Riding the wind and waves: Learning to kitesurf

Image Source: TeamExtreme.com

During the summer, people love going to the beach and doing water activities like snorkeling, scuba diving, or surfing. Today, one water sport that is popular among many people is kitesurfing.

In concept, kitesurfing is simple: you use a kite to propel yourself and move around the water. You can do tricks and reach speeds that would otherwise be unattainable with other watersports. Kitesurfing, however, is not as easy as it sounds. In fact, it is a very difficult and dangerous sport, and taking lessons is highly recommended should you want to kitesurf.

Image Source: ExtremeSports4u.com

To learn the basics of kitesurfing, you have to master how to fly a kite first. Again, this is not as easy as it sounds, as the traction kites used for kitesurfing are very powerful and quite dangerous for a beginner. The best way to master flying a traction kite would be to fly it on land. After you learn how to control the kite safely, you can familiarize yourself with how the kite pulls by letting it drag you across the beach or shoreline. This way, you can learn how to properly move with the kite and maintain your balance.

Once you have mastered flying the kite, it is time to learn how to fly over water. This would be the best time for you to get help from kitesurfing trainers.

Image Source: Roques.com

Kitesurfing may be more difficult to do than the average watersport, but with proper training and dedication, anybody can learn how to kitesurf. In fact, many notable businessmen like Richard Branson and Alex von Furstenberg are into kitesurfing; it’s no longer just for pros like Damien LeRoy.

Read this article for more information about kitesurfing. Follow this Twitter page for more on Alex von Furstenberg.

Smart investing 101: Understanding value-based investing

Image Source: TheSmallBusinessDr.com

Everybody loves value, especially people who invest in the stock market. However, it is important to remember that value stocks are not junk stocks. Just because a stock is cheap does not mean that it has value. Value-based investing is “not shopping the bargain bin for seconds and discontinued models. It is not about buying anything less than $3 per share.”


Investment companies focused on value investing, like Noah Hamman’s AdvisorShares Investments, LLC, and Alex von Furstenberg’s Ranger Global Advisors, LLC, define value-based investing as finding stocks that are not correctly priced or valued in the market and buying them because they are or will be worth more when the market corrects itself. Investors who buy these kinds of stocks are called value investors, the most notable one being Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha.”

Image Source: GreenwichMeantime.com

For value investors, the fundamentals of a business (earnings growth, cash flow, dividends, and book value), are more important than the other factors that influence the company’s stock price. These fundamentals give value stocks their value. When the stock market prices a company’s stocks lower than their obvious value, value investors see it as a perfect time to buy those stocks. Value investors are also the ones most likely to invest long-term on the stocks of a company that has good fundamentals.

Image Source: BestPriceForSale.com

Value-based investing is not easy money, but a lot of people have already made fortunes out of this kind of investing, especially after careful research and planning.

For advice on value-based investing and investing in the stock market, visit this website.

Business and philanthropy: Their unlikely yet good partnership

Business Dictionary defines philanthropy as the “love of mankind.” With that said, philanthropy is thus governed by a sense of caring, nourishing, and enhancing the quality of life for human beings. In the modern usage of the term, philanthropy is mutually exclusive with business wherein private initiatives are geared towards the achievement of public good.

Image Source: keysforthelessfortunate.org

Philanthropy started in ancient Greece. In the Middle Ages, the classical view of it as “love of mankind” disappeared but was rediscovered and revived during the Renaissance Period. In the 19th century, the notion of philanthropy was associated with “doing good” and providing foundations created by the titans of the industry. These foundations created by businessmen focused on the distinct causes, symptoms, and expressions of social problems. This marked the birth of philanthropy which is exclusively associated with foundations and grant-making.

While businessmen embraced philanthropy, running their business is a different field. Business is governed by profit and revenue, whereas philanthropy is about giving. Although business and philanthropy can be deemed different, many companies and industries are aware -- and are becoming increasingly aware -- of societal issues and problems, hence somewhat bridging the gap between these two fields.

Image Source: fastcompany.com

The first response of companies to social issues is generally spurred by philanthropy, which is geared towards helping the less fortunate. However, as businesses tread deeper into the waters of philanthropy, they learn that it is not enough. This is where “shared value” comes in. In this sense, businesses take their resources and deploy them to social jobs in the hopes that they will somehow benefit from it. In a sense, philanthropy is cloaked in capitalism where businesses create economic value by creating societal value.

While the concept of shared value in business philanthropy can be seen in a negative light, there remains the fact that most of the movements and actions towards public good are initiated by private companies, individuals, and industry titans. While philanthropy can be seen as pseudo-marketing, there remains the fact that the most generous endowments which have created changes in the lives of the many came from the pockets and resources of industry leaders and players. Business and philanthropy can be opposites but both have been working in partnership, initiating and creating changes for the betterment of all. Margaret Mead, a distinguished anthropologist, intellectual, and scientist said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Image Source: deltazeta.org

Read more about philanthropy and Alex von Furstenberg at this blog.

Building better cities

Image Source: Google.Images.com

It is commonly perceived that there is a wide gap between the rich and poor and that they do not share the same aspirations. But this notion is a far cry from what philanthropists do for the less fortunate. For the few who are blessed, their wealth provides the best avenue to create difference in society and help others who were born unlucky. Blessed as they are, the likes of the Rockefellers and the von Furstenbergs are reaching out their hands to those who need help.

Image Source: Google.Images.com

For the fortunate few, most funnel their wealth and money on improving education, health, communities, and the arts. The Rockefellers, the oil magnates, have been in the field of philanthropy since the 18th century. While oil magnate John Davison Rockefeller, who revolutionized modern philanthropy, has already passed away, his family’s efforts are continually felt through the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Image Source: Google.Images.com

The von Furstenbergs are also noted for their philanthropy. Alex von Furstenberg, the director and secretary of The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, is one of the fortunate few who share their blessings with others. While he is of royal blood, he has made a name for himself in the field of finance and continues to support various organizations, including Friends of the Highline, City-meals on Wheels, and The Fortune Society.  

Know more about philanthropy here.

Forty-six million meals, sixteen thousand recipients, one mission

Image Source: CityMeals.org

Enfeebled by old age, crippled by recurrent mini-strokes, and disheartened by seclusion, 79-year-old New Yorker “Cono”* can barely move and leave his apartment. But even so, he asserts his preference for remaining at home, “For the rest of my life, I never want to see another ambulance or hospital,” he says. “I want to stay here, sitting on the porch; that’s my hangout 24 hours a day.”

Because of his infirmities, Cono has also been incapacitated from supporting himself nutritionally. Fortunately, Citymeals-on-Wheels has never missed out on providing him his daily fill, thus enabling him to stay within the comfort of his home for his remaining days.

Image Source: CityMeals.org

Now in its 31st year of operation, Citymeals-on-Wheels is a nonprofit organization that finances the preparation and delivery of meals to homebound and geriatric New Yorkers. It provides approximately 2.5 million free meals every year to Cono and 16,000 others.

Citymeals-on-Wheels thrives on the donations of philanthropists such as Martha Stewart, Alex von Furstenberg, and Lynda Resnick. Through their generous support, extraordinary people like Cono receive help every single day. More than the food being provided is the sense of hope that comes along with it—a priceless windfall to a noble mission.

Image Source: CityMeals.org

And with that, Cono, even in the eventide of his fleeting existence, will never go hungry or lonely ever again.

Alex von Furstenberg is a philanthropist who is currently affiliated with over 60 charitable institutions. More information on his supported organization may be accessed at his official website.

* true identity is concealed to protect subject’s privacy

Curing the illiteracy syndrome ... One. Word. At. A. Time.

Image Source: KennethPasternak.com

 

 

 

As of this writing, millions of people in America can’t even read this sentence to save their lives.

Such is the demon of literacy that it deprives so much for so little. Without the minimum required literacy skills, fluid navigation through society and upward social movement are close to impossible. The statistics, however, is staggering. There are approximately 93 million American adults with basic or below-basic literacy. Of these, 30 million are functionally illiterate and about 63 million below the 5th grade literacy level cannot even understand a basic newspaper. As if these aren’t enough drawbacks, it is also worth noting that the low literacy level is costing the government about $200 billion each year—a cumbersome price to pay for a completely remediable situation.

Image Source: ABCNews.com

Amidst these depressing realities, one fact raises hopes:

Every dollar spent on adult illiteracy yields $7.14 in societal returns — whether through increased revenues or decreased expenditures.

With these premise, many philanthropists have opted to invest on building the country’s literacy. Many individuals, such as John Wood and Alex von Furstenberg, and corporations, like JP Morgan Chase and Bloomberg, have tried contributing to the pitch in efforts to finally put an end to illiteracy.

Image Source: Google.Images.com

The fight against illiteracy is not just a case of being able to rise past the “no read, no write” status, but of breaking free from the bondage of ignorance and being able to live life to the fullest.

Business maven Alex von Furstenberg is a philanthropist who backs over 60 charitable institutions. Learn more about his philanthropic endeavors by logging on to AlexVonFurstenberg.com.

Cradling greatness: Brown University and her philanthropists

Image Source: Businessweek.com

As with its sister universities in the Ivy League circuit, Brown University has produced countless graduates who have become very successful in their professional lives. Many of these graduates went on to found their own companies; some became high-ranking officials in large corporations, making a name for themselves.

However, man should not keep these successes to himself. To quote Andrew Carnegie, “Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community.” Any man who has acquired a substantial amount of wealth in his lifetime has the inherent social responsibility to help out to the less fortunate. This is the philosophy of philanthropy: the blessed should not just count their blessings—they should give part of their blessings away to really make them count.

The following sons of Brown University have chosen to lead a life of altruism, treading the selfless path of philanthropy for the benefit of mankind:

Image Source: Online-Utility.org

1. John D. Rockefeller Jr. (class of 1897) After founding Standard Oil 1870, Rockefeller went on to become the first American to be worth more than a billion dollars. He became an active philanthropist, supporting many causes and doling out as much as $550 million in his lifetime.

Image Source: NYMag.com

2. Sidney E. Frank (class of 1942). After making a name for himself as a highly successful entrepreneur by creating “Grey Goose vodka” and distributing other premium liquor brands such as Jägermeister, Frank turned to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors to put together a plan for a foundation that would forever cement his legacy. In 2005, he donated $12 million to The Norwich Free Academy and $120 million to Brown University.

Image Source: SawyerSpeaks.com

3. Ted Turner (class of 1960). He is widely known as the founder of CNN. As a philanthropist, Turner is widely known for donating $1 billion to support the UN, eventually creating the United Nations Foundation, a public charity that aims to broaden support for the UN.

Image Source: PaperMag.com

4. Alex von Furstenberg (class of 1993). Representing the younger Brown generation, von Furstenberg is a business maven who has built a formidable career in the opportunistic investment industry. He is also the secretary of the Diller – Von Furstenberg Family Foundation, an organization that has committed more than $30 million in grants to a broad spectrum of nonprofit institutions since its inception in 1999.

Alex von Furstenberg is a proud alumnus of Brown University. For updates, visit his official website.

Family philanthropy: Binding families together

Image Credit: ChiefOutsiders.com

Forbes asserts that involving children and grandchildren in philanthropic activities is a great way to prepare the younger generations about responsibility and financial independence in the name of generosity.

More importantly, this is also a way of strengthening the ties among families by learning the lessons and experiences of notable family philanthropists, such as David Rubenstein, Pierre Omidyar, and Alex von Furstenberg. These notable givers, together with their families, have become successful in their endeavor of making a huge impact on others.

Image Credit: BenjaminCorporatePrinting.com

There is no match to the fulfillment of working together as a family and helping others in need. For starters, how do they teach their children about giving? No matter how overwhelming the choices and responsibilities are, they must start somehow, somewhere. Here are a few steps to begin with:

1. Adding fun to giving. All members of the family get to choose their own charities. Generally, children would pick animal- and children-based organizations, and adults will have to respect their children’s choice at all cost.

2. Having a budget. When money is involved, the family has to think of ways on how to earn it and schedule a budget for such purpose. Injecting the sense of commitment plays a major role for success.

3. Giving something that they own. Family members could select even one item that they own or cherish. This makes sense of the concept of giving and puts things in perspective.

Image Credit: Halloran-Sage.com

Know how you can help others by visiting this Twitter page.