Philanthropists of the World: You’re Doing It Wrong!

As baby boomers barrel into retirement in larger numbers with better health and more energy than any previous generation, philanthropy is getting a makeover. Boomers don’t want to give time at a soup kitchen; they’d rather mentor a small business. They don’t want to throw money into the black hole of a mega-charity; they’d rather know how their money is going to be spent — and possibly have something to say about it.

This is disruption of a high order, which I explored, with co-author Ken Dychtwald, in a 2010 book, A New Purpose. Others, including the notable philosopher Peter Singer, have opined on how much the current generation of givers ought to be giving.

Now comes the self-styled philanthropist Eric Friedman with an intriguing argument about how one should give. In his forthcoming Reinventing Philanthropy: A Framework for More Effective Giving, which is scheduled to be published in September, Friedman takes all sorts of givers to task for personalizing their charity rather than weighing what most needs to be done. In his view, donors must figure out what the world needs, not what they want the world to have, and give accordingly.

“Most generous, well-intentioned donors are failing to meet their potential,” Friedman asserts. “They aren’t giving to the most impactful charities. Sometimes I felt like a jerk criticizing really good people, but it’s important to discuss this candidly.”

Friedman is hardly a household name. He’s a Chicago-area actuary who, at age 35, gives away 10% of what he makes—practicing what I’ve called Everymanthropy, giving while living in affordable chunks. He set out to give for maximum impact and quickly grew frustrated with the charitable world’s infrastructure, which he says plays to donors’ ego, self-interest, and disinclination to ask tough questions.

Friedman is not the first to attack philanthropy on such grounds. The Chinese Zen Master Chuang-Tzu argued in the 4^th century B.C. that most philanthropy was meant to further one’s own business or personal interests. The 19^th-century Frenchman Alexis De Tocqueville described philanthropy as “self-interest, rightly understood.” German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche agreed.

In New Purpose, I quote billionaire Scotsman Sir Thomas Hunter taking aim at Warren Buffett, of all people, for being a lazy giver. In 2006, Buffett pledged $31 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In doing so, Hunter told me, Buffett shirked his responsibility. “If you’re clever enough to make $31 billion…I would love to have your thinking in trying to solve the world’s seemingly intractable problems,” Hunter said. (Buffett has a different view: He believes the Gates foundation can do a better job giving away all that money than he ever could.)

Still, Friedman isn’t just throwing stones. He seems to genuinely wonder why folks who give don’t take a keener interest in relatively cheap but life-saving measures like a simple mosquito net or clean water to combat deadly illness in developing nations over things like art museums and university buildings. He’s all about giving efficiently, and to causes that address human suffering–personal passions be damned. It’s a what-matters-most approach to philanthropy that certainly de-clutters all the charitable options out there. In the end, Friedman puts forward a three-point plan for reinventing charitable giving:

• More critical thinking. Today’s dominant paradigm is giving to causes that you care about, such as your alma mater, the opera, or an illness that touched your life. But giving based on emotional ties has much less impact than giving based on trying to make the biggest dent in the world’s toughest problems, Friedman says. He adds: “We should reserve the highest praise for donors with the most altruistic motives.”
• Better vetting systems. The most popular charity evaluators focus on things like a nonprofit’s overhead and the percentage of expenditures that go directly to the cause. This is useful information but does not address whether a charity’s programs are effective. For that kind of analysis, Friedman recommends Givewell.org and givingwhatwecan.org.
• Donors need to roll up their sleeves. Only 35% of donors do any research and just 9% do more than two hours of research before giving, according to Hope Consulting. Donors should think not just about what tugs at their heart but about the world’s greatest problems and the charities that address them. “The irony is that as donors make their giving decisions based less on emotional appeals and more on evidence about what works best, the increased conviction they have in their giving will ultimately provide even greater emotional satisfaction,” Friedman writes.

I’m not sure Friedman has got it exactly right. Without an emotional response would people give as generously? Shouldn’t giving bring us joy, even if it comes at the cost of some efficiency? Should we really abandon, say, the arts, as strict adherence to Friedman’s guidelines would require? In my view, all giving is good regardless of motive. But a little more attention to what matters most probably makes sense.

Here’s Why Google Is Buying Waze, a Red-Hot Mobile Traffic App, for $1 Billion

Have you heard about Waze, the crowd-sourced navigation app? If not, you’re about to, because Google is buying this Israeli company for $1 billion. This deal could give Google a major boost in the escalating battle for advantage in the fiercely competitive mobile-mapping space — and spite Apple and Facebook for good measure.

Why would Google want to shell out more than $1 billion for a relatively unknown start-up? Three reasons: First, Waze’s collaborative, user-based approach to mapping represents a real breakthrough for mobile-navigation apps. Second, the company poses a threat to Google’s own popular Maps product, so this acquisition is a smart defensive play. Third, by buying Waze, Google is able to keep it out of the clutches of archrivals Apple and Facebook, which both have been circling the company in recent months.

As GPS-equipped smartphones have become increasingly ubiquitous, map apps have soared in popularity. For well over a year, Google and Apple have been fighting an increasingly intense battle for user loyalty in the mobile-map space, which explains why both companies have been circling Waze. Because map apps are so widely used, they’ve become a key priority for software companies in the mobile wars.

Waze, a free application currently available on the iPhone and Google Android devices, delivers a unique innovation: by incorporating real-time GPS data from its nearly 50 million users, the company delivers highly accurate and useful traffic and navigation information. Users can also edit maps with details like gas prices, speed traps, road construction and traffic accidents.

Think of Waze as the “wisdom of crowds” meets digital maps. “Join other drivers in your area who share real-time traffic and road info, saving everyone time and gas money on their daily commute,” Waze says on its website. The goal? “To outsmart traffic and get everyone the best route to work and back, every day.” Waze users receive mobile alerts about traffic hazards based on their location.

“We’re excited about the prospect of enhancing Google Maps with some of the traffic-update features provided by Waze and enhancing Waze with Google’s search capabilities,” Brian McClendon, a Google Geo vice president, wrote in a company blog post. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Google is reportedlyspending $1 billion in cash, plus $100 million in performance payouts to the Waze staff.

Waze’s “social” component differentiates it from the leading mobile-map apps, which happen to come from Google and Apple. For this reason, Google’s interest in the company is, in part, defensive. Often, when tech juggernauts like Google, Apple and Facebook encounter a start-up that has developed a product that poses a threat, the easiest solution is to simply buy it and remove the competition.

That’s what Facebook did when it spent $1 billlion in cash and stock to buy Instagram, which had built a superior and more popular photo-sharing service. “Buying Waze is all defense but great defense wins championships,” observed tech entrepreneur and investor Howard Lindzon.

Google’s purchase also keeps Waze out of the hands of Apple, which could have incorporated the company into its own map service, and Facebook, which might have integrated the app into its giant social network. Facebook reportedly offered Waze nearly $1 billion last month, but the talks apparently fell through over the purchase price.

“We evaluated many options and believe Google is the best partner for Waze, our map editors, area managers, champs and nearly 50 million Wazers globally,” Waze CEO Noam Bardin wrote in a company blog post. (Champs are Waze power users.) “Google is committed to help us achieve our common goal and provide us with the independence and resources we need to succeed.”

Waze, which was founded in 2007, has about 100 employees, mostly based in Israel, with offices in Silicon Valley and New York. According to the Israeli business publication Globes, which first reported news of the deal, another sticking point with Facebook was that Waze “insisted that its Israeli employees should continue working in Israel, which Facebook did not accept.”

Waze could remain an independent app, although some of its features could be incorporated into Google Maps. According to CrunchBase, the company has raised $67 million in venture-capital funding, including $30 million in its most recent round, led by Silicon Valley titan Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing. Microsoft was also an early investor, but apparently did not make a bid for the company.

Talking With Your Children About Stress

With all the natural disasters that have plagued our nation in recent months, I often pray and worry most about our little ones. They too are greatly affected by stress and PTSD. We don't want to forget about them ... here is a little information about how to talk to your kids about stress. I find that this is valuable information.

According to a recent survey by the American Psychological Association (APA), many Americans — both adults and youth — experience high levels of stress. Adults can more readily identify feelings and causes of stress, and consider ways to manage it. Young people, however, may not recognize signs of stress or know how to respond effectively. Parents can offer valuable assistance and provide empathy and understanding. By knowing what to listen to and watch for and by seeking out opportunities to engage in conversation with children of all ages, parents can help their children to better manage life challenges. APA offers the following tips on talking with your children about stress:

Be Available 

• Notice times when your kids are most likely to talk — for example, at bedtime, before dinner, in the car — and be fully available to just listen.
• Start the conversation; it lets your kids know you care about what’s happening in their lives.
  Find time each week for a one-on-one activity with each child, and avoid scheduling other activities during that time.
• Learn about your children's interests — for example, favorite music and activities — and show interest in them.
• Initiate conversations by sharing what you have been thinking about, or what other kids may be thinking about, rather than beginning a conversation with a question.

Listen Actively

• When your children are talking about concerns, stop whatever you are doing and listen.
• Express interest in what they are saying without being intrusive.
• Listen to their point of view, even if it’s difficult to hear.
• Let them complete their point before you respond.
• Repeat what you heard them say to ensure that you understand them correctly.
• Realize that your children may test you by telling you a small part of what is bothering them. Listen carefully to what they say, encourage them to talk and they may share the rest of the story.

Respond Thoughtfully

• Soften strong reactions — kids will tune you out if you appear angry or defensive.
• Express your opinion without minimizing theirs — acknowledge that it’s okay to disagree.
• Resist arguing about who is right. Instead say, “I know you disagree with me, but this is what I think.”
• Focus on your child’s feelings rather than your own during your conversation.
• Ask your children what they may want or need from you in a conversation, such as advice, help in dealing with feelings or assistance in solving a problem.

Consider 

• Kids learn by watching their parents. Most often, they will follow your lead in how they deal with anger, solve problems and work through difficult feelings. Help your kids to adopt healthy coping strategies by modeling positive behaviors.
• Engage the family in stress-reducing activities, such as taking a family walk, riding bikes or dancing together.
• Young children may express feeling of stress or worry in their play. Pay attention to themes in their conversations and activities to gain a good sense of their concerns. Teens and older children are often more involved with peers than family as part of developing their own identity. Significant avoidance of parents, however, may be a sign that a teen is distressed and may need assistance.
• Kids learn from their own choices. As long as the consequences are not dangerous to themselves or others, don’t feel you have to step in each time.
• Shielding children from possible causes of stress or anxiety, such as unemployment, a parent’s marital problems or an illness in the family, can worsen a child’s anxiety because children commonly assume a worse case scenario. Help by providing age-appropriate information.

Seek Additional Help

If you have concerns that your child is experiencing considerable stress and the ideas are not sufficiently helping, seek advice from a licensed mental health professional such as a psychologist. Psychologists have specific training that can help both you and your child successfully manage overwhelming stress. For additional information on stress and lifestyle and behaviors, visit APA Help Center, read APA’s Mind/Body Health campaign blog, and follow @apahelpcenter on Twitter.