Philanthropy for Dummies

An integral part of Thanksgiving is not just expressing gratitude through words or apple pie, but through generosity. Or as a wise, but unknown, person once said: "Thanksgiving, to be truly Thanksgiving, is first thanks, then giving." And that all makes sense after you've consumed 5,000 calories and you're stuck on the couch like a bloated Pillsbury Doughboy. But then Black Friday happens and then Cyber Monday and holiday shopping and parties and holiday shopping and more really big meals, and if we're busy or poor or both, charity becomes something we vow to do next year. And that's a shame, because although it doesn't always seem like it, Americans are a very giving people. More than a quarter of us volunteered our time to good causes last year, which, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, resulted in about 8 billion hours of good deeds. I bet another quarter of us want to volunteer or give something back but can't figure out how or when to do it. But when we hear stories of others' do-gooding, the guilt can be hard to bear. Think of Jill Youse, who started the International Breast Milk Project in her kitchen and has since donated more than 1,200 gallons of milk to orphaned babies in Africa. Or Melissa Poe, who founded Kids for a Clean Environment at the age of 9. I'm busy—work, husband, baby, family, friends. I barely have the time, energy, and money to take care of my near-and-dears, so how can I be expected to start a nonprofit and fix the world? Well, I might have found a way. How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist: 330 Ways to Make a Difference in Your Home, Community, and World—At No Cost!,  the newly released book by Nicole Bouchard Boles, outlines in great detail how anybody, no matter their circumstances, can do some good. (Click here to follow Raina Kelley).

Boles is a genius at unearthing good works that anybody can do yet aren't empty gestures. Did you know that groups like Hugs and Hope and Make a Child Smile collect kids' drawings and send them to hospitalized children all over the country? Through World Community Grid, you can donate your computer's down time to help researchers process data toward cures for childhood cancers, malaria, and tuberculosis. One of my favorites is that oldie but goodie: collecting Campbell's soup-can labels. For every 1,500,000 labels it gets back, Campbell's will give a minivan to the St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. So if every one of the 30 million families who are expected to serve green-bean casserole this Thursday (featuring two cans of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup) mailed in their labels, that would be 40 brand-new vehicles for St. Jude's. How easy is that? You really can donate just about anything and make a difference. You can even donate the leftover skin from your tummy tuck to burn victims—though that doesn't make the surgery tax-deductible.

But Boles's real gift to us, other than putting all these charities in the same place for us to find, is her idea that we can do good and incorporate generosity into our daily lives without being the Gates Foundation. She doesn't ask you to do without, feel guilty, or change your way of life. There are no lectures or devastatingly sad statistics—just a lot of enthusiasm and the faith that now that we know about these programs, we will give what we can. For instance, if you have absolutely nothing, you think about Kay MacVey, who has donated more than a million dollars in expired coupons to American military commissaries. (The armed forces accept expired coupons from soldiers' families to give them a hand with groceries.) On Boles's suggestion, I've already set up a giveaway box for all the stuff we don't need anymore but that somebody else does, like used postage stamps, old sneakers, and thumb drives.

If, like me, you're thrilled by the idea of charity that doesn't stretch your budget even thinner and helps infuse compassion and munificence into the everyday life of your children, I suggest you pick this book up. And did I mention that the appendix includes a monthly calendar of charities that experience acute need at certain times of the year (blood banks in January, gifts for sick kids in December) so you can be a philanthropist even if you don't have time to read the book? Consider it a layer of insulation against holiday guilt trips. For at its heart, Boles's book is reminiscent of something Michelle Obama said about the continuing popularity of volunteering: "It reminds us of the generosity of the American spirit, and challenges us to work harder to make service part of the daily life of America."