Jimmy Lustig is an active philanthropist. He and his wife created the Lustig Family Foundation.

Month: July 2018

Jimmy Lustig Charity Vs Philanthropy

Charity versus Philanthropy: What’s the Difference?

Often, the words charity and philanthropy are used interchangeably. Both have to do with giving and helping others, so it’s easy to conflate the meaning of the two words. But, the two words have distinct meanings and deal with different areas of world change. To put it in simple terms, charity is giving, while philanthropy is doing.

 

Charity is a short-term response focused on relief and rescue. It addresses an immediate need for a community or a cause, such as food, shelter and medical care. Giving a meal or a coat to a homeless person would be charity, not philanthropy. While it’s addressing a need and is necessary, it doesn’t tackle the root issue.

 

Philanthropy focuses on finding a long-term solution to a problem. Philanthropy aims to solve problems, instead of providing temporary fixes to them. Philanthropy is a more strategic plan of giving that’s built around past success and has a strong focus on the community. While charity often only benefits one or a few people, philanthropy aims to reach a much broader group of people. By tackling the societal roots of these problems, philanthropy seeks to change the world in the long-term.

 

Another common misconception is that only the rich can be philanthropists. While those with money can tackle larger humanitarian issues, like donating money to build a new hospital wing, everyone can be a philanthropist. Everyone can make changes in small ways with some planning. Speak to the people in your community and learn what their needs are. Then, learn how to use the skills and resources you have to contribute to a solution to those needs.

 

This is not to say that charity is useless or should be done away with; it solves a purpose and gives us a chance to make small impacts on others. Both charity and philanthropy are necessary, and one isn’t better than the other. Another way to look at it is that philanthropy and charity are two different approaches to solving the same problem. They’re overlapping strategies that both are vital to the nonprofit sector. The two work in tandem with each other and the hope is that the practice of philanthropy eventually eliminates the need for charity.

 

An example of how the two work together can be seen in dealing with addiction. Philanthropy may fund a study that looks into risk factors of addiction or provides preventative education that works to prevent people from becoming addicts in the first place. These are long-term strategies, and ones that may take years to make any difference in addiction rates. A charitable organization would deal with the right-now of drug addiction, perhaps in the form of starting a detox center, to handle the immediate need.

Jimmy Lustig Make Most Donations

How to Make the Most out of your Donations

In 2017, Americans donated $410 billion to charities, up 5 percent from 2016. Donating to charity not only helps others, it also helps you feel good about yourself and the positive impact you’re helping make. Here are three things to consider to make the most out of your charitable donations.

 

Do your research

Unfortunately, there are a lot of organizations that don’t actually give the money they receive to the groups they promise to help. In order to avoid getting scammed, do research into different organizations before actually donating any money. There are organizations that make the research process easier, one is Charity Navigator.

 

Charity Navigator serves as a charity watchdog that evaluates over 9,000 charities. They determine what percentage of donations the charity receives go towards program expenses, administrative expenses and fundraising expenses. Based on the financial breakdown, they score the charity out of 100.

 

Knowing where a charities money goes can help you make smarter decisions about who you choose to support. The point of donating is to help others, so making sure your money is actually going to those causes are important.

 

Choose what you want to donate

Many charities accept more than just money. Look for toy or coat drives in your neighborhood to get rid of gently-worn items you no longer use. Clean out your closets and consider donating all of the items you haven’t worn in a year. Homeless shelters, libraries and hospitals also often accept item donations.

 

Some organizations, like animal shelters, have lists of items they accept in lieu of monetary donations. Shelters and food banks accept shelf-stable food items. Or, you can volunteer your time at a soup kitchen or other organization that’s important to you.

 

Keep your receipts

While donating to charities is about the benefits it offers to others, there are benefits for yourself as well. There are tax deductions you can claim when you donate money to most charity. Depending on the tax bracket you’re in, you receive money back from your donation when you claim them during taxes.

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