Information literacy: Because there's a need to know

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Information literacy has been making strides toward the center of the American educational system—all because of its powerful and dynamic nature, which transcends from simple reading, writing, and computing, for learning and problem solving purposes. In other words, information literacy is the capacity of people to find needed information and use that information accordingly.

However, although the modern world has become a global society of information technology, the implementation of information and computer skills has also been sluggish. Penny Moore, PhD, educational research consultant and executive director of the International Association of School Librarianship, affirms that information technology has not been fully successful in laying the groundwork for students to face the digital age.

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Yet everybody should have the right to access information as a means to improve lives. From the overflowing information, individuals have to search for and find the right information to address varying needs, be it personal, social, or economic. With this, information-literate individuals should be able to do the following:

• Understand and put their problems in words to be able to recognize what information is needed.

• Get the information from identified, useful, and relevant sources, including people, government agencies, websites, and books.

• Verify the veracity of the information, such as knowing the distinction between a profit-making marketing pitch and authentic information.

• Assemble the information in such a way that they can be used correspondingly and create significant results.

For people not to drown in the sea of information, they need to be aware of ways to look systematically for the information they wish to get.

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Business maven and philanthropist Alex von Furstenberg helps the less fortunate gain access to information and education. This Facebook page shows updates on his philanthropic efforts.

Why breaking away from test-and-punish theory steps up American education

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Compared to other students in the world, American students are the most tested, yet least examined. The rationale behind its education system’s testing of students is this: Frequent testing enhances learning and attaching scores to a battery of multiple-choice type of tests is apt. Thus, the US government has made decisions in relation to issues concerning promotion or castigation of students, retention or retrenchment of teachers, and rewarding or punishment of schools when they fail in certain tests.

However, this test-and-punish argument actually blunts the country’s quality of education instead of strengthening it. Here are some reasons:

1. Schools, especially in low-income communities, reduce or eliminate teaching in non-tested subject areas, like science and social studies. This results to an inferior curriculum, giving learners the lack of knowledge and skills.

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2. When government punishes schools for incurring low testing scores, it pushes them to keep high-achieving students but kicks out underachieving ones. This discourages struggling students to get the learning they so need.

3. The test-based educational system redirects the focus into far more important disparities, like child homelessness, state funding system, and disintegrating schools in destitute communities.

The test-and-punish accountability is rooted in the notion that learning will not progress without the attachment of sanctions and punishments to students, schools and educators. But it’s high time to reconsider the lessons this country can learn from other developing nations, like Finland and Singapore. Although their students are less tested, the kinds of tests they run range from thought-provoking essays to oral examinations that require critical and problem solving, unlike America’s multiple-choice tests.

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Philanthropist Alex von Furstenberg is a philanthropist who values quality education among the youth. This Twitter page links to more information about his advocacies.

Philanthrocapitalism: The good side of affluence

Philanthrocapitalism is a relatively new term, only having entered public consciousness back in 2006. Despite its erroneous association with social philanthropy, it has nonetheless become a byword among organizations, prompting a new wave of growing and established capitalist entities to take part in the noble mission of uplifting mankind’s present state.

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But of course, merging two seemingly divergent entities together isn’t as easy as stitching the two words to form a portmanteau. There are three things that are needed to create and maintain this social investing culture:

1. There must be something that capitalists can invest in. It could be any cause which directly affects society—literacy, arts, etc. This is akin to what ‘for-profit’ entrepreneurs trade in the stock market. Philanthropist Alex von Furstenberg, for example, invests in the environment, education, arts, etc. His money, therefore, is not wasted, but is used to yield a tangible product.

2. Philanthrocapitalism also requires infrastructure, also much like stock markets and investments banks.

3. In this case, philanthropists must begin to act more like investors than philanthropists, making sure appropriate capital commensurate to whatever ‘returns’ they’re projecting. Unlike in other markets, however, these returns come in the forms of social progress on specific advocacy areas.

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Despite all the noble intentions, the philanthropy-capitalism connection is still met with reservations. This is understandable due to huge disparity in capitalism’s self-absorption and philanthropy’s selflessness. However, to fully understand how the whole thing could work, one must be able to accept how their similarities can complement each other. On one hand, capitalism is the best way by which humans can dispense needed goods and services. Philanthropy, on the other hand, is also a system that requires distribution of goods and services—only, it is driven by one’s profound love for humankind in general. As Sean Stannard-Stockton puts it: “To truly benefit from a positive form of philanthrocapitalism, we must be able to gather the accumulated wisdom of each discipline and integrate them into a more complete whole. This is the challenge and opportunity for philanthropy in the 21st century.”

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Alex von Furstenberg is a businessman who is also actively engaged in philanthropic activity. Log on to his official website for more updates.

Fundraising for charities: Fun is the key

Fundraisers are how most charitable organizations raise money or other resources for the causes they represent. Traditionally, fundraising consists of people going door-to-door or roaming the streets and asking for donations.

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Nowadays, however, there are many ways to do a fundraiser, and while these can be tiring, the key to a successful fundraiser is fun. After all, a charity event that has guest enjoying their time is likely to generate more donations.

One important thing that people should remember when doing fundraisers is that the more unique and exciting they are, the more people will be encouraged to support them.

This website lists some great fundraising ideas:

• Slave auctions. While real slave auctions may raise some concerns, a slave auction fundraiser works like a traditional auction, where people can bid to have a “slave” (usually a volunteer) for a day. The highest bidder will have the volunteer cook, do the dishes, or perform other household chores for him or her.

• 24-hour event. A 24-hour event can be something simple, like a marathon or a basketball match, or something unusual, like video gaming or tea drinking. The participants will have to pay to join the event, the winner of which will receive an award or a prize.

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• Eating competition. People love to eat, and this may be the reason why people love attending eating competitions. Participants pay to eat hotdogs, pancakes, or even hamburgers for a certain length of time, and the winner gets an award.

A fundraiser is not just a great way to raise money for a chosen cause but also an opportunity for guests to get to know each other and have fun.

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Most of Alex von Furstenberg’s philanthropic efforts are done through the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation. Visit the foundation’s website for more information.

Online vs. offline fundraising: The facts

A lot of organizations out there may be wondering what kind of fundraising they should do in order to get more donations. And with the advent of the Internet and social media, online fundraisers are fast becoming very popular.

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However, this question remains: Which of them is better?

An infographic by Connectad.ca provides the following facts:

• Offline fundraising is still the preferred vehicle, as 90 percent of donations come in offline.

• Online donations are growing at a very fast rate, with more people donating online every year. In addition, this growth represents both the total revenue and the amount of donors.

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• Online donors are younger (22 to 55 years old), have higher incomes (32 percent of them earn more than $100,000 a year), give more the first time (an average of $62), and give more over time ( at around $118 to $197) than offline donors, who are older (45 to 75 years and older), earn less (only 18 percent of them earn more than $100,000 a year), give less the first time (an average of $32), and give less over time (around $51 to $72).

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As donors acquired from online fundraisers who donate through multiple channels are worth more than thrice those who use only a single channel, perhaps it is safe to say that the best solution for charities wanting to maximize their cash flow is to use multiple channels, both online and offline.

Alex von Furstenberg is committed to changing lives and making a difference, and makes these possible through the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation. You can find more information about Mr. von Furstenberg’s philanthropic efforts by visiting this website.

The benefits of establishing a family foundation

When the wealthy express their passion for philanthropy, they often do so through family-funded and established entities, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, and the Schmidt Family Foundation.

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Why do they have to establish a family foundation just to help out charities? The answer is simple: so they can do so in a tax-efficient way while enjoying the tax benefits that donating to charities bring.

Jeremy Stahl of Jess S. Morgan & Company, Inc. explains how a family foundation works:

It is usually managed by a board of directors, usually headed by the family matriarch or patriarch, and includes family members, advisors, or anyone who is familiar with and agrees with the foundation’s philanthropic goals. It is then funded with different assets, such as cash and securities, which will then be reinvested in accordance with the board’s investment objectives. The resulting income from those investments will be used as donation to the different board-approved charities.

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As mentioned earlier, there are tax benefits to donating. These include income and estate tax benefits, wherein the donor will have tax breaks his entire life and inheritance tax benefits for his heirs when he passes away. In addition, the foundation can be a good training ground for younger family members as it can teach them about investing and the importance of charitable giving.

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Alex von Furstenberg serves on the board of directors of the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation. For more information about his philanthropic efforts, visit the foundation’s website.

Philanthropy and its social media transformation

Many continue to be fixated at the archetypal depiction of philanthropy: gala benefits, grand family foundations, PBS underwriters … The philanthropic tradition is so associated with these high-end social events that it has become almost synonymous to a “wall-paneled boardroom.”

Times are changing, however, and so is philanthropy.

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In recent years, the use of social media spread like wildfire across the population. As of October 2012, over 1 billion have been active users of Facebook, currently the world’s largest social media network. The USA alone comprises a large chunk of the number, with over 168 million active users as of January 2013. With this large number of people socializing online, philanthropists, such as Alex von Furstenberg and Marguerite Hoffman, will have to do more than send snail mail and make phone calls to connect with the people who are willing to help out in their causes.

Richard McPherson, chief innovator of Next Generation Fundraising, a Philadelphia-based consulting service, deems that social media has “become essential,” further stating that “no one can afford NOT to” use social media in their charitable efforts.

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Because conservatives may find it easy to stereotype social media activity into those which McPherson calls “all that big, popular Lady Gaga-type stuff,” some may overlook its real worth in trying to bring serious causes to the attention of donors.

“People expect to see videos of work they support,” he says. “Once you have a new way to connect and tools to do it, that’s a powerful combination.”

With this inexorable development, philanthropy may need to abandon its elitist image in favor of a more community-oriented approach. Looks like for most of these organizations, Facebook is the way to go … and rightfully so.

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This Google+ page for businessman-philanthropist Alex von Furstenberg has updates on his charitable endeavors.