Styles of Giving

One of the things that Treasure House's key person (Mila) does exceptionally well is to identify projects that need to be undertaken - as opposed to just giving cash.

From a donor's perspective this makes the task of giving that much more tangible. In the last week I have contributed an additional AUD $3,500 which has been used as follows :

• Purchase of a laptop computer for children.
• Purchase of a digital camera so that photos of activities can be provided to donors.
• Purchase a new fridge.
• Repair of children's furniture.

I would encourage you to have any charity you support to take the approach of Mila at Treasure House.

When you can see the money at work it makes the benefit conveyed just that much more real.

Treasure House Visit

I have recently visited Treasure House in Fiji, and seen the wonderful work that Mila and her staff are doing in caring for the 17 orphans cared for.

I believe that if you are ever wondering why you need to be involved in philanthropy then just go and visit a cause. The good that your money / help does will soon become apparent.

Make Giving FUn

On Saturday night my wife and I attended a charity function entitled :  'Unmask the Cure'.  In aid of Brain Cancer Research.  As usual there were many auction items up for offer.

We bought our fair share for a really simple reason.  It is not about the value of an item, it is about the benefit of the funds in the hands of the recipient charity.  Although we give to many charities directly, with no 'reward', it is a bit of fun to be able to spend charitably and gain a benefit at the same time. 

One fellow curiously said that I had paid too much for things.  When I noted to him that the $8,000 my wife and I spent represented a good chunk raised on the night - and it was not about getting value - he just did not seem to get it at first, but after a 10 minute education I think and hope he did.

So my thoughts are these:

1. Attend a few events each year - they are great fun and for great causes.
2. Bid on the auction items on the basis of how much you are helping.  You don't have to go overboard - there are always things for $20 and up.  But it all helps the charity reach its budget.
3. Work out if there is anything that you are involved in that can be an auction item on the night.  A little bit of philanthropy can go a long way.

Keep giving across the GFC

Despite the fact that the world is in turmoil it is really important to continue to support small charities in their efforts.

In discussing the donor situation with many charity organisers the financial taps have been turned off for the smaller / emerging charities.  particularly those in developing nations.

The work that these charities do is so fundamental to the support of basic life for (in our charities case) children, that now more than ever they require support.  

A failure to adequately support will result in many charities being not able to continue.  Their collapse is in no ones interest.

Whether corporate or individual please continue to consider supporting the efforts of young charities.  The hundreds, or thousands, of dollars that you contribute could make all the difference.

Libraries in Vietnam ?

Michael was in town from BlueDragon recently and we started discussing the construction of libraries on the sides of schools in Vietnam.  Michael has done this before.  What a great idea.

So for a few thousand dollars there can be a simple structure built which is populated with books, and adds so much to the local community for the children.

We are going to commit to the building of an initial one which will be around USD4,000.  The 'tail of benefit' is long and fits in perfectly with what Kelly and I have envisaged this charity would achieve.  

Real benefit for children at a grass roots level.

The Phnom Penh Post

Our friends at the Cambodian Children's Advocacy Foundation have been interviewed by the Phnom Penh Post on March 16th about our contribution to their cause.

Our contributions in Cambodia are aimed at improving education for young children.

Why Are Administration Costs So High ?

I had a coffee with an interesting business contact on Friday who has a relative within a Global Charity Organisation. We both laughed at the perks this individual enjoyed. Tax Free Income. First Class Travel. The list goes on and on. Sounded like a pretty great job !

This is the problem I see with many charity organisations. They simply soak up so much of the giving (cash) into running the machine. This is wrong and should be stopped. In particular there should be full disclosure of the cost (on a percentage basis) of every dollar of giving that goes to administration. The shroud of secrecy around some organisations needs to be lifted.

For people that think they are doing good in donating to such organisations just stop and think. Work out the impact of the giving. Is it going to a beneficiary or is it going to pay someone's over inflated wage.

3 Kids in Vietnam

I have pretty much finalised with Blue Dragon in Vietnam to sponsor the education of 3 (maybe 4) children.

The kids are of different ages, and our cash funding will be used to help them with school fees, etc.

More on this initiative soon.

New Charity in Borneo

Looks like we have found a new charity that we are going to start helping, which is based in Malaysia and Borneo.

Alarmingly the issue of child labour continues to be material in these areas. Primarily due to the fact that rural based families are too poor to send children to school, and there is little formal childcaring structure, which is a repeating global theme in many areas.

So the kids go to the fields with their parents, and naturally enough begin to help. Hence the problem.

I am doing the paperwork on assisting now and will post the charities site once formalised.

The Hunt Is On

Ok - so we have the first causes under our belt with things moving forward. Now the hunt is on for the next batch - so if you have any ideas please comment !

We are in due diligence on 3 kids causes located in the Philippines, Indonesia and of all places Borneo. Hopefully we will have a decision on one of these in the next couple of weeks.

As usual my primary focus is ensuring that the cash benefits the kids - and does not 'power the administrative machine'.

Will keep you updated !

Goods Away To Victorian Families !

Well the truck left Sydney at 8.30pm tonight taking goods, toys and furniture to families effected by the bushfires.

Cost the Foundation $1000 in cartage - but could not send such valuable items to a worthier cause.

Treasure House Charity

The Foundation is now supporting the Treasure House Orphanage in Fiji. More on this soon, but visit the site : www.treasurehousefiji.org to learn more.

Helping Bush Fire Victims

Don't worry about E- Bay - think about donating your stuff !

Family friends of my wife and mine were wiped out in the Victorian Bush fires. So we are sending down a load of furniture, etc. to get them going again. I actually don't view this as charity - but just helping. One would like to think that others would do the same for us if misfortune ever visited.

It actually wasn't that hard to do - as usual. Many of hte trucking companies will back haul items from Sydney to Victoria for next to nothing given the circumstances. A couple even free if you can wait a week or two.

So put your thinking hat on and see how you can help. People don't just need money - and from personal experience a whole lot of what you donate ends up being spent by the big charities in administration costs anyway.

So if that is a deterrent to you to helping wok out how you can get things into the hands of those that need them.

What Can You Do ? Send A Care Box !

Do you have to send money ? NO !

One of the other things that the Lincoln Crowne Foundation does is distribute what I call Care & Fun Packages.

This can be a box of colouring in books and pencils. Or kids toothbrushes and toothpaste. Anything that makes the life of a child just that little bit brighter.

And it does not take much to do. About an hour out of your day - TOPS ! About $150 TOPS !

So where is what you should do :

1. Find a charity.
2. Go to the supermarket or Stationery store and buy a few boxes of colour pencils and some colouring books (example).
3. Go to the Post Office.
4. Post em !

See - that wasn't hard now was it. And believe you me the small amount of money you spend will bring great joy.

Imagine how much better a world we would be living in if, for example, the Australian Government didn't just give mindless handouts to is population, but divided some of that off into helping the poor and disadvantaged.

But that wouldn't get many votes now would it............. So please please please - do your part.

Thanks Duncan Ross !

Duncan works in the Lincoln Crowne Sydney Office, and is a supporter of the Starlight Children's Foundation.

I was talking to him about what we want to achieve with the Foundation and 'snap' he turns up a week later with boxes of toys and colourng pencils and other fun items.

The Foundation is now going to try and identify 4 or 5 Australian orphanages where these can be distributed.


Thanks Duncan - a wonderful guy.

Blue Dragon Children's Foundation

There is a miracle worker on the streets of Hanoi in Vietnam. His name is Michael Brosowski.

This fellow works tirelessly to help street kids. You can visit his organisation at www.bdcf.org .

The programme he runs covers all aspects of support at a grass roots level, including :

• A drop in Centre and Safe House.
• Rehabilitation of Street Kids back to their families.
• A Meals Programme - whereby street kids can be well fed.
• Schooling and education - getting runaways and street kids back into the education system.

It is really important work that Michael and his team do - please consider supporting them.

Building Awareness Of Child Poverty

In this day and age one would think that the quality of life of children would be on the rise. Unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth.

From first world economies such as Australia, through to emerging nations and third world countries issues of orphans, child labour and poverty are still rampant.

My wife Kelly and I have in our travels been touched by many stories of hardship. For this reason we decided to ourselves commence supporting causes quietly a while ago now.

Particularly the smaller charities that are far removed from being 'businesses' but are rather typically driven by individuals (saints) that work in communities on a full time basis.

We decvided to go from private support to a more public profile for support (www.lincolncrownefoundation.org ) purely because more needs to be done about it in a more formal fashion that we as individuals could achieve. Attention to the causes we support is required.

I hope you find our experiences interesting, and ask that you both make yourself aware of some of the great causes out there that require support - and additionally request that you visit those that the Lincoln Crowne FOundation supports (and if you could throw in a few bucks that would be awesome).