards”

  • Lori January 1st, 2009 5:00 am

    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.

  • John Federico January 7th, 2009 1:55 am

    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

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