We give money to causes that touch us personally — our alma maters, synagogues, the hospitals where we receive lifesaving care. As personal giving is a realm governed by sentiment and emotional attachment, the origins of why we donate may seem unpredictable or irrational. Enter Uri Gneezy, a behavioral economist who uncovered the patterns of…
At 35, Kari Dunn Saratovsky is no longer a millennial by the strict definition. But she has a keen eye for understanding how the 18-30 year old crowd has rethought, retooled and redefined giving. “I want to focus the conversation away from who the millennials are to why they matter and how they are having…
If you’re one of the 150 million Americans who wear some sort of corrective eyewear, you already know an unfortunate truth about shopping for specs: Glasses, particularly fashionable ones, don’t usually come cheap. Click for more Giving stories Frustration with the traditional glasses industry’s byzantine business plan led a band of four former business students…
It all started with a jog. On a business trip to New York in 1997, Seth Goldman went for a run in Central Park. Afterwards, he couldn’t find a drink to quench his thirst. Everything on store shelves was either too sweet or loaded with artificial ingredients. Click for more Giving stories So it got…
(JTA) — Bernard Madoff. An unscrupulous contractor. Art that disappeared or was destroyed by fire – it’s not clear which. Bad, bad bookkeepers. And did we mention Bernard Madoff? These were among the causes of “material diversion” of assets – tax-speak for lost funds or property totaling $250,000 or 5 percent – reported by Jewish…
Earlier this week, a few Russian billionaires gave billionaire New York’s outgoing mayor Michael Bloomberg a $1 million dollar Jewish prize. We have some bright ideas about what he should do with all that cash. The million bucks, chump change for the richest man in New York City, came along with the Genesis Prize, bestowed…
(JTA) — The biblical David used a slingshot to kill Goliath, thus earning the attention of King Saul. Today, Jewish organizations are trying to use Slingshot, an annual guide of the 50 “most innovative organizations and projects,” to capture the attention of donors. The ninth installment of the guide was released Thursday. Launched in 2005…
Following Hurricane Katrina, donations poured in from concerned folks all around the country hoping to help make things better. They came in all sizes, with big bucks coming from the usual suspects: Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, Amaco and Talia Leman. Talia Leman? At the time, Leman was a 10-year-old fifth-grader who lived in Waukee, Iowa, two…
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