How To Scam Proof Your Charitable Donations

By Alexi Harding

The holiday season has come and gone once again, and made way for a brand new year. And with a brand new year comes the inevitable and infamous new year resolutions. If you have yet to devise a resolution for 2017, why not look into charitable donations? It is always important to give back to the community and those who are less fortunate. With every new year comes a fresh start, so start the year off right by donating. And if you are looking into becoming more charitable, or are already a veteran in the art of giving back, it is always a great idea to make sure that the charities you are giving to and representing are legitimate and not scamming you out of your money. Here are a few ways to make sure that your donations are scam-proof.

First and foremost: Don’t trust anyone. While this may sound pessimistic and mean spirited, unfortunately in this world, there are many people who are looking to cash in on the kindness of others. So never assume that any charity is legitimate. If you ever receive an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to work for a charity, and they thank you for your pledge to donate, do not trust it. They are more than likely trying to trick you into giving money.

Research, research, research: On the topic of legitimacy, one of the easiest ways to ensure that a charity is actually doing what they claim is to do some quick research. The advent of the Internet and Google has made fact checking incredibly easy. Make sure to look up the charity that you are giving to. There are a numerous tools at your disposal that can be used to verify a charity’s legitimacy. Two of the more popular sites are Charity Watch and Charity Navigator. Both sites include lists of respectable charities and even breakdown how your donations are being used.

Secure Your Personal Information: While charities do typically require some basic amount of information from you, there is a limit to what they need to know. For example, your name and contact information are reasonable requests that a charity would need to know, but more personal information, such as your social security number are off limits. There is no situation where a charity would need information such as that. Also, make sure to get information from them. Ask questions. Find out how they are using your money or when and how they will provide you with a statement so that you may deduct the donation from your tax return.

File it away: Record keeping when donating to charities is a crucial part to charitable contributions. When donating, it is typically good practice to use a credit card because it will automatically create a paper trail of the amount spent. If you can’t use a credit card, at least keep a physical note of it, whether digitally in your phone or written down on paper. Never assume that you can remember each and every donation. Also, if you make a contribution more than $250, you will typically need a letter from the charity in order to verify their organization’s tax-exempt status.

And scams are not only prevalent in the organized charity industry; there are hundreds of thousands of people begging for money on the streets who don’t really need it. Take for example, Simon Wright, a beggar on the streets of London. According to a report from the Daily Mail, Wright made a whopping £300 a day by pretending to be hungry and homeless, even going so far as to use a dog to get even more sympathy from passersby. Scams and scammers are everywhere, so be wary.

Donating and charitable contributions are an important aspect of human society. Although the holiday season is past us, that does not mean that we need to stop helping one another. Hopefully these handy tips will allow you to be generous and, most importantly, safe.

Alexi Harding Featured in Entrepreneur Magazine

Award-winning financial services executive and Senior Managing Director of the Opes Group, Alexi Harding was recently published in Entrepreneur.

The article, titled “Why Startups Should Look for Opportunity Between the Coasts,” covers the fascinating story of how tech startups should, and are beginning to, look at areas other than Silicon Valley in order to fund their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Here is an excerpt from the article:
“Tech entrepreneurs are the cool kids on the block. Whereas young people once aspired to be rockstars or astronauts, today they dream of being startup founders, flush with venture capital and working out of sleek, open-plan offices in San Francisco’s trendy SoMA district or New York’s bustling Flatiron neighborhood.”

To read the full article, make sure to click here!

Charles F. Feeney: The James Bond of Philanthropy

By Alexi Harding

When one thinks of charitable contributions to society and philanthropic work, the first thing to come to mind is typically not James Bond. The debonaire spy is well known for his high-speed car chases, shootouts, and successful attempts at thwarting villains determined to take over the world, not necessarily for his donations to charity. However, one real-world billionaire has been compared to the famous spy for that very reason.

Charles F. Feeney, 85, is a man of simple taste. According to a report from The New York Times, Feeney never lived a lavish lifestyle. He would eat burgers at his local pub in New York, fly coach and even carry around any and all reading materials in a plastic bag. And while these all sound like fairly normal things that any average citizen would do, Charles is no average citizen. Once having a net worth of just over $8 billion, Feeney was a wealthy investor and businessman. Dedicated to “giving while living”, Feeney set out to donate the entirety of his fortune to charitable organizations and philanthropic efforts by the end of 2016, which he ultimately completed.

In order to achieve that lofty goal, Feeney founded Atlantic Philanthropies in 1982. Atlantic Philanthropies is a private group of foundations that donates to a variety of charities and philanthropic organizations around the world from South Africa to Vietnam. In its efforts, the organization has funded direct medical care, immigration reform, education and criminal justice advocacy, to name a few.

Feeney made most of his fortune through a company he co-founded that sold a variety of items to travelers at duty-free shops. As previously mentioned, he is also an incredibly shrewd investor, particularly in the field of tech startups, having invested early in companies such as Facebook and Alibaba.

While Feeney’s incredible generosity is amazing on its own merit, what makes him even more remarkable is the fact that he has no interest in self-aggrandizement.  He donated a significant fortune of $8 billion and yet almost all of Feeney’s work has been done privately without media attention. This extreme secrecy and lack of publicity lead Forbes  to unofficially dub him the “James Bond of philanthropy.” In fact, Feeney had such a focus on keeping his work secret that, for quite some time, Atlantic had a stipulation requiring that all organizations receiving their support not mention their involvement.

In the aforementioned Forbes article, Feeney was quoted as saying, “People used to ask me how I got my jollies, and I guess I’m happy when what I’m doing is helping people and unhappy when what I’m doing isn’t helping people.” Now, with a personal net worth somewhere around $2 million, Feeney lives in a rented apartment in San Francisco with his wife, Helga.
Charles F. Feeney’s incredibly unselfish attitude and generosity is sorely needed in the world. And while many wealthy people do give to charity extensively, very few come close to the philanthropic strategy that has earned Feeney the title, “the James Bond of philanthropy.” All of us, billionaire or not, should equally strive towards the betterment of the human experience.

What is MealConnect?

According to Feeding America, over $200 billion worth of food is wasted every year in America alone, which equates to 72 billion pounds of food. That is a lot of food that goes uneaten. Obviously, since the dawn of man, our society has faced the issue of homelessness and starvation. When there are hundreds of thousands of homeless people in America, and billions of uneaten food thrown out, there is clearly something wrong. That is why Feeding America is looking to stop this unnecessary waste with an application.

Feeding America has developed an application called MealConnect to combat the issue of wasted food in America. In essence, the application is designed to streamline, or even create, a communication between food banks and businesses. The hope is that, in creating this dialogue, businesses and farms will be able to cut down heavily on food waste, and potentially end hunger in the US by 2025. Businesses that could use the platform include grocery stores, butcher shops, farmer’s markets and even large food stores.

The platform uses a specially designed algorithm to match up food banks with food stores or businesses that have food to give away. The beauty of the application is that it is a web-based app, meaning any company, farm or food bank with an Internet connection can access it. It can also be used on mobile devices, making the process even easier.

Through MealConnect, users can get real-time information and statistics on when and where organizations are able to give food away. Feeding America even offers classes on how to use the program to its fullest potential. This is an ingenious way for food banks and food donors to get on the same page and work towards a better future.

So far, MealConnect has helped serve millions around the country. According to the official website, MealConnect has recovered 333 million pounds of food, served 278 million meals and has helped organize 737 thousand pickups.

The project was funded by Google and General Mills in order to give the platform a wider reach across the nation. Hopefully this program will get the reach it requires and find its way into the hands of every food-related business that has an excess of supplies to donate, which they most certainly will.

At the Opes Group, we pride ourselves in not only making long lasting, successful connections, but also in making efficient and organized transactions; so when we see other companies whose sole focus is organizing and connecting people together for the betterment of the world, we are always very excited.

This is just another example of how technology is helping to create a better world.

Jeff Bezos Wants “Short-Term” Philanthropic Ideas

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, is one of the world’s wealthiest people. With a net worth of approximately $84 billion, Jeff Bezos is certainly a man with a lot of money to give. And, although he has given a fair amount of money to charitable causes, he still feels that he could do more. That is why, just recently, he took to social media in an attempt to crowdsource a solution to his philanthropic problem.

Last week, Jeff Bezos published a tweet asking all of his 200,000+ followers for advice and strategies on how to concentrate his philanthropic efforts so that they may have an immediate, or “short-term,” impact. He mentioned that he believes that he has invested in philanthropic endeavors through his multiple companies, Amazon, Blue Origin and The Washington Post, which contribute to society in “their own ways.”

But Bezos, who has been scolded in the past by news outlets for not being as philanthropic as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg or Warren Buffett, is looking to invest in opportunities that will improve the lives of others instantly. His request for suggestions on Twitter earned more than 40 thousand responses. Suggestions ranged everywhere from donating to libraries to funding wildlife preservation. Bezos’ request was so popular that he was able to gain the attention of celebrities. World-famous singer Madonna had replied to Bezos by asking that they both take a trip to Detroit, her home city, and fund various projects and institutions there in order to improve the hurting city.

I feel that we need to take a step back and truly appreciate what is happening here. We live in a day and age where one of the world’s richest and most hard-to-access people is asking hundreds of thousands of strangers for advice on how to better our world. And through the power of social media, average, everyday citizens can respond to him. This would not have been possible 15 years ago. While many have condemned social media for creating a generation of narcissistic, uninterested and unmotivated teens, we sometimes fail to remember how much good it can bring.

Whether or not Bezos actually takes any of the suggestions and moves forward with them remains to be seen, but the fact that this is even possible is worth more than some of us realize. Instead of complaining about the negatives of the age in which we live, let us practice gratitude (see my earlier post on this topic) and appreciate the advances that come with time.

What is Blue Apron?

We all enjoy a great, home-cooked meal, right? It’s better for you and usually tastes far better than anything that a fast food chain could provide. Unfortunately, most of us have incredibly busy schedules that don’t grant us the luxury of enough time to go to the grocery store, find the necessary ingredients, then look up a recipe and prepare the meal. But a new company is looking to change that; and so far, they are a booming success.

Blue Apron, founded in 2012, is a new method of getting a delicious and healthy home cooked meal. In essence, subscribers pay for the type of service they prefer, either a two person plan or a family plan, and Blue Apron will send the supplies for your meals. The plans typically send food for the week, but you can skip weeks or days and tailor your subscription to your liking. A two person plan runs for $59.94 while a family plan costs $71.92; compare that to the average cost of a grocery store run for a two person family ($90) and a four person family ($131).

The company also offers tips on how to properly chop or prepare each ingredient and a recipe with video tutorials. The entire process takes place online, and is incredibly convenient. With Blue Apron’s suggested meals, and your food preferences, not only will you get new and exciting meals to prepare, you will also no longer have to worry about what you will eat for the week.

Blue Apron pushes a heavy focus on healthy eating and cutting out food waste. The company prides itself on cutting out the middleman and delivering fresh farm produce and ingredients straight to its consumers, including non-GMO ingredients, all-natural meat and sustainable seafood.

To many, the company sounds like Netflix for food, and in many ways, it is. It should come as no surprise then that the company, also much like Netflix, has taken off. Since its 2012 debut, Blue Apron has shipped 159 million meals and has a reported revenue of $795 million. And now the company plans on going public. According to a report from Business Insider, the company is expecting to earn $15 to $17 per share in its initial public offering (IPO), which would place the company at a $3 billion valuation.

That same article also discusses why the service has been so successful. Blue Apron offers farm-fresh ingredients at cost-effective pricing. Others who have used the service have lauded it for its ability to simplify the cooking process. A review of the service from MoneySavingMom.com stated that one of Blue Apron’s best features was its ability to cut down on trips to the grocery store and time planning out meals. For those of us who would love a home cooked meal but don’t have the time to acquire the necessary ingredients or look up recipes, Blue Apron is a fantastic alternative. And those who constantly eat out at fast food or expensive restaurant can save money and eat healthier with Blue Apron.

Blue Apron’s flexibility, ease-of-use, wide variety and cost-effective pricing makes it an incredibly enticing service. And with a world that is slowly moving towards on-demand services, it is very possible for Blue Apron to completely disrupt the way that humans obtain and prepare their meals.

The Impact of Technology on Our Lives

It is 2017. The world is an incredibly different place than what it was 2,017 years ago. In fact, it’s an incredibly different place than it was even 15 years ago. Technology has invaded every waking aspect of our culture. From social media to autonomous cars to artificial intelligence, technology is everywhere; it has even managed to find its way into our businesses, such as the creation of a new fintech industry.

When we were younger, most of us watched a show called The Jetsons. The Hanna-Barbera classic told the everyday adventures of the Jetsons, an average family living in a futuristic world. The show included flying cars, video communication watches and robotic maids. The show debuted in 1962, and for decades, we, as a society, dreamed of having those devices in our reality. And while flying cars are still a way off, several of the other gadgets and gizmos are a reality today.

For example, we now have watches that can not only tell time, but also make phone calls, track our fitness and heart rate, receive and send text messages, play music and even give us directions. And we have robotic maids that clean our houses in the form of Roombas.

However, we now have even more technological advancements than we could have ever dreamed. For example, drone technology has boomed in the last few years. Companies such as Parrot, DJI and Yuneec are all creating remote-controlled flying devices that can be utilized for both practical and personal needs. Drones are being used in construction for land surveying and in Hollywood for quick and cheap aerial shots. Some companies, such as Amazon, are looking into drone delivery services, which would allow same-day delivery for online purchases by drone.

Automated vehicles are another, very real part of our society today. Almost every major vehicle manufacturer in the world is adopting some sort of self-driving vehicle technology and looking to implement it in the near future. Even companies such as Apple and Google that have nothing to do with the automotive industry are looking into self-driving cars. Ride-sharing services, such as Uber, are of course also interested in self-driving cars. We now live in a world where it is very likely that the next car you purchase will have the ability to drive itself.

Robotics have also made vast improvements through the years. Today, we have robots that assist in product manufacturing, help our soldiers avoid direct contact with dangerous situations and assist astronauts in space exploration. But, up until recently, these were all robots that were nothing more than large pieces of machinery. In China, however, scientists have managed to blend reality with the world of robotics by creating the most lifelike robot in human history. At the University of Science and Technology of China, researcher Chen Xiaoping and his colleagues created a truly fascinating creation. Dubbed Jia Jia, the robot is capable of recognizing human speech and responding, realistic eye movement and lip synchronization, and can even show expressions.

Whether or not we need a robot that can perform those actions is up for debate, but it is, without a doubt, a testament to how far we’ve come as a society. Technology is literally changing our world everyday. We are now all interconnected, we can watch content whenever we want, know where someone is at all times, and much, much more. And while not all aspects of technology have been well-received (texting while driving has lead to millions of car accidents), it is impossible to deny that it has changed our lives for the better. And when you consider the fact that roughly $42.5 billion was spent in venture-backed tech companies in 2015, it is pretty safe to say that the technology sector isn’t leaving us anytime soon.