Fri, November 13, 2009 - 10:31:38

“Small donations make a BIG Difference,” Charities Say.

Photo courtesy of Jack Weston
In today’s big-thinking world, it’s easy to feel like your charitable contributions just don’t make a difference unless you happen to have a Warren Buffet-sized bank account.  But according to an article in Wednesday’s New York Times, charities claim that even though multi-million dollar donations receive the bulk of media attention, now more than ever it’s the small donations that really count.

In our book, THE POWER OF SMALL: Why Little Things Make All the Difference, we argue that through our tiniest actions, each of us can work together to change the world.  Although the conventional wisdom has always been that the biggest problems can only be handled by world leaders and other big shots, we believe that step by step, bit by bit, and dollar by dollar we can meet our goals and face our even most imposing challenges.  And as the New York Times’ Stephanie Strom writes, more and more charities are learning that in order to achieve big, you have to think small. 
Dr. Jennifer Howse, CEO of the March of Dimes, tells Strom that annually, the organization receives approximately 22 per cent of its revenue from donations averaging $14 and that its campaign asking supermarket shoppers to add $1 to their purchase as a charitable gift earns them a sizable amount.  In fact, such efforts in Kmart stores alone raised $6 million dollars this year. 

In fact, the March of Dimes, initiated during the Great Depression, was built on the small philosophy and began because none of the wealthy philanthropists had any money left to contribute. So the founders came up with the idea to ask everyone for a dime and within a few weeks over a quarter of a million dollars worth of dimes arrived at the White House.

And the March of Dimes isn’t the only charity harnessing the power of small.  Peter Norback’s One Can a Week donates non-perishable food items to the Tucson Community Food Bank with the goods he receives from caring residents in his neighborhood.  Now working with over 140 participants, Norback explains to the New York Times that the key to his success was starting small: “I did 10 houses the first week, the next week, those 10 plus 10 more. I built it by tens. It took me months.”  But, over those months of working little by little, Norback has collected more than 6,500 pounds of food for the hungry.

While hefty donations certainly have their place and are badly needed by non-profit organizations changing lives around the world, we should never forget the old saying: “every penny counts.”  As Eugene Cho of One Day’s Wages in Seattle so aptly explains to Strom, “It’s easy to be drawn to the multimillion-dollar donations, but we’re doing ourselves a disservice by not elevating the stories of the working mothers and fathers who also contribute what are significant amounts to them.”  So, whether it’s a few cents to the bell ringer on the corner this holiday season or a check to your alma mater’s annual fund, remember that no matter how large or small, with your generosity you are changing the world.

Posted by Linda and Robin