It’s the calm before the end-of-year slash holidays solicitation storm and it’s got me thinking about what we can pay forward this year. I like to have a donations plan in place before the holidays, lest I go broke responding to every return address mailing and “last chance for a tax deduction” email over the next few weeks. And thinking about how much to give always brings me back to my childhood.

I first learned about tithing back in Sunday School when contributing 10 cents of my one dollar allowance seemed oh, so manageable. When the novelty wore off, and I looked around and saw a struggling congregation, I began to think that tithing – at least in the traditional sense of the word – was something that was done in older times, particularly when religious institutions were the only organizations feeding the hungry and providing other outreach, and those contributions went beyond church expenses to uplift an entire community.

Traditionally, to tithe means to give one tenth of one’s income. For most people, that’s a staggering number of funds earmarked to pay a mortgage in order to stay out of foreclosure, to cover the cost of daycare while two parents go to work or to travel to see grandparents who no longer live down the road. So I prefer to think of tithing as any contribution to a religious institution or another non-profit organization that fulfills a societal need in which the donor believes. The key to uplifting our global community is to have as many people contribute as possible, at whatever level they can.

If all 8.4 million residents of New York City (with a median household income of about $48,000 according to the 2010 census) gave just 1% of their pre-tax income – $486 – to the charity of their choice, that would come to $3.9 billion, a little over what the American Cancer Society has contributed to cancer research since their inception in 1946. Imagine what could be accomplished by that much cancer research in just one year.

Still too much, you say? If every adult living in the tri-state region gave just 1/2 a percent of their income, $16.8 billion would advance the efforts of thousands of worthy causes.

This year, we’re trying to do our part by donating our fund for printed holiday cards and sending an e-card instead. To join our holiday card mailing list and learn about the organization we’re supporting this year, click here.

Thank you for reading, and for tithing – any amount you can.

Last night I returned from handling the logistics for the U.S. Human Rights Fund’s (USHRF) convening in Philadelphia. For the past three years, this event has brought together funders and advocates working towards common goals such as criminal justice reform, racial equity and developing youth leadership for social justice causes. Much of the convening was devoted to small-group workshops but the first day was devoted to a motivating opening plenary, followed by a presentation of the first USHRF Human Rights Hero Award to Jessica Lenahan.

Prior to working on this convening, I had never heard of Jessica Lenahan. But before I made the travel arrangements for our VIP, I knew I needed to know more. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights showed up first on google with this information:

“Jessica Lenahan…obtained a restraining order against her ex-husband from the Colorado Courts in May 21, 1999.  Not knowing the whereabouts of her daughters, Jessica Lenahan had eight contacts with the Castle Rock Police Department during the evening of June 22, 1999 and the morning of June 23, 1999.  In each of her telephone calls and discussions with the police agents, she requested efforts to locate her daughters and she informed them that she possessed a protection order against Simon Gonzales. Her contacts were met with a police response that was fragmented, uncoordinated and unprepared, and it did not respect the terms of the restraining order. That morning, Simon Gonzales drove his pick-up truck to the Castle Rock Police Department and fired shots through the window. There was an exchange of gunfire with officers from the station in the course of which he was fatally wounded and killed. The deceased bodies of the three girls were found in his truck.”

Luckily, I was sitting down when I read this and when I learned the rest of Jessica’s story while at the convening. I thought that what had happened to her was a blow so fierce that a person would never be able to withstand more hurt and heartache within their lifetime. But it was only after viewing this video at the convening, did I learn that Jessica’s struggle only just began with that violent day in 1999:

Jessica has spent the past 12 years fighting for women’s and children’s rights against domestic abuse and for enforcement of the laws that were meant to keep her family safe. It was a humbling honor to help to bring together a group that will use Jessica’s story as inspiration for their ongoing human rights advocacy.

November 7-9, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 14-17, 2010 in Los Angeles, California
January 11-14, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana

The 2011 convening “Using Human Rights to Achieve Racial Justice: We Shall Overcome,” hosted by the U.S. Human Rights Fund with support from The Overbrook Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Just and Fair Schools Fund, was attended by 150 advocates and funders. In addition to building the registration website, making travel reservations and communicating with attendees, Ginger Donnan Events coordinated arrangements for the course of events over the three-day convening.

The 2010 convening brought together 15 funders and 80 advocates working on three inter-related human rights campaigns to develop new campaign strategies and advocacy skills, and explore collaborations. Travel arrangements were made for the guests to attend the welcome reception:

2 ½ days of meetings:

three site visits:

and two off-site dinners:

The 2009 Global Strategy Exchange Convening was an opportunity for the organization’s grantees to meet and learn from key international human rights activists. The event included hotel and travel arrangements for 140 attendees, two days of meetings, two days of site visits around New Orleans and Mississippi and all food and beverage, including an off-site group dinner.

Working with Ginger Donnan is an experience unlike any other.  Convenings and special events are by nature a stressful experience for the hosts.  So many people’s needs to be addressed, so many details to consider. Ginger’s organizational skills expertly bring order to chaos.  She identifies a problem and is able to nip it before it has a chance to derail the process.  Ginger is a systems person.  She has event planning down to a science and navigates you through each bump and curve with grace and calm.  It has been more than a pleasure to have Ginger at the helm of our special events–she is magic.  – Sue Simon, Director, Human Rights, U.S. Human Rights Fund, June 2010

The Libra Foundation’s Grantee Convening

October 17-19, 2011

For three days in Chicago, all of The Libra Foundation’s grantees were brought together for the first time to network and get to know the work of grantee organizations from their three  priority areas: women’s rights, environmental sustainability, and social justice and drug policy reform, all working within a human rights framework.

We managed the budget, handled online registration and individual attendee communications, vendor coordination and meeting needs, transportation and travel booking, and on-site management, all while keeping the client fully informed through timely updates.

Photos credit: Hiroshi Landazuri

Fifth Annual Celebrity Chef Gala

October 3, 2011

The guest list and volunteers were organized for this successful evening at Cipriani Wall Street, where over 100 chefs cooked table-side, and helped to raise over $1.6 million.

Advanced Screening of Disney PIXAR’s “CARS 2″

June 11, 2011

In less than eight weeks, Ginger Donnan Events created the budget, drafted the invitation, and handled the gift distribution and all volunteer outreach for this exclusive screening of “CARS 2″ that was presented by John Ratzenberger. On-site, Ginger Donnan Events coordinated the volunteers and helped ensure the execution of the event went smoothly.

Tri-State Corporate Committee’s Inaugural Gala Dinner

April 15, 2011

For this event honoring David Penski, President of Zenith Media at Chelsea Piers in New York City, Ginger Donnan Events organized the guest list, drafted the invitation, program and auction package descriptions and executed the event planning timeline, including venue and production relations, on-site staffing and volunteer roles and auction check-out. This event opened doors into the corporate community to garner corporate support for the Walk Now for Autism Speaks program.

Ginger Donnan was the key person for organizing and executed our inaugural gala event for the Autism Speaks Tri-State Corporate Committee. She came on from the initial onset of the project and managed the event logistics and made it look so effortless so that the Corporate Committee members could focus on it’s goal to raise awareness in the NY Tri-State business community and raise over $400,000. In my opinion, she has been an tremendous asset to our Committee and I highly recommend her skills and services to others who want nothing less than a perfect event. – Salvatore A. Collemi, CPA – Chair, Autism Speaks Tri-State Corporate Committee, April 2011

Face-Off for a Cure

March 21, 2011

The guest list and volunteers were organized for this evening to benefit Autism Speaks & The Gillen Brewer School. Guests were joined at their tables by current and former NHL players.

Fourth Annual Celebrity Chef Gala

October 4, 2010

The guest list and volunteers were organized for this event, where celebrity chefs cooked for guests table-side.

Tip-Off for a Cure

April 14, 2010

The guest list and volunteers were organized for this evening to benefit Autism Speaks & The Gillen Brewer School. Guests were joined at their tables by current and former NBA and WNBA players.

Concert for Autism Speaks Featuring Lionel Richie

March 30, 2008

This sold-out event, held at The Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, raised $1.8 million to benefit Autism Speaks. Host renowned journalist and author Tom Brokaw introduced speakers Donald Trump, an event co-chair along with wife Melania, followed by Florida Governor Charlie Crist, and Suzanne and Bob Wright, the co-founders of Autism Speaks. The audience was on their feet for much of the concert that featured Richie’s most beloved and acclaimed hits, both as a solo performer and as a member of the Commodores.

Autism Speaks to Wall Street: 1st Annual Chef Gala

October 24, 2007

The first chefs’ tasting in NYC to offer table-side cooking to over 370 people, this event raised over $1.1 million for Autism Speaks. In addition to preparing and executing the run-of-show, arrangements for entertainers Darrell Hammond and Lisa Loeb were made and production was implemented $100,000 under budget.

Ginger Donnan was a go-to person for Autism Speaks during an important time of transition in our events department. One month before our first Chef Gala, she came on board to project manage the event logistics so that the committee could focus on it’s goal to raise over $1 million. Ginger then came on board to oversee the staff roles, timeline and logistics for the $1.8 million Concert for Autism Speaks featuring Lionel Richie and was instrumental in making the entire process flow smoothly. She has been an asset to our organization and I recommend her skills and services to others. – Glenn Tringali, Former Executive Vice President, Autism Speaks, April 2008

Nantucket Walk Now for Autism