Written by:
Frank Sisco, 30 Mill Road, New Rochelle, NY 10804
Home office - 914.740.4422, Cell - 914.740.4422; Email – ideasmoney@aol.com
www.LifeAndMoney.com
Copyright 2007 Frank Sisco
Life and Money - "Momentum Giving"
By Frank Sisco, CPA, PFS
(Word count =894 word count including "Across the Media" section (8 words) plus 61 words for About the Author)
Last Tuesday as I waited in line to order a small black coffee in the luncheonette, Luz was telling the cashier that she had been extremely busy behind the counter at the Wykagyl Post Office next door. I asked her if more people were sending more packages for the holidays. She replied, "They sure are! Feels like everyone is doing things earlier this year, and more of it." Her notion seemed to mirror what I had been noticing too.
Just as momentum drives trends in business, I think it also does so for giving. Once the so-called tipping point is passed, there is a significant surge of activity, and further evidence of the trend taking hold. Sometimes, we chalk it up to coincidence or synchronicity or divine intervention. Whatever the cause, it's good to go with the flow and ride the momentum wave. Feeling the momentum around me this year's holiday season, here are some of my plans to enhance my own gift-giving, which may trigger an idea or two for you as well.
1. Give things that cost little or nothing but have lots of value. - I'm planning to make many little presents, often of time, affection, tenderness, and not necessarily of money. Monday night a young man in Borders Book Store named Aron overhead me talking to my friend Scott and daughter Kelly about a 1982 mixtape I have of 15 of my favorite songs at that time that I used to play in my retail toy store during all of December. He asked me to email him the list and when I did later that night I felt I was making a gift of myself to him and a gift of all the wonderful words and music in those songs to him and whoever else he shares the songs with. Simple gift with big possible effects.
2. Engage people in their own giving. - As I left the bookstore, I met two Scarsdale high schoolers who were wrapping presents in return for a one-dollar donation to the Free The Children non-profit organization, in which they are active members. I learned from them about the organization's purpose. As the website indicates (See ATM 1 footnote), " Free The Children is the world's largest network of children helping children through education, with more than one million youth involved in our innovative education and development programs in 45 countries." Rachel reminded me that it's better to show someone how to fish than just give him or her a fish. My leading her into a discussion about her volunteer work turned into her affirmation of the power of giving, and not just with me but with everyone else on the line behind me who heard her. More from the website indicates, "Through domestic empowerment programs and leadership training, Free The Children inspires young people to develop as socially conscious global citizens and become agents of change for their peers around the world." Why not motivate a child we know who may be ready to be altruistic and help someone else in a very worthy project? A few sentences here and there can change lives.
3. Give first, reimburse later. - Although cash flow for me is currently a bit tight, I pushed myself through my usual policy of not giving money until I had plenty of it to give. In one example, I gave a gift of a larger amount of money than my typical gift to St. John's Episcopal Church on Wilmot Road in New Rochelle, NY. Over the last year I have been very moved by the generosity of love and caring that the pastor and parishioners have shown to the community and beyond. I wanted to help them monetarily in addition to the time I dedicate to various projects. To reimburse myself for the gift, I decided to give more value to my clients and spend more time doing so. It turns out that the additional fee income will more than cover the money I gave to the church. Thus, my making the gift to the church led to my giving more of myself to others as well to the initial recipient.
4. Look deeper for the gifts being received. - The discussion of giving is all around us. Have you seen Bill Clinton talking about his new book "Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World." on Oprah and other shows? (For Amazon's description of the book, See ATM 2 footnote). Has the holiday season's emphasis on gift-giving gotten you to become more aware of all aspects of giving. Lately, I've been delving deeper into the gifts I've been receiving. Not only those I've gotten directly such as the love of family, kind words, a warm hello, a thoughtful question or comment, a letter of thanks, and so on, but also those I'm receiving as part of a community, nation and world. We all receive a bounty of gifts in nearly every minute of every action in which we are involved. Just look around. And as we see these waves of gifts washing over us continuously with momentum building, perhaps even facilitated by a divine power who loves us all, we'll want to give more of ourselves to more people, and someday we'll wonder why it wasn't always so.
| AcrossTheMedia references: |
(ATM 1) -- http://www.freethechildren.com
(ATM 2) - http://www.amazon.com/Giving-How-Each-Change-World/dp/0307266745/ref=pd_sim_b_title_4/103-8224898-6688660
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About the author:
Frank Sisco is a CPA and Personal Financial Specialist and writes on topics related to life and money. You can contact Frank by email at ideasmoney@aol.com or by phone at 914.589.1013 in order to express your opinion about this article or to obtain copies of prior articles. He resides in New Rochelle, NY with his wife and daughter.
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