Many of you know that Karen and I were interviewed last month by the local Fox and ABC news affiliates concerning our opinions about the Kony 2012 video seen by almost 100 million people and the broader subject of charitable giving in the age of social media. We enjoyed our “15 minutes of fame” and were delighted with the exposure for New Hope Initiative and our mission.  We are in no way critical of the goals of the Stop Kony campaign or the broader work of the parent organization Invisible Children which has and will continue to do much good. However we do want to continue to encourage people in their charitable giving to know what you are giving to and to know where your money is going. These are the basic requirements of good stewardship when it comes to our use of resources to meet the needs of people at home and around the world. Every organization is not worthy of your support, every cause is not one that you should take up personally, and every organization does not do an adequate job of handling the resources they are entrusted with. Sadly, some people will use controversy or point to unworthy organizations to justify their lack of personal giving but can I state unequivocally that there is no excuse that can ever justify a greedy heart. The answer to the question of charitable giving in an imperfect world is to do your homework, to apply due diligence in the choice of worthy charities and then to give without reservation or restraint.

There are 2 lessons that I hope we, as an organization will take from this episode. One, we need to continually remember the power of social media today. We need to continue to promote our website as well as our Facebook and Twitter presence. 100 million people may never see our message but if we continue to promote our work with timely, quality pieces, we can do much to further the message of New Hope Initiative in our world. Secondly, now is a great time to highlight the giving record of New Hope Initiative. As you hear disparaging remarks about the use of money by many non-profits please remember to put in a positive word about NHI where 100% of donated funds go directly to the need. Karen and I along with our entire leadership team want to thank you for your concern and generosity that makes the incredible mission of New Hope Initiative possible.

By Sandy Baird - Director of New Hope Initiative

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