Who’s in a name?

I never knew my mother‘s father, Lester Feldman, as he passed away at a young ageduring the WWII years (But not as a result of combat) before I was born. Upon return of my father from military service in Europe, my parents got right down to the job at hand, and I was born in 1947. Thus, I never knew him or felt his arms in a hug. I’ve seen a few photos. I also was named after him in the Jewish custom. (I am told my name would’ve been Lawrence have been a boy.) 

reflecting on the passing at 102 years of age this week of the retired Grand Master of the Urasenke tradition of Chanoyu. I have been reflecting on his legacy and the impact he has had on me through my late teacher who passed away at 103 years old on her birthday. I didn’t know him personally either, but like MOM‘s dad, who I never had to create an affectionate name for such as granddad or grandpa, he too gave me a name: SoChi. The character So connects me to the great family of chanoyu practitioners descendent from Sen no Riku. The Chi, (pronounced like “cheese”) Is a reference to the way Japanese people pronounce my last name, which is “do-ee-chee), a term Further complicated by the fact that it means German In the German language. The character chosen was an auspicious sounding word meaning “intelligent”. Hence the idea of one living up to one’s name.

One day during class, my dear late sensei, Sosei Masumoto, Would occasionally ponder, I wonder what name Oiemoto (The title of grand master) is going to give you. I was not familiar with the naming process but early on I wondered why The first names of all of the Tea practitioners of seniority experience Begin with the phrase “so”  (Since I can’t read kanji, I never noticed it in the directory of our group.) I eventually knew that this designation was to link us all to the lineage. It would be an honor to have such a formal recognition and encouragement of my study.

As I was in the midst of learning a particular procedure for wiping a utensil, I looked at my teacher and said, “I have a suggestion for a name that would be very meaningful for m, But I would have to stop what I’m doing for a second and put down the utensils as I need to use my hands to explain. Sensei looked at me and I put down the utensils and said: How about “SoNu”!? I then went onto explain that it is in the Yiddish-go, Yiddish language of my matrilineal heritage. I gestured with my hands as if to urge a storyteller to get to the point already!

Sensei looked very befuddled, but it was probably the way she normally appears when I am seated in the student position trying to remember a procedure. 

So, nu, SoChi!

Here I am now practicing again the basics under Sen Soshitsu XVI, the third Urasenke Grand Master under whom Sosei Matsumoto studied and transmitted chanoyu to whomever would find peace making a bowl of tea.

Kansha!

Ka-Ching: The Sound of One Hand Begging

A koan for a cohen: If a coin falls into the pushke, but no one hears it, who will it help?

The giving of tzedakah, charity, is a deeply beloved blessing among Jews throughout time and space. Here are some of my photos of charity collection boxes from recent trips to Israel, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam and (the last) from Tony Berlant of Venice CA. In Israel they are as ubiquitous as parking meters near UCLA campus in Los Angeles and police call boxes in New York City. Likewise, small versions made of everything from tin / aluminum and plastic to origami paper folds, can often be found next to cash registers throughout Jewish neighborhoods.

Doing a good deed by donating to charity is an obligation, a mitzvah. It helps the donor as well as the designated person(s)-in-need. Please take my money. 

Now here’s the catch … It must be done with the right hand … even if, as I am, left-handed. Deep teaching comes form Rabbi David Sperling who reminds us of a verse in Tehilim (118,15) that “”God’s right hand does valiantly.” Here is one thing that the Sephardim who follow kabbalistic teaching and Ashkenazim who follow their rebbes agree. 

Here’s the bottom line: "Ben Ish Hai (Parshat Vayigash, 13) adds that the coin represents the letter yod, the right hand the letter hey (because the five fingers are equal to the numeric value of the letter hey, 5), the arm the letter vav, which is stretched out like a vav, and the left hand of the receiver another letter hey - together the letters of Hashem's name.

Stay tuned for more images of donation boxes from Japan.

Star Gazing in The Beggar's Bowl

 I love this piece of reality:

The mouth of the alms bowl faces the heavens.

Foguo Gaoquan (1633-1695)

鉢盂口向天。燈籠掛露柱。

大慧普覺禪師語錄（卷6）

Thanks to Ryosuke Ueda, San Leandro CA.

Homelessness and Begging

An article from the New Statesman:

Why you should give money directly and unconditionally to homeless people

Who are you to judge what they do with that cash?

Studies show that "begging emerges in the “middle-late stages” of homelessness, once people have already exhausted other options. The rock bottom has already been reached."

Is there a proclivity among humans to beg? 

Is there a proclivity among human beings to be altruistic? 

To invoke the group as a source of support? 

Where does altruism and begging intersect? 

Holographic Old-School Wife

https://nonprofitaf.com/2019/06/why-more-and-more-executive-directors-of-color-are-leaving-their-positions-and-what-we-need-to-do-about-it/

$24.69 ... That's what your volunteer time is worth in the USA on average.

One of the earliest inspirations for this blog is to figure out how to get Congress to allow the value of volunteer time donated to nonprofit by all levels of capacity to be deducted along with expenses incurred in that service.

I get the same answer always from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the US Department of Commerce: "Volunteer hours are not calculable." Here is a link to  their excuse. Basically, because it resembles women's work.

Poppycock! has been my standard reply. It is the replacement value of paying someone to do the work!

Likewise, childrearing, homemaking and housekeeping done in the family  aren't included in the Gross Domestic Product of the USA.

Points of Light Foundation and Independent Sector calculate the average value of volunteerism each year. It's an average, including work in young professionals helping out in soup kitchens, medical specialists who do surgery in war zones, grandparents who do family day care so parents can work, etc. According to the latter:

"(WASHINGTON, April 19, 2018) – Today, Independent Sector, in partnership with IMPLAN, announces that the latest value of a volunteer hour is $24.69 – up 2.2 percent from the previous year. That figure, estimated from data collected in 2017, shows the incredible contributions volunteers make to our communities and our country.

"Currently, 63 million Americans volunteer about 8 billion hours of their time and talent to improve people’s lives and the natural world. With the new value of volunteer time, these Americans are contributing approximately $197.5 billion to our nation."

Just a reminder: Your Holy Beggar works for a living, as meek as it might be. She also volunteers her expertise, time and other valuable resources.

You are welcome.

And remember ...
 No matter what,
DON'T FORGET TO ASK FOR THE MONEY.

Ford Foundation's Darren Walker: Generosity Generation

Darren Walker, president of Ford Foundation, was in Los Angeles recently to hold a public conversation with Michael Govan, CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director of LA County Art Museum.

Sadly (to those of us working in the arts) they didn't speak about funding for the arts which are (once again)  facing a dismal, dare I say bleak, future with the folks in DC wanting to axe the NEA.

According to Walker, Ford doesn't have programming strength in the arts, health and even education and will not provide grants in this area. Ford seeks to promote its comparative advantage   in the "realm" of social justice with its fully focus on challenging inequality.

What he did emphasize was that he wants people to be more generous, not in that altruistic way. People need to give until the situation changes, not just when the nachas (prideful pleasure) overflows into the ego.

I couldn't agree more. 

When even the most seemingly unimportant situation has a profound blockage that cannot be penetrated, I will often query my inner HB as to whether someone is not being generous. It usually informs the situation.

Your humble Holy Beggar has discussed this in the past, but a refresher is always appropriate. According to Maimonides, the next to the highest form of charity is when the donor and recipient are unknown to each other. The highest form is that support provided until the recipient can move ahead on his/her own. (Note: Most institutional funders are not willing to support a project until the recipient is fully self-sustaining.)

Walker also wants the Foundation be a catalyst (my word) to reverse hopelessness and find ways to enliven, revitalize, kick-start (my words) a situation and let it flourish towards sustainability. He supports the notion that eccentric, even avant garde world views can and must dislodge the legacy of status quo if there is to be change.

Bravo!

Thank you, LACMA, for hosting this conversation.

And Remember ...

No matter what ...

Don’t forget to ASK FOR THE MONEY!
 

hereThere

Dear Passers-by and FotHB (Friends of the Holy Beggar):

The national election in the USA has zapped all my attention. Instead of improving my begging sign, I have spent much time creating protest signs for the Women's March against the vulgar he-who-shall-not-be-named and his cadre.

I did not abandon my spot, although someone might come along and use it if I'm not working it.

In the meantime, I'm offering this review by Rebeca Solnit.

"From the new book by Sunaura Taylor about animals and disability and intersection, Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation, she writes: Animalization has long been used as a tool to segregate and police disabled people. We can see this in the “ugly laws” legislation that existed from the 1860s to the 1970s across the United States, which made it illegal for “unsightly” or “disgusting” people to be in certain public spaces. These laws were often intended to get rid of beggars, and at times overlapped with laws designed to clean the streets of stray animals. 

In her book The Ugly Laws: Disability in Public, Susan Schweik, a professor of English and disability studies at UC Berkeley, describes how anxieties about disability, as well as poverty, class, race, gender, nationality, and animality all intersected in these laws. In some instances, human beggars were compared to stray dogs or other animals, and Schweik suggests that “the threat of unsightly beggars who might spread disease or bite the hand that fed them got phrased at times as a problem of animal control.”

While I was not consulted about the begging sections, nonetheless, I trust the recommendation and hope that you will find it useful.

Remember, no matter what,

Don't forget to ask for the money.

Yours truly,

HB

Prince Harry of Wales to Receive 2nd Holy Beggar Award!

It's Nobel Prize season, but your Holy Beggar is not interested in headlines, rather she wishes to give recognition when it's due.

She is deeply impressed by the stamina and personal conviction of Prince Harry of Wales, QEII's grandson, for his courage and clarity in support of wounded military troops who have suffered life-challenging wounds as a result of battle. He'll be walking 1000 miles across Britain with 6 others with a bucket to accept donations from folks along the way.

From the Telegraph:

"He praised the members of the public who've been putting hard-earned money in the donation buckets as the marchers make their way around Britain. 

"The support has been amazing,” he said. “People come out to give money and then when they hear what it's for they put another £20 in."

 
More here.

 A tip of the Beggar's Bowl to you, Harry.

Remember ... 
No matter what,
Don't forget to ask for the money!

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court Part 1: What to Do When Approaching a Mogol/Mogul

The premise of this blog is, of course, that throughout time and space, every culture has witnessed the presence of a Holy Beggar. Whether individuals or institutions, the beggar is the "canary" in a socio-economic context.

I have introduced you to my begging buddies who provide this function within the context of their cultural milieu.

Now, I'm going to tell you about two situations that will indicate how complex it is to work outside one's own cultural contexts and across generations.

I am immediately reminded of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, the first story, or so says the author, Mark Twain, about time travel in human culture. 

Young Chinese American Storyteller at a (Predominantly) Jewish Community Memorial  

The first example presented here is based on an occurrence last week at the yahrtzeit (Yiddish: lit. "time of year", annual memorial) of the beloved Theodore Bikel held by family and friends, and accessible (as was dear Theo) to all. The venue was the great community center hall (former Sinai Temple synagogue) of Craig Taubman's multi-cultural but Jewish-inspired Pico Union Project (PUP) ain the Pico/Union section of LA.

The event was not targeted to be "sponsored by" or even to "officially" benefit  anything or one else, but it was mentioned in the midst of some reverential comments that if people wanted to make a donation to Mazon, the Jewish organization that addresses hunger throughout the USA, there were some envelopes on the pews. Nothing more was said about it from the stage for 2 hours.

Toward the end of a very hamish (Yiddish: NOT like "ham" but more like that sweet fellow "Haim") gathering of folks in the folk music community, a few in film and TV, some lefties and an even fewer heads of Jewish community organizations, Peter Yarrow sang songs about hope and inclusiveness of immigrants. He invoked the melting-pot-ness (Bikel didn't believe in it) of our current political dilemma. Folks on the bimah (Hebrew: stage) were taking turns doing solos, and we all joined in on the choruses. Try and stop us!

In the sweet Kum-ba-Yah-nis of the moment, a younger fellow with an Asian face pokes his head through the crowd on stage, takes the mike, and introduces himself as Jason Chu, the PUP Storyteller. "I'm a Chinese kid from Delaware who didn't know Theodore Bikel, but I am moved by what I'm experiencing here today. He spoke first quietly through the humming that honored his words and remained at this level, suggesting "let's all get together, and do what's right", etc.And then ...

Kapow! Nothing.

My friend Linda and I, both of us who have rattled the begging bowls in our professional lives, simultaneously turned to each other and, in astonished soto voce said, "He didn't ask for money! He had 'em!"

As the formal program ended, with people chatting and leaving their seats, one woman strained her voice to be heard ... "If you have those Mazon envelopes, please give them to ..." and named a few people, none of whom were necessarily stationed in a specific spot.

Linda and I were invited to join the Pals-O-Theo as they adjourned to the social hall for refreshments, where we found Jason and brought to his attention this observation. I asked him if he could hear the silence, the anticipation, the power of his voice? "These folks expect / want to give. Jewish people give at times like these."

He said that it was never his intention to ask for money. We explained the missed opportunity, especially since MAZON was mentioned previously. He didn't have to bring it up out of the cold. I plan to meet Jason at another time to discuss this further. He can turn his story-telling prowess into fund raising and to develop philanthropic contributions for PUP.

The great fundraisers are all story-tellers, much as are lawyers. It is at the heart of a great persuasive "argument" ... the difference is that the intention to wield the power is clearly to channel / convert the listener's cache of emotions toward taking some specific action.

In Compelling Conversations for Fundraisiers, authors Laurie Selik and Janet Levine call this the "pivot". In skiing, it's what one must do when approaching a mogul (a bump/hill of snow, usually found in a series, caused by many people skiing in the same area). I call it Hooo-pA! It is impossible to ski through the gullies on those long boards. So, when you're at the top of the bump, while the view may be lovely, for the sake of need to get down the mountain, take the opportunity at hand (actually, foot!) to make a turn, or slow down, or other adjustment. This is a truly powerful place to be if one uses it correctly!

To you, beloveds of The Holy Beggar, please do not forget to pay attention, and.

Remember
No matter what ...
Don't forget to 
ASK FOR THE MONEY!

COMPELLING CONVERSATIONS ... for Holy Beggars!

Kudos (and a shake of the begging bowl!) to my colleague Laurie Selik and her co-author, Janet Levine, for their "Compelling Conversations for Fund Raisers, one of a series of compelling guides to conversation from Chimayo Press (Los Angeles). They are here to help Holy Beggars "Talk Your Way to Success with Donors and Funders".

The street-side HB doesn't have much time to engage potential donors, about a minute or two while the light is red. You need to meet the donor at his/her terms. If you stand in Beverly Hills (can anyone?), be prepared to take credit cards. If you are near a bank or ATM, have change for a $20.

As discussed, a sign helps a lot, but don't forget to make sure it's right-side-up, facing the windshield. And for goodness sake, make sure your Slurpee cup is empty with the lid off before you offer it as a receptacle.

If you can get to them to the "I'll think about it" stage ... make sure you're at the same spot, the same time tomorrow. Remind them of their kind consideration.

Laurie and Janet provide helpful scenarios for the more managed encounter, looking more toward significant gifts, as well as "planned" gifts. The latter could include appreciated property (such as the Mercedes our street-side donor is driving) as well as life insurance. (Given the way drivers behave in Los Angeles, a HB might do well to take out a policy on a driver his/herself and some day, just some day ... )

Seriously (I was being that!), theirs is a workbook ...

Remember the HB's motto ...

No matter what ...
Don't forget to 
Ask for the Money!

Got Your Hand Out?

Your humble Holy Beggar wishes to demonstrate one of the ways she has been trying to make a living by not directly begging for another entity: ghost writing. 

Yes, I've sold my words so that they come out of another's "mouth". Shame on them.

Here's something I wrote for a translation company ... another person is attributed as the author. Anonymous would have been better.

Since the beginning of time: 2161, or at minimum, over 40 Earth years ago when Gene Roddenberry launched the Star Trek enterprise, the crafty creators of races and galaxies, technologies and tools have been hard at work to transform everyday Earthlings into a Trekkies worthy of citizenship in the United Federation of Planets.

The Star Trek franchise builders have not been content to merely dabble in pop culture and fantasy storytelling. Now over 40 million human fans world-wide have access to powerful tools to cross the media threshold and interact with other weekend wanna-be warriors by learning to speak and read the Klingon language.

The master-mind (and mouth) of the Klingon language is linguist Dr. Marc Okrand, author of Conversational Klingon, the definitive audio book, the Klingon Dictionary, among others. A specialist in an extinct language of a people of Northern California, Okrand was making a living over-dubbing and subtitling for the film industry when he was brought into the Star Trek picture, literally. His first task was to create just four lines of otherwise non-extant Vulcan in post- production of Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan to match the actor’s English language lip movements as an over-dub.

Brought back to work on Star Trek III The Search for Spock, this time in the scriptwriting phase, he decided to formally create an entire new language from scratch, complete with grammar and vocabulary as well as an inventory of sounds, Klingon at once needed to reference the history and current world view of the inhabitants of that distant galaxy. No detail was overlooked.

Since then, new stories and new characters have been blending into those earlier “realities”, necessitating the development of Klingon’s greater linguistic complexity. Klingon further morphed as fans began try to speak and write it in
their ordinary, 21^st Century Earth-bound lives. There are also lexicons and grammars created by fans, such as the online program “battle tested” at the Klingon Language Institute that has attracted many adherents and many efforts to compile English – Klingon dictionaries.

While Microsoft’s Bing search engine identifies 1,060,000 entries for “translate Klingon”, now, in cooperation with Paramount and the Klingon Language Institute, Bing offers written translation from many languages into both the “original” Klingon script as well as Roman and Hindu-Arabic characters. It seems that Bill Gates’ team has been considering how to do this for a long time, and released it in time for the premiere of Star Trek Into Darkness. There are no coincidences!
While we at Acclaro have yet to receive a request for translation into Klingon, we salute the Trekkies who have delved into learning the language for themselves. To you, we say majQa’…well done!

 Dearest Holy Beggars by Any (or No) Names,

Remember,
No matter what ...
Don't Forget to 
Ask for the Money    

Beggars Make the World Go Round: The Invisible Pan-Hand(ler)

The fundamental premise of this blog is that begging has had a role in every society across time and space. Perhaps it is an organic by-product of human social order, whether democratic or totalitarian, capitalist or socialist.

Adam Smith, the wunderkind studied in microeconomics, knew very well about the significant role that the Beggar plays in society by his signature study of the "Invisible Hand".

Beggars are by nature invisible until they need to come into the public square to search for sustenance. All of a sudden, in a churning milieu alive with friction born of the heat of economic productivity, an empty "hand" intrudes into the usual rhythmic flow. Like a stone dropping into a body of water, the Beggar's presence may or may not send ripples or divert the flow, whether s/he is standing on a traffic island facing the stopped flow or on a subway platform singing operatic ditties well in tune with a boom box.

In a benign form, the Beggar has an air of lifelessness. We may not see her/him, or we do and then carry the burden of ignorance of something before our eyes. We know what s/he is doing: helping us to reconsider whether we have enough, just enough for one's lifestyle and what to do with the excess. If it's a perfect world, we find something of the latter and pass it on.

But this is not a perfect world, as we learn in macroeconomics. Once regulation sets in, there are distortions to what is otherwise a perfectly natural hunter-gatherer environment. To wit, the Houston Chronicle  provides a public service on how to obtain a Panhandler License.

Clinging With an Open Hand

Reading a report about the progress to health of the beloved Thich Nhat Hanh by Justin Whitaker (July 14, 2015), Thich Nhat Hanh comes to the USA for further treatment, funds sought to cover costs, there is an interesting discussion about clinging ... to life, to teacher ... something Buddhism disavows.  To wit: 

"When I have responded to such misgivings, it has usually been to note that all involved are still human, or to question the use of the term ‘clinging’ here. In Buddhist thought, motivation is key, and yet guessing about or supposing to know the motivations of others is a fool’s game. Perhaps those close to Thay are indeed clinging to him as much as devoted followers of any religious leader. Or perhaps they instead see his message that has reached so many people around the world and wish only to see that message continue in the strongest way possible, through his continuing to teach and write.

"My sense is that too many people have seized on the message of non-clinging (which is a good and central message within Buddhism) and tried to apply it here too forcefully. Like all teachings, it should be taken with some nuance. When driving on a windy mountain road, a good Buddhist clings firmly to the steering wheel.

"Perhaps Thay and his students see his journey as not quite finished and so hold on and work to see it through."

I am reminded of a conversation I once had with a Japanese Zen monk. I advanced my understanding of working / not working toward emptiness and was basically told that by working or not, my concept of emptiness was severe.

Back to the pillow. Opening the hand. 

And the other hand ...



Image: Geoff Livingston. CC Thanks

~

Alwaleed Foundation's Leadership

Finally, someone get's it. 

On July 1, 2015, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaudof Saudi Arabia announced he's giving away his entire $32 billion fortune to charity. Here's the announcement.

His gargantuan gift will go to his own nonprofit, Alwaleed Philanthropies, throughout the next several years. There, the dollars will bolster a handful of causes worldwide, like empowering women, eradicating diseases, assisting in disaster relief, ending poverty, increasing intercultural understanding, developing underserved communities. He says he has been inspired by Bill Gates' generosity.

 The foundation's grantmaking is in several areas: Developing Communities, Empowering Women and Youth, Providing Vital Disaster Relief ... and Bringing Cultures Together. As for the latter, it will

• Involve a university with proven credentials as a center of learning.

• Focus on research and outreach to promote interfaith and intercultural relations.

• Promote understanding of Islam in the West and the understanding of the West in the Islamic world.

• Demonstrate commitment to foster dialogue and discussions.

That kind of understanding will lay off even the most optimistic holy beggar.

Holy Beggar: Oustanding in His Field!

When I first met my HB comrade Monk Gigen Ono worked in computer business in Los Angeles, but he then decided to take monastic vows in the Soto Zen Buddhist lineage and return to Japan for training.

He came back a few years after rigorous training at Eiheiji, the headquarters of the lineage, to L.A., his head now shaved and demeanor somewhat more reserved.

We talked about his new life walking through small villages of rural Japan  engaging in the practice of takahatsu, begging. His work takes him him to the front doors of homes upon which would knock and then wait for someone to open. 

His clothing and dogu, equipment / props, made it perfectly clear to the residents that he was a Buddhist monk and more often than not, he reports, they welcome him in. 

His purpose was to offer to chant sutras, Buddhist scripture, at the butsudan, the family altar containing the mementos of recently and distantly deceased, for their benefit in the next life. This short ritual, taking about 10 minutes, earns him a few yen and much appreciation.

"What if no one answers the door, perhaps they are not home?" I asked.

"I chant outside the closed door anyway," he replied.

Our conversation occurred when I  had just come back from a job interview with the L.A. Philharmonic, seeking to join their development team ranks. Job hunting is so frustrating, as this blog notes early into its development. I asked him what he thought I could do to improve my chances, and he hummed "Daiku", the beginning of Beethoven's "Great" 9th. We both laughed.

A few years later, I saw Gigen - san again. He was still out on the takuhatsu trail providing folks with a way to stay in touch with the Buddhadharma. In the course of conversation, he asked me whether I thought he would be more sincere looking if he did not wear his tabi, split toe socks, when going out in the snow. Looking at this photograph (not my pal), it does not seem that the woman is looking at his bare feet. 

Even if no one opens the door ...

Remember the Holy Beggar Maxim:  

Don't Forget to

Ask for the Money ... anyhow!

 
 *If I were he, I'd opt for sox made of wool from a sheep.

Happy Solstice in the Year of the Green Wood Goat / Sheep / Ox*!  

The Not-So-Non-Profit "Fourth Sector"

Your Holy Beggar may be a candidate to run ... no! to be one of these "hybrid" enterprises.

Remember, the whole premise of this blog is why not cut out the middleman, the nonprofit organization that would pay me a salary to beg for them ... when I can just beg for myself.

Perhaps I can be considered for the Nobel Prize in Economics!

But remember ...
No matter what ...
Don't forget to ask for the money.

Classy ... Classic Holy Beggar

Bravo to this gentleman and HONY's Brandon for capturing the true essence of Holy Beggarhood.

From the Humans of New York FaceBook page October 8, 2914

"I take my meds but I still have bad days. I know the moment I wake up if it's going to be a bad day. I'm really fidgety and distracted and resentful. I can't even sit out here on bad days. I get too resentful when people walk by and don't help. I know it doesn't make sense, and that I don't have a right to be resentful, but I still get angry. I can't keep a job because of the bad days. I just get too verbal when I'm agitated. I don't even realize I'm doing it. I realize it later. But when it's happening, I don't know it's happening. It's like when I'm in the picture, I can't see the picture."

But remember,

No matter what,

Don't forget to ask for the money.

FULL CIRCLE: HOLY BEGGING FOR TAX DEDUCTIONS

Has The Holy Beggar come full circle?

Perhaps. You be the judge.

I recently did a pre-year-end accounting of my contributions and my gross income. I have had the urge to make more donations to outcomes-based (e.g. nonprofit) organizations, yet the significant reduction in my own income will really not allow it if I am to remain solvent.

So I thought that perhaps I should stand on a street corner and beg for donations to these nonprofits -- a generic receptacle promoted by a sign that says,

"Your extra change is NOT FOR ME ...
It's for public broadcasting ... the arts ... the enviornment ...
all 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations."

I will do just that and increase my tax-deductable donations.

But remember,
No matter what,
Don't forget to ask for the money.

Dan Pallotta's TED Talk -- The way we think about nonprofit organizations is dead wrong.

I couldn't say it better ...

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong/transcript?language=en

 Here's the reading list : http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong/recommendations