Blog#7

I interviewed my cousin because she was the only one that would let me ask her all the questions. All her answers really surprised but the one that had me surprised was when she told me one way she had impacted a friend. i could relate to her because I’ve been in the same position she was in helping a friend to not make the wrong decision. I learned so much about her because of this mini interview. Even though we are related and I know so much about her i learned even more through this. She is one of the few people that I look up to in my family due to how strong she is and she is herself and stands up for what she believes in. One thing from the last question she answered from what are some secrets to a joyful life that will stick with me is “Just get back up its just a bump in the road”.

Interview

A. Describe your experience interviewing a family member, mentor, or friend.
1. I interviewed my mother because she is the one person I know who has the most experience in life and can give me some good answers to learn from.
2. I asked my mother what are some lessons about money that a young person should know and she told  me what I had already learned, which was, “Don’t spend more than you make.” She is a single mom and has lots of experience with being wise financially. Another answer from her that surprised me, is when I asked her what are some reasons you think it’s important that young people today get involved in charitable giving and community service, and she said that the more they get involved, the higher possibility they are more grateful and appreciative of the things they have if they realize there are others who may not have as much as they do.

3. I learned that when you think about the possible outcomes of getting out in your community and simply offering your time to people, there is a lot more valuable lessons to learn than not getting involved.

Calling Organizations

A. When calling organizations, it was a little scary at first because you have no idea who will answer the call, or whether or not they will be interested. Once we called and introduced ourselves, it wasn’t as bad.
B. I believe it is difficult to evaluate non-profit organizations for a potential investment in their cause because the main information/data that is given shows only revenue and expenses, but not showing what they used the money for.

990 Tax Review

A. From analyzing my organizations’ taxes, I was able to see all of their expenses, which shows me how much money they spent throughout the year. This is a great way for me to compare this organization to other organizations to see which is spending more or less.
B. Looking at the numbers before making an investment is very important because you need to know whether or not they are successful in donating to certain cause. If their financing and donating is successful, they will seem to be a great investment.

Week 7: “Interview”

I interviewed a freshmen In college and I chose him because I thought it could make such a impact on his life that it would be good to hear what it was all about at a young age so that maybe he would want to become a philanthropist.

What surprised me was that he new the exact definition of the word yet he didn’t no what they did or how he could give back to the world without giving just money. That’s when I explained the definition in more depth. I told him that it’s not all about the money, but more about the time and dedication you put into something that is helping the world and not something useless.

From this conversation I learned that even though someone may no the definition of a word, doesn’t mean they fully understand it. And by explaining it to someone else, it also reassured me what the word philanthropy actually meant and excitement of this hole project and opportunity came back to me.