Let’s “talk turkey!”

I just attended two full-day conferences on philanthropy: One was “Power of Partnering” hosted by Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation for its grantees and the second was the annual conference given by the NJ Chapter of The Association of Fundraising Professionals. And, of course, the major topic was the economy. Everyone has an opinion. One speaker said that philanthropic giving would not even begin to recover until at least 2011. Another said that we were already seeing some indications of recovery. Let’s face it folks…….no one knows for sure.

But I can tell you this……”T’is the season” to count our blessings and give thanks for all we have. “T’is the season” to flock to family reunions and renew relationships ignored all year long. “T’is the season” to eat, and drink and be merry with rare abandon.

But, how can we in good conscious eat, drink and be merry if we ignore the less fortunate at our doorsteps? How can we turn our backs on the marginal, the disenfranchised, the sick, the handicapped, the poor, when we have so much. I once said to someone, “I never met a nonprofit I didn’t love” and it’s true. They all fulfill a worthy mission, they all provide an essential service, they all have hearts as big as all outdoors.

So in order to really enjoy eating that turkey, let’s first talk turkey! Open up your wallet and give, give give to the best of your ability. Give to the little nonprofits that serves food in your neighborhood and give to the large nonprofit that helps returning wounded soldiers. Give for the victims of floods on the other side of the world and give to the church of your choice. Give to the scholarship fund at your alma mater and give to the regional theatre downtown. And if you have some money left, please give to PIP, because by giving to PIP you give to all the nonprofits above.

If you give freely, you will enjoy that turkey dinner so much more. Happy Thanksgiving.