Currently Reading: Every Gift Matters

Over the last year I have gotten more and more interested in finding a way to give back to the community. I had a chance to read Every Gift Matters: How Your Passion Can Change the World by Carrie Morgridge and John Perry and was moved by the book. I found it compelling both from a donor standpoint and from a volunteer standpoint. I loved reading about how to find organizations to give of your money or your time and how to evaluate the success of your donation. I was refreshed to know that even donors at her level still struggle with making their gift matter. She wrote of organizations that were unable to use the money she donated to make a difference as well as organizations that were able to triple the money she offered and change lives. It is amazing to hear of all of the change that small actions have created in the world.

Currently Reading: Every Gift Matters | Every gift Matters quote

Here are a few of the key things I learned from “Every Gift Matters” by Carrie Morgridge:

  • Start small: give what you can give but find an organization that you care about and want to invest in.
  • Do your homework: Take the time to make sure that the organization you are giving to will spend the money on what they promise to and that they have a good track record for success.
  • Try to maximize your donation: Some employers giving matching donations, so if your company is willing to match your donations, for every dollar you donate the organization gets two. If your company doesn’t donate then maybe recruit some friends to donate as well, the goal is to get the organization as much money as possible.
  • Sometimes donating your time is more valuable: Many organizations are able to care for their needs financially but are unable to implement their plans due to a lack of man-power, which is where volunteers come in.
  • Donations: The majority of the money donated to non-profits is from households not corporations.

This book has inspired me to spend more of my time volunteering; currently my organization of choice is Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity. I am not super handy but I love getting out there and spending the day building a home for someone who would typically never be able to become a home-owner. Several Saturdays I have spent the day sweating beside the future homeowner helping them change their life.

I don’t think at the beginning that I would feel so honored to give of my time, which I value highly, to help build a home that someone needs. This was probably one of the best things that I could have done when life was crazy, because for those few hours I couldn’t think about myself. Volunteering is an interesting adventure since it isn’t about you, it is about giving back to the community and realizing that the things that we hold closest to us aren’t actually that important.

See more about the book on Amazon (genpink referral link)

every-gift-matters-books

I was provided a promotional copy of the book to review.