Posts Tagged ‘Foundation’

Donate with your time, not just your wallet

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

More than one way to donate…

Here at Karma International, we are passionate about giving back and energized by the challenge of keeping up with the rapidly changing times.

And recently, we’ve been embracing a new type of charity, one that is being coined as ‘The Cause Economy’, and it has prompted us to engage with and embark on different kinds of philanthropic ventures.

The Cause Economy is being driven by bright-eyed millennials with two passions: their trade, and helping the less fortunate –traits each Karma Member possesses in bounds. By coupling those two traits, young professionals across all incomes levels have developed and spring-boarded the ‘creative currency’ trend, a key part of The Cause Economy in which personal talents are donated instead of paper checks.

Karma is bursting at the seams with passionate and talented philanthropists and over the past year, we have embarked on more than a few unique charitable ventures. As an organization, we have raised and donated over $500,000 in cash and support to organizations that positively affect both individuals and the community around them. But as the times change, philanthropy must also adapt, and our Members have been embracing these trends to the fullest extent – offering venue space to those hosting charity events, restaurant owners donating food, and more – each making a difference without reaching into their pockets. Here are some more examples on how Karma International and our Members are helping the community in new ways:

  • This past December, Karma Members travelled to Mexico to spend a day enriching the lives and minds of under-privileged children in the Hacienda orphanage. Our day of board games and sports arguably provided more happiness than a faceless check.
  • Each year we combine our love of luxury and selflessness by participating in the Cruise 4 Kids Sports & Exotic Car Rally. We offer our vehicles, round up sponsorships, and donate all the proceeds to the beneficiary, the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Dieguito.
  • To help alleviate the astounding number of children who go without a proper winter holiday, yearly toy drives are run in conjunction with our Karma holiday parties. Hundreds of smiles have been delivered on Christmas morning and throughout the Chanukah holiday as a result of these efforts.

For more insight into The Cause Economy, check out this feature on The Huffington Post by Courtney Spence.

To help us accrue even more good karma, inquire about a yearly membership today. If you’re already an active Member, be sure to stay in-the-know about upcoming charitable events via our events calendar and of course, stay up-to-date by becoming a fan of our Facebook page and following us on Twitter.

A healthy approach to charity

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

A healthy approach to charity.

Here at The Karma Foundation we have a strong belief in charity and the potential of charitable organizations. We’re very studied and careful about the charities we support, and only consider 501(C)3 non-profit organizations as beneficiaries for our activities, but we certainly feel we lead by example. To date the Karma Foundation has donated over $300,000 in cash and support to some incredibly hard-working and effective organizations that positively affect both individuals and the community around them – this number is considerably higher if you include substantial donations garnered from Karma’s marketing efforts.

One of the areas in which we are privileged to donate proceeds raised from our activities is the health sector. So we were very interested to read a recent report from the Wilmington Trust, N.A. entitled: ‘Trends in Healthcare Philanthropy and the Use of Separate Foundations’. The report found that philanthropy is taking on increasing importance as hospitals and health systems face ever tougher financial challenges and plateauing revenues. The report also noted that foundations would become increasingly important for enhancing and managing successful fundraising plans, with community hospitals particular likely to benefit.

The reason we chose the name ‘Karma Foundation’ was because at its heart, we are a socially responsible organization. As directed by the Philanthropy Committee, we use proceeds from our many luxurious events to support various thoroughly vetted charities. The Karma Foundation is proud to count a number of excellent health charities among our benefiting causes, ranging from children’s hospitals to associations supporting those affected by specific life-changing conditions and injuries.  Our decision to support this area was never more evident than when we chose the V Foundation, www.jimmyv.org  as our latest beneficiary.  The V Foundation has raised over $100,000,000 for cancer research and 100% of the donations go to the cause!

Karma’s unique and thorough process helps us to support our chosen non-profits by making donations, creating a fundraising legacy, enabling relationships and developing outreach strategies to benefit each organization for years to come. All of Karma’s donations are self-directed and are designated to support specific areas of charitable programming and special initiatives.

So why not take a short break in your working day to find out more about The Karma Foundation, and how you might like to help in our charitable fund-raising activities – while having a lot of fun yourself along the way!

Marvin Epstein
EVP, Philanthropy & Business Development, Karma Foundation, LLC

Earth Day 2012: STAR EcoStation

Thursday, April 19th, 2012

Earth Day 2012: Get STAR-struck at STAR EcoStation

If you had to choose one place to spend the 42nd Earth Day, wouldn’t you pick an award-winning, non-profit, environmental, education and exotic wildlife rescue center?   Here at the Karma Foundation we did just that. So this Sunday, as we celebrate another Earth Day and the importance of taking care of the environment, you’ll find a number of our Karma Foundation members and friends gathering at the world-renowned STAR Eco Station, in Culver City.  The event, which has been penned by the L.A. Times as “The Best Earth Day Pick”, is also the largest Earth Day event of its type in California – last year it was attended by more 40,000 people who enjoyed the music, arts, crafts, celebrity guest appearances and the overall feel-good vibe.

Earth Day presents the perfect opportunity for us to bring together three of our favorite things: (1) a great non-profit, dedicated to an important cause (2) an occasion to assemble talented, caring and philanthropic individuals, and (3) the opportunity to show that “Karma Cares” with an up-close-and-personal private Karma tour of the STAR Eco Station and STAR Education facility.

The STAR EcoStation works tirelessly to provide an important service that benefits animals, the environment, and the Los Angeles community.  We at Karma Foundation are proud to be part of Earth Day and to have a partnership with such an auspicious institution that is dedicated to preservation and education.

We will be taking part in STAR EcoStation’s ‘Plant a Million Seeds of Joy’, a very hands-on campaign to plant a million of California’s indigenous flowers – in fact, we are setting up our very own Karma Garden at the STAR EcoStation!

Finally, this year for Earth Day, we will be announcing and presenting an award to the Karma Foundation’s ‘Star of the Year’.   We’ll be sure to post our updates, photos and thoughts on the day.  Remember you can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

If you are a Karma Member and keen to join in the fun this Sunday, email us at RSVP@TheKarmaFoundation.com.  Tickets are based on a minimum donation to STAR of $50 per person, or $100 for a family pass.  All proceeds go to STAR and the maintenance of the Karma Garden.

Not a Karma Foundation member but want to find out more about how we mix business, pleasure, and philanthropy?  Review our website to learn more about our membership opportunities, exclusive benefits, and the great things our members our saying about us.  If you are a fit for membership, we invite you to Apply for Membership.

Good Karma for entrepreneurs

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012

Good Karma for the entrepreneurial soul

To paraphrase management consultant and social ecologist, Peter Drucker, management is about doing things right, while leadership is about doing the right things.

This belief, to do the right thing, to drive momentum and to realize visions is what drives many executives and entrepreneurs. I hear it frequently from many of our members, including Fortune 1000 executives, serial entrepreneurs, self-made millionaires and some of the most innovative, driven human beings on the planet.

Often successful executives represent a demographic that seeks to donate to non-profits and other worthwhile charitable causes in order to do the right thing. So where’s the challenge? Well, for many executives it’s in knowing where to give, understanding different non-profits and how they work. After all, these are individuals that speak of “due diligence” before committing in meaningful ways…particularly before donating money and time. Philanthropists want to know their money was used wisely and purposefully and that it truly makes an impact in a specific way.

This is partly why, at the core of the Karma Foundation, we have a mechanism and competency called “Karma Cares.”  Philanthropy is one of our key values and it’s important that our members have a defined and researched route to financially support appropriate and relevant worthy causes. Within Karma Cares, our experienced team of charity analysts reviews individual non-profits and charitable organizations to ensure each organization is suited to receive the donations of our organization and our members. We complete extensive due diligence before any non-profit is added to our recognized roster of Karma Charity Beneficiaries.

To date we have supported and donated to dozens of Karma Charity Beneficiaries which span the breadth of worthwhile humanitarian causes including cancer research, children’s hospitals, national and international relief agencies, and environmental rehabilitation. Our members have peace of mind that they are contributing to great causes where funds make a credible, meaningful and effective difference.  That peace and assurance is good for the entrepreneurial soul.

Karmic regards,

Eric Stotz
Founder, Chairman & President, Karma Foundation, LLC