Inspired Stories: Newsletter Volume 15, Winter 2009

TEAM MEMBER Pat Tiller, Administrative Coordinator Pat is a native Texan who has many years of administrative experience at for-profit corporations in Houston, including Texaco, 3/D International, Mitchell Energy & Development, and Burk-Kleinpeter Engineering. She spent several years gaining non-profit volunteer experience as a youth facilitator for HATCH. For the last several years, Pat has served on the Board of Directors of AssistHers as Vice President-Outreach. "Now that I am semi-retired, I am pleased to have quality time to serve AssistHers, as well as the opportunity to continue using my administrative experience for Inspired Legacies. It is indeed a pleasure to assist Tracy in working with donors to help them accomplish their goals." See our whole team.   UPCOMING EVENTS DECEMBER 21 Happy Solstice. Make all donations by today. 24-Jan. 3 Limited office hrs. TG in So. Carolina. JANUARY 13-18 New York City for IL Board Mtg (16th) and client work. 19- San Jose AFP Silicon Valley, lunch and workshop, TG 21-22 Santa Cruz Women's Fund of CA Donor/Activist Conf. 23-26 Monterey Youth Giving Circle outreach/trainings 27-29 Bay Area, CA Client and IL planning work 30-Feb.1, San Diego, CA Family Foundation Conf. panel FEBRUARY TBD El Paso, TX Frontera Women's Foundation 15-21 Melbourne, Australia with Women Moving Millions & clients 23 Los Angeles, CA So. CA Regional Grantmakers & Women Give! 24-27 San Francisco, CA National Association of Independent Schools Conf. Click here for updated and extended calendar   LEGACY TOOLS Bill McKibben, author and environmental activist, whom I respect a great deal, has just written an article on putting the hold on holiday waste for AlterNet. http://www.alternet.org/story/144223/ Let's think together on this. Here's our pledge:   Waste less. Take stock. Make change. Honor others. Here's a way to plan your year end giving. Solstice giving worksheet   INSPIRED PRODUCTS Several years ago, we noticed there were no youth giving circle tools that focused on supporting youth ages 13-18 that included: diversity, empowering processes, analysis of social justice and charitable solutions, as well as fundraising. We now have tools written by veteran youth education, Karen Payne (www.wildzones.org) and Sondra Shaw Hardy, (http://www.philwomen.com/sondra.html)women's giving circle expert. Start it going where you live and play. Youth Giving Circles. Join our efforts to move the next generation forward: For ages 13-18, here is Inspired Legacies' new 169 page resource. For more, see: www.inspiredlegacies.org/youthgiving/   RESOURCES The Story of Stuff by outstanding activist Annie Leonard. See her new work on ewaste from electronics (over 6 billion TONS of waste.) and remind those you care about to see her classic animation on our consumer lives gone mad at http://www.storyofstuff.com/ What if we really co-create the world we want? Would it be a thrivable world? Our co-founder Jean Russell is working to help emerge the possibility. Read about her new organization, Thrivable.org. http://www.thrivable.org For a one page overview of Thrivable, see the one page pdf. See also plans for implementation.   Please feel free to send us links to resources that address legacy or philanthropic planning and revitalize democracy through citizen participation.     Be sure to check our next issue in March 2010! Would you like to donate to support Inspired Legacies and Inspired Stories?     We welcome your feedback and ideas at any time! To contribute to the next issue of Inspired Stories, please submit by January 15. Share your concerns and best practices. See the services IL offers.

VIEW FROM THE FOUNDER

"Enchantment lives. See miracles when you extend time, talent and treasure to our nonprofit leadership angels. Do it today and shift into seasonal bliss."
--Tracy Gary

Accelerating the Innovation Economy:
Lets Surge Giving as Hearts, Minds & Spirits Agree--Nonprofits Are Our Best Year-End Value!

President Obama has called for the "innovation economy." Here we are. Who shows up steadily as just that? Our nonprofits who work hard to stimulate and provide for communities right now! Give this December and see the economy return sorely needed jobs cut earlier this year. Here too recovery has double value, as your money given now, may, in January, provide a new job for someone who will help thousands of others. This is transformative giving. Your $100-$100,000's paired with hundreds of others will lift spirits and capacities. It's really that simple. What if you gave only gifts to nonprofits in the names of those you love?

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The markets are up and down. Fact is that The S and P 500, the index that has determined through research by the Center on Philanthropy on what total year nonprofit giving seems to follow, shows that the S and P as of Dec. 4th is up 25.27% for a remarkable recovery given tough declines in 2008 and into Spring of 2009 for people with stocks or hedge funds. How about MOVING our money to more good deeds?

This is the time of year we are surrounded with elegant requests from our hardest working nonprofit peers. And ask they must, as more than 20-40% of their annual income often comes from you, who decide their value and importance and those of our shared communities in these last days of the year.

In other words, your donations of all sizes, especially matter. Last year was a bust as between the election and the crash most of our nonprofits crashed too. If not, hard working boards, including ours, worked to recalibrate hard won progress, got stripped of potential and staff by depleted cash reserves. Now is the time to melt our fears and to move our money on behalf of the future.

Many foundations seem to be in "woe is us, we have so much less" mode. This is a reality for some. American ingenuity means that you then, the donors who will give smaller donations, are the juice for emergence. Go baby go! May we see online giving bust all records as we tie ourselves down to restrict the use of our credit cards for stuff no one needs (http://www.storyofstuff.com/) remember that nonprofits should not be seen as depleting your balances but instead adding to rebalance our purposefulness. Here is a welcomed seasonal realignment! Lets all have a strong close of this otherwise challenging year!

Here's what we, at Inspired Legacies, will get done in 2010 with your help:

1. Hire a Youth Giving Coordinator (still need $10k to assure 300 new giving circles worldwide.)
2. Manage coaching leaders of color in development and matching them with Donor Partners
3. Set up Inspired Legacies' legacy funds at Triskeles Foundation (a great investment partner and advisory service http://www.triskeles.org/)
4. Raise millions for others, including our mission partners listed in Making Change Happen below.
5. Educate at least 5000 donors on lifetime and legacy giving and thousands more on line through our new subscription site for advisors and leaders in 2010.
6. Support thousands of advisors and nonprofits to do a better job of partnering with donors.
7. Coach you to take initiative to update or to do your giving and legacy planning.

May the true joy of giving be with you,

Tracy Gary, Director, Inspired Legacies
Primary Office: No. CA
P.O. Box 1693
40 Redwood Drive
Ross, CA 94957

Phone: 415.461.5539
Fax: 415.461.5573
tracy@inspiredlegacies.org

Satellite Office:
Houston, TX
P.O. Box 840601
Houston, TX 77284
Phone: 281.213.4180

PS:
GIVE to Inspired Legacies so all this gets done. Of our $400k budget we bring in about 50% of it or $200,000 in earned revenues (fees for service, consulting fees) and then 50% more in donations. We have still $25,000 to raise plus $50k goal left for program and development reserves. Book us for 2010, hire us to help with your legacy story and actions or for a family member or donate so our leadership is stable and active.

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MAKING CHANGE HAPPEN

Making Change Happen--Our Holiday Recommendations:
Download a pdf of this here

We make a deep bow for this edition to six of our partners and/or clients for they represent a wonderful mix of courage and smarts in bringing results and justice to life. Please remember to stretch...not for some item that really you and your friends do not need but to fill the giving baskets of these and other gems.

Stretch here and see lights as pathways to hope for miles.

Our Nonprofit Portfolio: Not sure where to give this year? Trust us. Give here:

1. The Women's Foundation of California celebrates 30 years in Southern and Northern California. Simply the best leadership and commitment to women and girls in Northern California. Remarkable and visionary work and team.
(Left to raise $240,000 by 12/31/09)
http://www.womensfoundca.org/...

2. The Seasons Fund for Social Transformation, a 3 year old fund, is stabilizing social justice organizations through contemplative practices! See their grants and strategy and be inspired.
Goal to raise by June 30, 2010, $1 million more for grants and capacity for this justice-making sector, any amount welcomed!
www.seasonsfund.org

3. Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues is planning a new initiative on legacy gifts for the GLBT community. Seeking $200,000 for it's first of five year campaign to raise millions.
$25k needed by mid-January.
http://www.lgbtfunders.org/

4. Women Moving Millions and the Women's Funding Network is raising and leveraging multi-millions for women's foundations and funds.
$200,000 by 12/31/09 for the mothership, and lead catalyst organization, the Women's Funding Network, www.wfnet.org
See www.womenmovingmillions.org

5. Bolder Giving wants you to step up to your giving potential! Take the Bolder Giving Challenge and give to Bolder Giving's year end, to assure that good donors have support for expanding their capacities. Help them raise $50,000 more by 12/31/09 and beyond to leverage hundreds or millions. Just a little has remarkable impact here.
http://boldergiving.org/site/index.php/donate/

6. Criterion Ventures via Calvert Foundation is "incubating and scaling ventures that create a better world." Help us help them launch through Calvert Foundation https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=12682 - label for "Women Effect Investments" with donations of ideally $5,000-$10,000. Seed funders, for just about $65,000 more will help women's investment options and viability for their R and D phase. This will enable them to expand the availability of options for retail and institutional investors to invest in women and generate financial returns using a gender lens to create social impact.
http://www.criterionventures.com/

7. And don't forget to give to Inspired Legacies. We grow great donors and their leadership and build the field of donor and legacy education. We count on you to give your collective bow to our good works, enabling us to help many at year end and throughout the year and to advance our Youth Giving Circle work. And please remember as your final gift of this year to invest in the future of our movement, with a gift to Inspired Legacies to do our shared legacy work. Just $25,000 on our goal, plus ideally $40,000 more for our program and adm. reserve. www.inspiredlegacies.org Checks, stock or hit our donation button on line on or before Dec. 31st. Just hit DONATE NOW here, or call Tracy at 415-377-9447 or email and we will email you, tracy@inspiredlegacies.org

And a deep bow for Trish Houck and the Dallas Women's Foundation, The Alice K. Reynolds Foundation, and Frontera Foundation for their thoughtful funding of social justice programs throughout Texas.

Thank you for all you do for the world.

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GRATITUDES & TRANSITIONS

With gratitude to our staff, consultants, and Associates, most present, some former* Jean Russell, Barbara Brust, Pat Tiller, Elyse Meyer, Janet Benton, RIck Russell, Beth Carls and Amy Looper, Jody Blazek, Rick Wilcox and Tom Yerby, Luis Gilberto Rivas*, Jonita Fair-Payton*, Karen Payne, Sondra Shaw-Hardy, Haley Jenkins, Jule Meyer, Phil Cubeta, Ginni Galicinao, Sam Wollard, and our newest Associate member Mike Schaefer! www.inspiredlegacies.org/about/associates.htm. Also a deep bow of thanks to our Board of Inspired Legacies: Joanne Reich, our chair, Kate Persons, Cindy Ewing, Stan McDonald, and Jeff Stys. And thanks to Flora Moon* for her service over her 4+ years of work with Inspired Legacies.

Gratitude to all who make year end gifts and to our newest foundation funder:

The Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation for their support of our Youth Giving Circle work in Monterey and Wisconsin. And to our 40 funders in 2008 and early 2009 who have made our Youth Giving tools free to the public. Join us: www.inspiredlegacies.org/youthgiving.

Give a year end gift now (click our donation button or send a check or pay by paypal) and see just around the corner our Valentines Day's special thank-you! list of all donors through Dec. 31st. May we include you? (we thrive with only about 75 donors and 40 clients per year!) And think of the impact!