Ways To Make The World A Better Place

This essay first appeared in my newsletter on July 15th 2024. You can view the original, with art and resource links, here. Get my weekly dose of shame-free, neuro-spicy, no-nonsense advice by subscribing.

Interested in making the world a better place? Tune into episode 38 of Andy Wang’s Inspired Money podcast, where yours truly was a panelist.

Andy is a professional investor, Hawaiian slack key virtuoso, award-winning podcaster, and a lovely big-hearted human. He is generous to a fault in his support of the Hawaiian community and allies in the Tri-state area.

I’ll always have his back, no more so when it means joining his podcast and meeting interesting folks doing superb work around regenerative philanthropy, where capitalism can be harnessed for good.

Ticketing For Good

**Humanitix is great example of social capitalism.**

Adam McCurdie is the co-founder of Humanitix, an event ticketing platform that donates 100% of profits. So far, they’ve donated over $6.7 million to global charities dedicated to providing life’s essentials to humans worldwide: healthcare, education, food, and stability.

Adam’s goal was to build a better product, offer a lower price, and have a massive impact in the process. It’s a win-win-win for the event organizers, the ticket buyers, and the charities.

He’s turned an evil business expense into a force for good!

My clients at Daruma (my former institutional money management firm) made a ton of money in LiveNation (owner of Ticketmaster), so I’m very familiar with their rapacious ability to make coin and the crying need for ticketing reform.

If you know of event organizers in need of ticketing services, spread the word.

(Search Events)

High-Impact Giving Toolkit

The other panelist on the Inspired Money podcast, Kat Rosqueta, heads up the Center for High-Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Center is a collaboration between the School of Social Policy and Practice and the Wharton School. It studies the ways in which a philanthropist can make the biggest difference possible, given the amount of capital invested, focusing first on achieving social impact, i.e., a meaningful improvement in the lives of others vs. other concerns such as maximizing the funder’s tax benefit.

If you’re interested in doing more than just cutting checks (LOL I date myself!), and want to learn how to get the most impactful bang for your buck, start with their high-impact giving toolkit.

One of the great joys of having resources (money, time, mobility) is sharing with others.

Donor Education

I met Sylvia Brown many lifetimes ago and was chuffed to see her quoted in Barron’s, which led me to discover that she runs a center dedicated to teaching individuals to develop and craft effective giving plans congruent with their values.

The philanthropy (or lack thereof) of the mega-rich is well studied, but much less is known about the more typical donor.

Americans are generous — in 2021, individuals donated $327 billion to charity, roughly half of which came from those with less than $200,000 in income.

I’ve found Sylvia’s research on those who give under $1,000 a year and those who give between $2,000 and $20,000 fascinating.

So, if you’re interested in developing a thoughtful plan for philanthropy, check out her offerings. (No, not an affiliate link!)

Donate Your Time

Finally, generosity is not all about the money.

During the pandemic I discovered Zooniverse, a digital hub for citizen science projects. This allows us to contribute to scientific discoveries while eating Cheetos in our PJs on the couch. We can donate our time to further our knowledge of our world, from classifying animals in the Serengeti to discovering new exoplanets using the Kepler space telescope.

How cool is THAT?

One project I participated in was cataloging old property deeds in Durham NC that contained racial covenants. It was a sobering reminder of how easily racism can be legally enshrined and embedded into societal structures. Although it’s now illegal to preclude selling a property based on race, no matter what the property covenants say, the language remains embedded in the deeds, in perpetuity. Changing this is almost impossible, but the folks sponsoring the project are trying.

(Get involved)

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the causes I support, and how I can give back to my various communities, in ways both big and small. I hope this email has given you some inspiration.

Mariko Gordon, CFA, CFP**® **is a finance maverick who founded a $2.5 billion money management firm from scratch. From money management to business mentoring, she offers personalized financial planning and business and investment advice at her registered investment advisory firm, Uzume LLC.