Bring Light Blog

Drew McManus:
Part of the power of Bring Light is getting your friends involved. Sometimes, you care so much about a particular cause that you can’t wait to get others to join you in supporting a cause. We know that’s important, so Bring Light was designed to give you a number of ways to reach out to friends and family to share the projects that are most important to you.

You’ve always been able to share Bring Light projects via email by just clicking the email link on a project listing. You can also form a Giving Group to get people to rally around a cause.

And now there is a new and even better way to share your projects: the Bring Light Facebook application. All you need to do is add the application to your Facebook profile. Once you connect it to your Bring Light account (register if you don’t already have one), a box on your Facebook profile will show off the projects you support. Of course, projects you’ve donated to are shown also, as well as any project that you mark as a favorite on Bring Light.

Check it out! I look forward to seeing you on Facebook!

Melissa Dyrdahl:
I am so honored to be one of the New Radicals featured in Julia Moulden’s fantastic book, We are the New Radicals: A Manifesto for Reinventing Yourself and Saving the World, which was just published last month. And it was tremendously inspiring to meet many of the other New Radicals at the book launch event in New York City a few weeks ago - not to mention finally getting to meet Julia in person.

I had spoken to Julia on the phone several times as she interviewed me for the book last spring, and based on our conversations, I was really looking forward to meeting her. She’s an accomplished writer who coined the term New Radical as a way to define the emerging trend of ordinary people (just like you!) finding ways to do good in the world. On top of that she’s engaging, energetic, funny and articulate - just the kind of person you want more of in your life.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I starting reading her book (and I never got used to seeing myself quoted, even when I knew it was coming) but wow - was I impressed by what a great job she did. Julia’s writing style is so appealing and she thoughtfully presents the unique stories of the New Radicals she spoke to, interweaving their experiences and insights into a compelling narrative. She also provides practical advice and examples of what you can do to join the New Radical movement - whether you want to embark on a completely new path, as I did, or just reinvent yourself in your current career.

I’ve already recommended the book to several friends who’ve told me how much they’ve enjoyed it. Check out Julia’s website and learn more about how to order the book and how you can become a New Radical too.

Drew McManus: Chances are, your life has been touched in some way by Autism. Many of us have a friend or family member that is on the autism spectrum. These people, their caregivers, and their families all have special needs. This month, we are happy to feature a number of autism-related projects on Bring Light.The causes of Autism and related disorders are not well understood. Even with recent breakthroughs in genetic research there is much still to be learned about this disorder.We at Bring Light are proud to partner with FoggyRock, a social site for family, friends, and supporters of individuals with autism. Bring Light helps raise funds for a variety of Autism-related charities, and FoggyRock provides community and support to those who know firsthand what it means to live with autism as a part of their daily lives.Won’t you please help?

Drew McManus:
You know that giving to charity can have a big tax benefit. Most donors tell us that this is one of the many reasons they choose to give. Many of those same donors tell us that they often give at the end of the year in the hope of maximizing that tax benefit, and that this sometimes leads to some rash giving decisions. What if you could get that year-end tax benefit without rushing the decision of what charity gets your donation?

Most people don’t know about Donor Advised Funds. In a nutshell, a DAF provides you a place to “park” money that you have earmarked for charitable giving. You get the immediate tax benefit, but can take your time deciding which charities will get your donation. (For more detail on Donor Advised Funds, read this Wikipedia entry.)

Unfortunately, DAFs are out of reach for most people. DAFs usually require a minimum donation of $10,000. Most funds charge management fees, and often the minimum grant you are allowed to make to a charity is $250. But with Bring Light, those restrictions don’t apply. Using a Bring Light Donor Account, anyone can realize the benefits of a Donor Advised Fund–benefits that are usually only available to people who have lots of money to give away.

What does this all mean to you? It’s simple. Here’s an example: Let’s say you decide that $500 in charitable donations would help your tax picture for the year.

• Simply join or login to Bring Light.
• Click on ‘My Donor Account’ in the upper right corner.
• Click on ‘Add Money.’
• Enter the amount you want to put in your Donor Account (in this example, $500).
• You’ll immediately get a receipt for the $500 donation via email, a receipt you can use for this year’s tax return.
• You can decide later–over the coming weeks, months, or longer–to which Bring Light projects you would like to grant your funds.

That’s it! You are enjoying the benefits of a DAF. You get the immediate tax benefit. You can choose how to grant your money whenever you want. You can be thoughtful about where you want to put your charitable dollars, which makes the giving process much more personal and meaningful.

And when you do give to projects on Bring Light, you can magnify the impact of your donation by inviting your friends and family to contribute to your causes.

Get into the holiday spirit today by helping others and yourself. Login or join Bring Light today to open a Donor Account.

Drew McManus:
It feels good to do something for the right reasons. It feels even better to see big results.

Almost two years ago, I sold my beautiful luxury car and bought a Toyota Prius.

I had been thinking about it for a long time. In fact, my wife had already had a Prius for a year or so. Her primary vehicle had been a big Chevy Suburban, so the benefits were real–especially with the way gasoline prices were skyrocketing at the time. Still, I struggled with the idea of getting one for myself. On paper, it was an easy decision. My BMW was getting about 20 or 21 miles per gallon, and I could probably shave 10-15 minutes off of my commute with the California carpool lane stickers. I was acutely aware of the economic and geopolitical issues related to America’s unbridled consumption of gasoline. Still, I loved my beautiful car.

I’ll readily admit that it all came down to vanity. I loved my BMW. It was comfortable. In fact, it was indulgent. I hesitate to admit it, but in some ways that car felt like a symbol of achievement for me.

Finally it all crystallized for me. The reasons that I was keeping the car were selfish ones. I’m not much of a car enthusiast, so the horsepower and performance were wasted on me. I was keeping it for it’s beauty and luxury. Once I decided that a car was really just for getting around, the decision was simple. We became a two-Prius family.

Prius owners often brag about the results. Ours are good too. We generally get 47-50 miles to the gallon. We’ve saved money on gas, even as prices have continued to rise. But for me, the real reward came in an article I read last week. California has reduced the amount of gasoline consumption over last year. This is in contrast to the rest of the nation, where consumption continued to grow. My choice of car may have made a small difference to me and my family, but I am proud to be part of a movement that is making a significant difference to the whole world.

I loved my BMW. I love my Prius for a completely different set of reasons.

Melissa Dyrdahl:
We’ve been crazy busy the past few months, making sure you have a wide variety of pre-screened charitable projects to donate to. Whether you like to give locally, nationally or internationally, we’ve approved a diverse selection of important causes for you to choose from. So many of our Bring Light donors tell us how much they appreciate being able to see where their donations will be applied - as someone recently told me “I love reading about the projects and deciding where to donate - it really feels like I am making a tangible difference when I know exactly where my money is going!”

We’ve recently added some new team members and are thrilled to have Chris Bailey join us as VP of Engineering. Chris is responsible for enhancing the site and adding all the new features we have on our list. Chris has an extensive engineering background, and has worked on tons of cool projects. You can read more about him on our Team page.

We’re also fortunate to have assembled an incredibly talented group of volunteers who make up our Youth Advisory Board. I’ve been so impressed with their backgrounds and the insightful feedback they’ve provided - we’re anxious to roll out all of the great suggestions they’ve given us.

In the meantime, if there’s anything you’d like to see us do to improve your donation experience on Bring Light, please let us know!

Linda McNair:
If you’re a parent, you’re probably in the midst of getting your kids ready for another school year. I don’t know about you, but my supplies list was comprised of a backpack, paper, pencils, a Trapper Keeper binder (the green one was the best) and Pee-Chee folders. Today, I have to put aside a few hundred dollars in our September budget to pay for items that the school used to provide. The most alarming one? Books.

We’re not alone. Millions of students lack the resources needed to get a proper education. Yes, MILLIONS. Simply put, if we don’t properly educate our children, the future is not a bright one.

To help provide relief, Bring Light is proud to introduce several nonprofit organizations and schools to a new way of raising funds for educational needs—a social network focused on giving.

You’ll find many worthy causes while browsing through the Education projects on Bring Light. There are projects posted from DonorsChoose and Room to Read, two charities that address domestic and international needs on a large scale. And there dozens of smaller nonprofits doing amazing work, such as providing school supplies for low-income families, sponsoring music education through a local youth symphony, giving girls ages 5-14 the opportunity to develop their skills and confidence in technology, and getting aid to an organization that helps autistic children become more socialized, or to stop bullies from teasing them at school.

It’s through the generosity of your donations, and your advocacy through the Bring Light social network, that the impact will be made. You’ll know what resources you are providing students so that they get the quality of education they deserve. And you’ll feel that you’re not just making a charitable contribution, but an investment in our future.

Drew McManus:
This week, we are happy to roll out a new feature to help you find new projects on Bring Light–RSS Feeds. Those of you who use an RSS Reader know that this is a great way to keep up with changes or updates to your favorite blog, website, or other topic. For those of you who have not tried it yet, get a reader and give it a try! (Google Reader is my favorite, but there is an RSS reader built into most web browsers).

Here’s how our feeds work on Bring Light: Bring Light RSS feeds list projects. By choosing to subscribe to certain feeds, you can decide which new projects you will hear about.

The home page of the site has a feed which lists all projects on the site–subscribe to this one to see every new project on Bring Light. Every individual charity page on Bring Light has its own feed. So, if you want to know every time your favorite charity adds a new project, just subscribe to their feed! Have a favorite Giving Group? Join their feed to see when they sponsor a new project. You can even subscribe to a feed of a friend–so you can see the projects they have supported or marked as a favorite.

How do you subscribe? Look for the orange feed icon in your browser’s tool bar when you visit any of these pages on Bring Light.

It’s a great new way to keep up with all the great causes on Bring Light. Let us know what you think of the feature–we’re eager to hear your feedback!

Melissa Dyrdahl:
As Christian Sahner recently wrote in the Wall St. Journal there are some novel efforts being launched to teach young people about philanthropy. One approach is a new free online video game targeted at middle and high school kids called Karma Tycoon. The goal is for players to support charitable causes - kids have the opportunity set up a nonprofit, apply for grants and loans, and decide to pay for their bills with cash or credit. As the impact of their support increases, so does the player’s “karma” points. But it’s also a way to convert video-game playing time into something much more constructive. What a worthwhile idea! Because anything that reduces the time kids spend playing video games is a good thing - and the fact that Karma Tycoon teaches social responsibility and the impact of charitable efforts on society makes it even better.

Melissa Dyrdahl:
While I was in Japan last month, the Giving USA Foundation released its annual report on how much Americans give to charity. The good news is that total donations reached a record high - $295 billion - in 2006. The amount given by individuals (not foundations or corporations) is now $223 billion of that total. An amazing number - and 1.2% higher (after adjusting for inflation) than 2005.

However, what those numbers don’t show is that there are many charities struggling to raise as much money as they have in previous years. 32% of the charities interviewed reported a decrease in contributions from 2005. Year to year comparisons are a bit misleading because of Hurricane Katrina and the Asian tsunamis, but - for example - when disaster-related gifts are excluded, contributions to social services remained flat and donations to international organizations declined 3.3%.

Does this mean you should give more? That’s a question you’ll need to decide for yourself. But the data does make me think that it’s important to remember that even small donations can make a difference. While the “celebrity donors” who can make six and seven figure donations get lots of media coverage, those of us with more modest means can be left feeling like our money is a drop in the bucket. But nothing could be farther from the truth - and as the new Giving USA report indicates, many, many charities still desperately need our support. Even $25 will make a difference to them.