Non Profit Spotlight: Globalgiving.org
By: Tashanda Giles-Jones

Happy New Year and welcome to BCF’s Year of Innovation!  I’m thrilled to join BCF’s 2011 mission in guiding our readers through a year of innovative transformation.  While you focus on the goals of forgiveness and acceptance this quarter, I would also like you to think about what obstacles you face when it comes to helping others.

Many of us have a great desire to volunteer and give but feel overwhelmed with life and tell ourselves we don’t have the time, finances, or accessibility to volunteer.  We accept those obstacles and plan to lend a hand when we have more time or a little extra money.

I want you to forgive yourself for not being able to do as much as the next person.  Instead, accept the fact that you can do something that fits your life style and still make an impact on the world.  The reality is, there are multitudes of ways to give help and serve.  Everybody can offer something no matter where you live, how much you make, or how much time you have.  In fact, my non-profit spotlight is just a click away and it offers a user-friendly process for finding the cause that matters the most to you.

In my search for orgs that personified the term “innovative” I found that while there were several that did good and made a difference, there were a few that stood out as pioneering and inventive.
Global Giving http://www.globalgiving.org/, my new favorite org , happens to be one of those non-profits.  It has an amazing online marketplace that offers over 800 high impact grassroots projects in a variety of categories.  They feature non-profits and causes worldwide offering the everyday individual an opportunity to make a change.

I just love their mission statement because it simplistically lays out how easy change can happen.  Global Giving’s purpose is to, “build an efficient, open, thriving marketplace that connects people who have community and world-changing ideas with people who can support them.”  Who wouldn’t want to be part of something so future forward?

Log on to find the numerous ways to get involved or if you are one of our time strapped readers, making a donation is as easy as 4 clicks.  You can even set up reoccurring donations to your favorite project.  The connection is priceless and the feeling of accomplishment is worth millions!

Check Global Giving out and let me know what you think.  Fulfill your purpose while helping someone else fulfill his or hers too!

Happy volunteering!