Photo: Alejandro Garcia (JanOSpixeles) via Flickr

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, February 27, setting off tsunami warnings for Hawaii and the entire Pacific basin. The fifth most powerful earthquake since 1900 has already officially claimed 700 deaths and that number is rising. More than 1.5 million homes were destroyed or damaged. Coastal towns, including Constitucion, lost the center of their village.

Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet, called the earthquake “an emergency unparalleled in the history of Chile” and ordered supermarkets to give away basic supplies to help desperate victims.

The ground continues to shake with aftershocks; more than 50 followed the earthquake. And despite the state-mandated, earthquake-resistant building standards that helped mitigate damage, Chile needs emergency relief help.  Food, water and medical supplies are critical necessities as the Chilean government and aid groups search for survivors in the rubble.

You Can Help

Here are some charities on the ground helping Chile. They need your immediate support to provide assistance. Through JustGive, you can donate now, and designate your gift to the “Chile Earthquake.”

• AmeriCares is sending medical supplies and humanitarian aid.
• The American Red Cross has made an initial pledge of $50,000 from their International Response Fund, which your donation can bolster.
• Convoy of Hope announced that teams are headed to Chile to assess damage, coordinate relief efforts and provide clean water.
• Direct Relief International has offered to provide medical aid to Chilean authorities and to emergency relief organizations in the area.
• Doctors Without Borders/Médecins San Frontières (MSF) is sending an exploratory team to assess medical needs.
• Habitat for Humanity Chile is already working on shelter solutions for low-income families affected by the earthquake.
• International Medical Corps is currently deploying resources to Chile.
• Operation USA is sending emergency relief for grassroots partners on the ground.
• Mercy Corps is collecting donations on behalf of local relief organizations in Chile.
• Oxfam is sending water engineers and logisticians to assess the situation and is pledging to help local partners better complete their work.
• The Salvation Army mobilized immediately to provide food and supplies. Its international headquarters pledged financial assistance to support these efforts.
• Save The Children is sending an emergency assessment team.
• World Vision is in Chile handing out blankets and water containers to victims.

You can spread the word for more support

Use your Social Media tools to reach out to your friends and family to encourage their charity for Chile. Need ideas? Visit Fast Company Magazine for ways to spread the word. Not surprisingly, according to Fast Company Magazine:

…users of social media the world over have undertaken their own rescue measures. Twitter, Facebook, and several of Google’s properties aren’t trivial, now. They’re life-saving, informational tools. An eye-rolling bit of gossip about one of those Kardashian girls can explode through the Web in minutes–and now, news about those in Chile is traveling over the same digital pathways, with the same speed, reaching the same vast amount of people.

Tell a friend and make a difference today!

One month ago, we launched a new monthly gifts matching campaign to help our donors better support the nonprofits working to rebuild the services and infrastructure in Haiti. I’m proud to announce that we’ve already activated nearly $10,000 of donations and matching gifts from JustGive Board and Staff.

Since the devastating January 12 earthquake, our donors have contributed more than $4.7 million to help Haiti. That money will go a long way to provide relief for the country, and it paves the way for recovery efforts by groups like Project Hope that are just beginning to turn to the infrastructure in Haiti.

Photo: Allison Shelley

Follow Project Hope’s Blog to find out more about their work on the ground.

I’m particularly proud of the response we’ve received from 136 donors who responded to our call to support the long rebuilding process that lies ahead for Haiti. Their donations—both large and small—are so valuable to nonprofits on the ground that need continued support. It’s exactly this type of sustained support that is often difficult to secure once the initial wave of generosity begins to ebb.

There’s Still Time to Make Your Gifts Matter More

If you haven’t yet donated, there’s still time to have your monthly gift matched at 50 cents on the dollar (up to $500 per month per donor). Visit http://www.justgive.org/be-inspired/haiti.jsp for information on the more than 75 charities you can support.

Our donors have given to 29 charities working to restore and rebuild Haiti. What if you’d like to help but don’t know which nonprofit to choose to or how to make the most long-term difference with your gift? Here are a few great resources that can help:

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “Five Principles for Smart Giving to Support Haiti’s Recovery.”, subscription required) offers excellent guidance.
• Good Magazine’s Haiti Infographics show the human toll of the earthquake and detail what the country’s greatest needs are (created by Stephane Bao – www.good.is).
• Two organizations, GreatNonprofits and GuideStar®, teamed up to create the Disaster Action Center which presents reviews of nonprofits working in Haiti.  ”Now, you can read reviews about Haiti aid organizations written by volunteers and donors and make an informed decision,” says Perla Ni, CEO of GreatNonprofits.

Thank you to each one of you who has joined our campaign to rebuild Haiti! Your commitment and gifts will make a difference for their future. If you haven’t yet started a monthly gift for Haiti, join us. Act quickly before the remaining $22,000+ in matching funds run out and we’ll make your gift matter even more.  Whatever nonprofit you decide to help, your support is crucial to the long-term success of efforts to rebuild Haiti.

Tell a friend and make a difference today!

If the energy generated by the earthquake in Haiti was larger than that of an atomic bomb, as earthquake expert Anne Kiremidjian wrote on CNN.com, then the country will need at least three-times as much human energy to rebuild the country.

It’s been two weeks since the devastating earthquake in Haiti, and just now news reports show that things are starting to change for the better. Stores and markets are rising from the rubble; Haitian people are helping their neighbors. The spirit of the Haitian people coupled with the work of aid groups has helped return some sense of normalcy to everyday life. But that’s just a start; there’s so much to do.

Giving for their future
I am in awe of the outpouring of support to stem the crisis in Haiti. JustGive donors alone gave more than $3.1 million in the first week and a half after the earthquake. Those funds helped send much needed emergency supplies and aid to the country. But to ensure rebuilding efforts for the long haul, Haiti recovery organizations need funding for many years. That’s what motivated the Board and Staff of JustGive to do something big.

We have pledged $25,000 of our own money in a matching campaign to help spur long-term giving to nonprofits working to empower the Haitian people and restore the country. For every monthly recurring gift you make through JustGive to a charity working to rebuild Haiti, we will match 50 cents of every dollar donated until we use the $25,000 fund. The match applies for up to $500 per donor each month (so we can make the money go farther and gifts matter more). For details and qualifying charities, visit our Haiti Relief and Recovery page.

The country’s recovery will come through groups like Partners In Health (PIH).

PIH has provided vital health care services in Haiti for more than 20 years and is one of the largest health care providers in the country, working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to deliver comprehensive health care services. Along with their ongoing work to tend to the overwhelming health needs of the people of Haiti, they are already working to rebuild the healthcare infrastructure in the country, as this PBS NewsHour reports.

Building a New Haiti
As you watch the devastation and the personal toll the earthquake caused, it’s difficult to think of opportunity. Yet, that’s exactly why we’re taking the bold step of our $25,000 matching campaign at this point. We want to ensure there is money available when coordinated rebuilding efforts can make the needed impact on the ground.

Organizations like Build Change – which designs earthquake-resistant houses for developing countries and trains locals to build them –will be the second wave of changemakers in Haiti. As Build Change’s founder Elizabeth Hausler described on the Ashoka Tech Podcast: “It’s a huge opportunity to move forward with…a reconstruction that leaves the population in better condition than before the earthquake.”

According to Build Change, after a major earthquake in a developing country, agencies typically build masses of houses that are not always culturally appropriate and sustainable in the local construction sector. Build Change creates a local skills base by training and empowering the victims of tragedy to rebuild themselves, all while stimulating local demand.

In my mind that’s just what Haiti needs. Organizations ready to tap into the indomitable drive of the Haitian people. With your long-term help, we may have found a spark for all the human energy Haiti requires to rebuild.

For more than 60 charities working to help Haiti rebuild that could use your help, see our Haiti Relief and Recovery Page. And pass the word along to your friends and family—together, we can power hope and change for Haiti’s future.

-Grant La Rouche, Director of Marketing

As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I’m thinking about his impact on our world today. His massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, caught the attention of the entire world, generating what he called a coalition of conscience. King directed the peaceful march of 250,000 people in Washington, D.C., to whom he delivered his address, “I Have a Dream.” At 35, he was the youngest man to be awarded a Nobel peace prize, announcing he would donate the prize money to further the civil rights movement.

What he accomplished—at such a young age—shows how taking action makes things happen. Your donation to one of the organizations below may be what makes the difference in a young person’s life. Someone you help today may be the person who changes our world tomorrow.

I Have a Dream Foundation

The “I Have A Dream” Foundation empowers children in low-income communities to achieve higher education by providing guaranteed tuition support and equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and habits they need to pursue a higher education and succeed— in college and beyond.

Big Brothers Big Sisters (find your local chapter)

Big Brothers Big Sisters helps children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that have a measurable impact on youth. Your donation helps recruit new volunteers and provides cultural and social activities for children.

Center for Youth Development through Law

Every summer, the Summer Legal Fellowship Program provides a group of youth from low-income backgrounds with instruction in legal topics, practical life skills workshops, paid internships in law and government offices, conflict management training, and mentors.  Your $25 donation provides resources for five new mentors. A $100 donation sponsors a writing skills workshop for 15 disadvantaged youth.

For more organizations that support Mentoring & Youth, or Human Rights, check out the JustGive Guide.

I’m constantly reminded that when I leave this world it will not matter how much money I had, what kind of house I owned, or what degrees I earned. What will matter was the impact I had on the lives of others. Honor the legacy and pursue the dream for a better world. Then tell a friend and make a difference today!

- Sarah Myers, Program Manager

My adorable three-year-old nephew is obsessed. Last year it was Lazytown, this year it’s Star Wars. Santa Claus brought him a Darth Vader costume and a Han Solo costume for Christmas. After Christmas dinner he wanted to watch his favorite movie, Episode IV: A New Hope. Actually it’s a fitting choice as we close out 2009. What is New Year’s but a celebration of new hope?

Take resolutions—aren’t they essentially a hope for a better you? I have my resolutions worked out: I’d like to get in better shape (going to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu), spend more time writing (with a two-month-old baby I may be biting off more than I can chew), and do a better job at giving back to my community.

Luckily for me, I can get a head start on one resolution by donating to my favorite causes before the year is out. And if that’s not motivation enough, all my donations made through the end of the year are tax deductible come April.

Giving Local, Giving Global

At JustGive, you can conveniently connect and give to the causes that mean the most to you. With a few clicks, you can easily find charities of choice in your community – whether your community is local or global:

• Access more than 1.5 million charities by zip code, name or keyword.
• Use the JustGive Guide of 1,000 recommended charities organized by 19 causes.
• Check the current Top Ten Giving Categories.

I recently tried a zip code search and found Mental Disabilities Rights Initiative (MDRI). MDRI is creating systemic change through its innovative approach, making a real impact on the day-to-day lives of countless individuals across the globe. According to Eric Rosenthal, the Executive Director for MDRI:

Over the last 15 years MDRI has investigated the living conditions and treatment of people with mental disabilities in dozens of countries in Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. Sad to say, (we) have found serious human rights violations across the globe… Despite these very upsetting findings, (we) are filled with hope. Wherever MDRI has worked, (we) have found courageous and inspiring local activists who are working within their own country to bring about change. MDRI has trained and supported those activists, and is collaborating with them to end abuses.

It sounds like MDRI has already made 2010 more hopeful.

Making it Easy to Give Back

JustGive’s tools make it a cinch to sign in and view your Giving History for a record of previous gifts. Using this history, you can select any or all past donations, and instantly make them again. Your charitable history is available to see and print at any time; perfectly organized for tax purposes.

You can even opt for recurring donations to give on a monthly basis. Just check “Make this a recurring donation” button and every month, we’ll automatically deduct the donation from your account to send your support to chosen charities.

We accept donations for charity as small as $10 and allow you to make any gift anonymously.

You can spread hope throughout 2010. Act now – before the Empire Strikes Back J – Donations made through the end of the year are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law!

And ask your friends to join you in making charity count.
- Grant La Rouche

Convenience is something we often take for granted: easy access to food, shelter, and, at this time of year, presents. I recently saw a commercial for Burger King, touting its “Dollar Holidays” card promotion–sending a holiday gift card containing a dollar bill to “casual friends.” According to BrandWeek, more than 8,000 of these gift cards were sold on the program’s first day alone. There’s something in the magnitude of that number that disturbs me. Perhaps it’s the new baby making me ask questions, but is this really what the season of giving has become?

Don’t get me wrong. I like presents. I like giving. I like getting. Some of my fondest memories are of avoiding creaking floorboards on Christmas morning to see our tree lit up, presents arranged underneath, the cookies and milk left for Santa Claus gone. When it comes to Christmas presents this year, Gallup’s first look at 2009 spending found that Americans plan to spend an average of $740 on gifts this year. That’s starkly down from two years ago – and 65 percent of Americans return holiday gifts every holiday season. We are a country that likes to give and get, and return.

Starting a giving tradition that generates many happy returns . . .

As a recent addition to the JustGive family, I’ve decided to start a new tradition this year and give a gift that that keeps on giving: A donation to a cause I believe in.

Imagine if the 8,000 people who jumped at the chance to give their friends a BK cheeseburger did the same and gave to the Capital Area Food Bank For that same $1, the food bank can provide three meals to someone in need. But what personally interests me is the Capital Area Food Bank is leading the DC-area Farms to School movement: remaking school lunches into nutritious and delicious meals while supporting local farmers. In a culture beset with Dollar Holidays, that’s something a whole lot better I’d choose to support.

Convenient, meaningful gifts

JustGive makes it easy to give back – the type of convenience I appreciate. Three thoughtful e-gifts they offer can make a difference, starting with as little as $10:

• Donate to charity in your friend, family member or colleague’s name.

Make the gift personal and donate online, in a few short minutes. You don’t even need to know the name of a charity. Use convenient search tools to quickly find one that supports the cause your recipient cares about.

• Choose a timeless GiveNow charity e-card

This holiday season, you can select from a wider variety of charity gift cards. More than 12 available images make it easy to find one that expresses your sentiment best. Designed for every need, the cards fit Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Years, and represent many charitable causes, including education, children, and peace on Earth.  It’s the perfect gift of choice for your recipient, who redeems the card to support their favorite charity.

A few of the gift card images available

• Give a Gift Collection—A “gift basket” of four charities supporting a specific cause.

A dozen already-packaged gift collections focus on feeding the hungry, creating homes and jobs, mentoring children, protecting animals, respecting elders, planting trees, saving the earth, promoting human rights, pursuing peace . . . and more. Gift Collections start at $40 and are available for any amount.

My choice

A small donation to a grassroots organization like City Green, an organization that promotes environmental equality through inner city gardens and education, can make a big impact in the life of a community. City Green supports the Cougars Go Green student club, which is now in its second year. These young students – with the help of donors such as my family – are working to restore the crumbling Hinchcliffe Stadium in their backyard to the thriving city asset it once was when the New York Black Yankees played the Philadelphia Stars in 1933.

That means that tonight, during my next 3:30 a.m. feeding, I’ll have more than a warm bottle to give my son. I’ll be able to share the joy of giving back.

Now there’s an idea to share with your friends!

- Grant La Rouche

One of my favorite days as a JustGive employee was when the staff volunteered at a soup kitchen in the San Francisco Haight/Ashbury neighborhood. We served a hot meal to homeless war veterans, students struggling with high cost of living, and low-income seniors. It was a vivid reminder that rough economic times mean more people than ever need help meeting basic needs.

According to the 2008 US Conference of Mayors, requests for emergency food assistance increased by 18% last year. 36 million people in the U.S. (12% of the total U.S. population) are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to receive food stamps. For those Americans, the food budget for a family of four is a mere $11.46 a day. Shocked? I was! Prior to the American Recovery & Investment Act of 2009, the daily allotment was only $7 per day.

Sadly, even with these programs, the most recent estimates show 50 million people—including almost one child in four—struggled last year to get enough to eat.

Reaching out to those in need

Panera Bread’s Day-End Dough-Nation program packages unsold bakery products at the end of each day to donate to local food banks and charities. In 2008, more than 50 million dollars worth of bread and baked goods were distributed to organizations helping to address the need for food in our local communities.

Children’s Hunger Fund Food Pak program provides a 20-pound box of food to families in need all over the world. The program allows churches and community groups the opportunity to get directly involved in helping needy families. Each member fills a box (or two). Then CHF distributes the boxes right to the doorstep of families in need all over the world.

WIC (Women Infants and Children) provides supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.

Fighting hunger with your actions

JustGive makes it easy to act globally or locally to make a difference:

• A $75 donation to Seattle-based FamilyWorks provides a two-week supply of formula, diapers, baby food and cereal for an infant. For $100, a homebound elderly person will receive 2 deliveries of canned goods and milk/produce.

• Your gift of $70 allows Meds & Foods for Kids to provide a child with one year of malnutrition treatment. This peanut-based therapeutic food is ready to eat and requires no refrigeration.
• The Bay Area Rescue Mission can provide 10 people with a hot meal this Thanksgiving for only $20.
• You can feed a pregnant or breastfeeding mother for a year, helping her children grow up healthy and strong, with a $60 donation to the Friends of the World Food Program.

This holiday, as you pause to be thankful for what you have, consider giving of your time at a local Food Bank or making a donation to help someone else who may otherwise go hungry. In my experience, it’s something you’ll always remember.

Tell a friend about JustGive, and share your ideas with us on Facebook and Twitter.

- Sarah Myers, Program Manager

On November 15^th more than 50,000 people in 100 communities will participate in National Philanthropy Day®. The annual event, organized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, recognizes donors, volunteers, businesses, foundations and young people for what they do to improve the quality of life in their communities and around the world.

With the current economy and so many in need, what can we do to encourage and inspire giving in our everyday lives? The answer is simple:

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Teach and inspire philanthropy

Learning to Give, in partnership with the Association of Fundraising Professionals, has developed lesson plans for K-12 educators to explain the importance of philanthropy, the significance of National Philanthropy Day, and the role of AFP in the community.

Create a giving challenge among friends, family and colleagues – the person who raises the most money gets to choose the cause. Organize neighbors to participate in a bake sale or yard sale, then donate the profits to a local charity. It’s fun, easy, and helps spread the joy of giving.

Give from the heart

With JustGive, it’s easy to set up a monthly donation, making giving affordable for every budget. Whatever your favorite cause, a little really does go a long way:

• A $25 donation to Reading Partners will supply a student with books and learning materials for the Take Reading Home program; $10 will buy two books for the reading center.

• Want to inspire curiosity and creativity in children? For $50 the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation can refurbish a musical instrument; $20 buys a hands-on science kit for the classroom.

• Blue Planet Run can provide one person with lifetime access to safe drinking water for only $30.

Since 1999 JustGive has sent over $100 million to more than 60,000 charities around the world. We’re driven by our mission to connect you with the causes you care about most! Check out more tips on giving wisely. Feeling inspired? Tell a friend!

We’d love to know what you’re doing to celebrate National Philanthropy Day. Share your thoughts and ideas with us on Facebook or Twitter.

- Sarah Myers, Program Manager

What are you doing Saturday?

Participate in Make a Difference Day, America’s largest national day of service, and your charity could win a $10,000 donation from Newman’s Own! Hosted by USA WEEKEND Magazine, you can easily find a project in your community or create a new one. In 2008, 3 million people volunteered in their communities that day, completing thousands of projects in hundreds of cities.

I volunteer regularly with an animal adoption agency, but on Make a Difference Day, I want to go the extra mile. My friends and I will be on the clean up crew after the MTS “Kick Gas” Festival in San Diego. This solar-powered event features local musicians and showcases green alternatives to fuel technology. Supporting events that promote easy ways to “live greener” is important to me.

If you’ve never volunteered before, Make a Difference Day is the perfect occasion to get started! Even one day of commitment can make a big difference – offer to run errands for an elderly neighbor, serve a hot dinner at a local food bank, organize friends to clean a park, or visit your local shelter and walk the dogs.

Already have plans this weekend?

Make a difference by making a donation to a charity that is changing the lives of others. Conveniently choose a charity using the JustGive Guide or make a donation to any of the nearly 1.7 million charities on the site to support a cause you care about.

Feeling inspired to do good? Spread the word!

Recruit your friends, find inspiration and even share updates through Facebook. Check out facebook.com/makeadifferenceday or tell us about your experiences facebook.com/justgive. We’d love to hear what you’re doing!

- Sarah Myers, Program Manager

JustGive is excited to take part in Blog Action Day 2009! For one day nearly 7,000 blogs, with more than 11 million readers in 130 countries will write about a single issue—Climate Change. The goal? Raise awareness for an issue that has global importance.

Imagine the difference 11 million people can make. Act locally! Find a charity in your neighborhood and volunteer to plant a tree or clean up a beach. Or visit VolunteerMatch and find on-going or one-time opportunities for everyone. Bring a friend or two and increase your impact.

If 11 million people donated $1 each, the National Arbor Day Foundation can plant 11 million trees. A $25 donation to American Forests plants 25 trees where they are needed most—removing carbon dioxide from the air and cooling the planet. Get five coworkers together and bring lunch tomorrow instead of going out. You’ll save $50, enough to “Adopt an Acre” or “Adopt a Reef” through the Nature Conservancy. The benefits of individuals acting collectively are huge! Join us and take action on October 15, with your gift of time or a donation—and be proud to take part in this international day of change.

Blog Action Day reminds us of the impact one person can make when we act together. Share these ideas with someone today and inspire change for a better tomorrow!

- Sarah Myers, Program Manager

P.S. JustGive is now on Facebook and Twitter. Come check us out!