Posts Tagged ‘new ideas’

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Tax Time Giving in Portugal

May 31, 2011

One of the strangest things about life abroad is the way the calendar changes.  This weekend was not a Memorial Day Weekend for us. We went to work on Monday per usual. No grilling. No parades.  No debut of white shoes or shorts.  No pool parties.  When I looked at my Facebook friends’ status updates and pictures from the USA, it was downright disorienting!

On the contrary, for my husband and I this weekend was tax weekend.  April 15 passed us by with nary a glance at the mailbox. Instead, this Sunday we sat down to do our Portuguese taxes. I will spare you tales of bureaucracy run amok and receipts painstakingly entered in one by one.  What I want to share is something I found so refreshing– the way in which Portuguese taxpayers can contribute to their favorite charity, without paying a single penny.

No, this isn’t about deductions, and it isn’t about adding $3 for the environment.  The system allows you to direct .5% of your yearly taxes to the charity of your choice.  Of course in Portugal, there is a good chance that your taxes were going to be going to support some charities anyhow– the socialist safety net is a strong one.  Nonetheless, I think it is a great way to acknowledge an organization which does work you love.

If you are doing taxes in Portugal, here is a list of organizations you can support, and their NIPC codes.

For us, we chose Banco Alimentar, the Food Bank of Portugal.  Times are tough here (austerity measures, anyone?), and people are having a harder and harder time getting food on their table.  Grocery prices are shockingly high to my American eyes! We are eaters of modest tastes (with no children around raiding our cupboards) and it costs upwards of $700 per month with almost no dining out.  With unemployment going up and the average wage decreasing, the work that Banco Alimentar is doing is more important than ever.

If you are not doing any Portuguese taxes, but would still like to support this fantastic organization, here is a link to the campaign advertised in the video: Alimente Esta Ideia, or “Feed This Idea”.  Have some fun! Go shopping Portuguese style, and the food in your basket will turn into a donation to support this great cause.  You will even learn the Portugeuse words for milk, tuna, sausage, olive oil, sugar, and vegetable oil.  Pretty nifty!

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Positive Impulse Portugal

April 3, 2011

There is a world of difference between the fundraising machines and philanthropic resources in the United States and the seedlings of fundraising in a country like Portugal, where social services are more or less fully funded by the state.  As state budget problems and dwindling resources become more and more apparent, universities realize that they cannot live on government subsidies alone.  Hospitals realize they can’t sustain services if they continue to suffer budget cuts.  Social service organizations are serving more people, and with fewer financial resources to do so.  (Sound familiar?)

As the times are a’ changin’, resources are starting to pop up to help them navigate this new world.  One of the best I have found is a site called Project Impulso Positivo.

Started in 2010, Project “Positive Impulse” sprouted from the publishing group Vida Económica and serves as a platform for private and nonprofit organizations to find common ground for collaboration.  It is a unique meeting place of ideas and news from the government, the private sector, and the third sector of NGOs.

Highlights

It has a fantastically useful collection of guides and documents on creating public-private partnerships, fundraising, and social responsibility which are helpful for users from any of the three target audiences.  The Forum is well-participated, if still a bit sparse.  And the Events listings are genius, linking to conferences, fundraisers, seminars: anything which could be interesting to do-gooders!

My favorite section, though, has to be the interviews.  I have so often been disappointed when looking for info on the trendsetters and leaders in fundraising here in Portugal, it seemed for ages as thought there was nothing happening.  Not so! I had a little squeal when I found a list of interviews with David Alves, an executive at the company Optimus who is charged with working to create a policy of corporate social responsibility in the organization.  Or an interview with Sónia Fernandes, president of Pista Mágica, a one-of-a-kind volunteer training school.

It is entirely in Portuguese, entirely relevant for Portuguese businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations, and entirely free. Espectacular!

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Fun = Done

January 27, 2011

University of Birmingham/AP

Health researchers put up messages on stairs in a suburban mall in Coventry, England to see if they could influence people to get a little exercise instead of just riding up the escalator.  ”7 minutes of stair climbing daily protects your heart” was the very encouraging, sensible message.

Result? The number of people using the stairs increased from 4% to 10%.  One of the researchers was quoted as saying, “You can exercise without even really thinking about it.”

On the other hand… you ARE thinking about it, aren’t you?  You see those signs, and you think, “Eh, I really feel tired but I will feel GUILTY and tired if I don’t take the stupid stairs, so I may as well get it over with.”

These messages are very sensible, and they are mildly effective at shaming some people into moving their legs, but it is hardly an inspiring success, is it?  A full 90% of the mall-goers are still using the escalator.

It is really easy, given this evidence, to think that there is only so much you can do– people just don’t WANT to take the stairs, even when they know it is good for them.  How can you change willfully self-destructive behavior?

Errr.  You can make the alternative more fun.

Volkswagen tackled the same problem using a different approach: the fun theory.  When their researchers thought about how to encourage people to use the stairs, they decided to make it a WANT TO rather than an OUGHT TO incentive. They made the stairs at the Odenplan metro in Stockholm into a working piano you play with your feet as you climb.

Their results?  A 66% increase in people using the stairs. Apparently, while people may not like to exercise, they really enjoy playing on stairs that make music.  By changing the message, these innovators significantly changed behavior.

As nonprofit folk, this example of dramatically changed behavior offers a huge opportunity.  How are YOU approaching your employees, clients, and donors?  Are you giving them a OUGHT TO incentive?  Or are you giving them a WANT TO opportunity to have fun (while doing the things you want and need them to do)?

Another way to put it: positive incentives trump threats.  If you have any lingering doubts, think about the effectiveness of sporadic speed traps versus this, another idea from The Fun Theory folks: Speed Camera Lottery.

It’s time to put some more fun in your mission, don’t you think?

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