Volunteering Could be the Secret to Happiness: How You Can Get Involved, Go Riverwalk Magazine, June 2014

What if there was a study dedicated to unearthing the secrets to a happy life?  Researchers analyzed data from 40 published papers and found evidence that volunteering, in fact, boosts happiness.  Volunteers had lower levels of depression, increased life satisfaction and enhanced well-being.  More importantly, volunteers had a 20 percent lower risk of death than…

Manufacturing a ‘Sweet’ Community Relations Plan Case Study, PR News, May 5, 2014

   Nipro Diagnostics Manufactures a Sweet (“but sugar free”) Community Relations Plan By: Kelly Alvarez Vitale  In 2012 corporate philanthropy, also referred to as community relations, accounted for six percent (or $18.97 billion) of the total giving in the U.S.  While corporate giants account for millions in community relations efforts, the vast majority of the…

Nonprofits Toast to the Foodie Donor

Our interest in food has undergone a cultural shift in the past few decades with the rise of the Food Network and other specialized food programing like Top Chef and Iron Chef, specialized magazines like Food & Wine and Fine Cooking, growing popularity of farmers’ markets,  food-oriented websites like Zagat and Yelp, specialized kitchenware stores like Williams-Sonoma…

Companies Reflect on Doing Good and Doing Well, Go Riverwalk Magazine, March 2014

With the recent release of Giving USA’s philanthropy report, which indicates that companies gave over$18 billion to charities in 2012, companies and nonprofits can reflect on all of the good work done by corporate philanthropy.  Instilling a culture of corporate philanthropy often takes time, however these three philanthropy initiatives show how companies have turned “doing…

Looking Ahead: Nonprofits Need to Get to Know Their Future Donor Base, Go Riverwalk Magazine, January 2014

  There is a debate in the nonprofit arena on how much effort there should be towards recruiting the next generation of donors – the Millennials. While Millennials may not individually donate large sums of money, their collective power can help raise thousands for nonprofits.  Nonprofit groups should be aggressively working to involve people in…

#DoGoodTuesday

On September 24th, I started a social media initiative called #DoGoodTuesday.  It had been an awful week.  The DC shooting had happened a few days prior and the government was on the brink of a shutdown.  I felt powerless (for about a second) and then had the thought that we, the people, can change the…