Generation BIG

Frank McKinney’s “Tap Moment” and BIG Journey

Tom Ruwitch — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:08:35 +0000

Frank McKinney’s BIG journey began with a newspaper picture of a needy man. A successful real estate “artist” and creator of some of the most magnificent oceanfront homes on speculation (he just finished Acqua Liana the world’s largest and most expensive certified green home at $24.3 million!), McKinney was reading a [...]

A Must-See Video: Entrepreneurs Can Change the World

Tom Ruwitch — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:24:39 +0000

I met and connected with a great, BIG person today — entrepreneur Ileana Kane — who turned us on to this video. Turn on your computer’s audio, turn up the volume, and check it out. Wondering what it means to be BIG? Looking for inspiration to look at life through a new lens and make [...]

What’s in a Name? Bad News for “Nonprofits”

Tom Ruwitch — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:16:53 +0000

A few weeks ago, I spoke before a group of nonprofit administrators about how to raise money and market their organizations more effectively. I had recently given a similar presentation to for-profit marketing directors and was using those slides as the foundation for my speech to charities. The “for-profit” presentation discussed how to move people through [...]

Christine Shively – Knots of Love

Tom Ruwitch — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:00:32 +0000

It started with a hand-knit cap that Christine Shively made for her son. One of Shively’s friends, a cancer survivor, said she wished she had a cap like that to cover her bald held when going through chemotherapy. Shively decided to donate that one cap to a charity that distributes caps to people who need them, [...]

Connect with the Heart to Raise Money

Tom Ruwitch — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:15:07 +0000

How many fund-raising appeals have you read that cite countless statistics to prove the effectiveness of the charity? I could wallpaper my house with them. No offense to the statisticians and numbers-crunchers, but charities that build their campaigns on such logical appeals may be undermining their efforts. In an important and provocative article published this month [...]

Volunteers Donate More

Tom Ruwitch — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:36:32 +0000

People who volunteer time to charities donate on average 10-times more money to charity than people who don’t volunteer, according to a new study The lesson: Engaging volunteers should be a strategic priority if you want your organization to become BIG or get BIGger. Here are some of the key findings from the study, released on Dec. [...]

Tiny Revolutions to Be BIG

Tom Ruwitch — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:38:41 +0000

In Chapter 10 of the Generation BIG book, we note that "Every BIG person in this book dared to dream and chose to act. That is the essence of the BIG journey -- dreams to action." I just read a great blog post by social media advisor Chris Brogan that frames dreams to action as "Tiny Revolutions. He writes, "Every step towards success requires a tiny revolution. Evolution is too subtle. Revolution is too drastic. In between, let’s add 'tiny revolutions.'"

The Rising Tide

Tom Ruwitch — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:31:15 +0000

Inspired people are reinventing themselves for a new era. They represent the rising tide of people who are determined to achieve their dreams and make a difference in the world. They are Bold, Innovative and Generous. They are Generation BIG.

Becoming a BIG Organization

Tom Ruwitch — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:29:04 +0000

To survive and thrive in the 21st century, you have to connect with bold, innovative, and generous people who are passionate about what you do, who will engage with your cause. You have to have BIG vision.

Federal Tax Deductions: Don’t Use Your Deductions Foolishly!

Jeffrey Smith — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:19:19 +0000

If you itemize or even if you take the standard deduction, you probably want to consider the following. Too often I see people who have in essence paid more tax than they should have by not squeezing every bit of value out of their deductions. To understand this concept, you need to understand the value of your deductions and the tax cost of income.