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Prosocial Behavior
Doing for others makes you feel good (and makes you more productive)
Wikipedia explains prosocial behavior as "consisting of
actions which "benefit other people or society as a whole,"such as
helping, sharing, donating, co-operating, and volunteering." I
recently read on article in the New York Times about prosocial behavior
and was struck by its relevance for both the for-profit and non-profit
worlds.
The
article called "Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead?" and it follows
Adam Grant an expert in the field. He has done a number of studies and
"experiments testing his theories about prosocial motivation - the
desire to help others, independent of easily foreseeable payback. In
one study, Grant put up two different signs at hand-washing stations in
a hospital. One reminded doctors and nurses, "Hand hygiene prevents
you from catching diseases"; another read, "Hand hygiene prevents
patients from catching diseases." Grant measured the amount of soap
used at each station. Doctors and nurses at the station where the sign
referred to their patients used 45 percent more soap or hand sanitizer. "
In
another example, "Take Grant's study of workers at Borders who
contributed to an employee-beneficiary fund managed by the staff, with
Borders matching donated funds. The money was set aside for employees
in need - someone facing a pregnancy that would put a strain on their
finances, for example, or the funeral of a loved one. Interestingly,
Grant found that it was not the beneficiaries who showed the most
significant increase in their commitment to Borders; it was the donors,
even those who gave just a few dollars a week. Through interviews and
questionnaires, Grant determined that "as a result of gratitude to the
company for the opportunity to affirm a valued aspect of their
identities, ..".
Interesting!
To see the entire article go to: Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead?
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Incremental Giving
As mentioned in the
above article giving and helping others makes us feel good. But how can
you sustain that all of the time? Those who make monetary donation are
sometimes overwhelmed by the onslaught of charitable requests at the end
of the year (we have been guilty of that at Joe's House).
We
learned from one of our donors of a way to give to your favorite
charities without feeling the bite all at once; set up a small automatic
monthly donation with your bank. It's pretty easy to set up and the
bank will automatically print and send the checks to your designated
charity. Check with your financial institution.
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What's New
- Sponsored
Lodging Facility Program - Joe's House now has a module for a
"sponsored" lodging facility program. This module allows a lodging
facility to "float" to the top of our lodging list when users search by
city or hospital. It's a great way to feature a new lodging facility. We
have launched it in Houston, Texas. To check it out go to: http://www.joeshouse.org/default.aspx?tabid=55&state=Texas.
Choose either Houston, Metro from the drop down box under City, or
choose any hospital in the Houston area from the drop down box under
Healthcare Facility and click GO.
- Welcome to our newest hospitality house - Editha House in Phoenix. Editha House consists
of sixteen guestrooms with private bathrooms and kitchens. In addition
to the private areas, there are two community television lounges and a
community kitchen/dining area. Outside the house there is a large
patio area and private parking. All together 10,750 square feet of
serene living space. Nightly donations of $20 for a studio and $40 for a one bedroom loft are requested.
- Don't
forget if you need assistance with lodging that is not listed on our
website or are a vendor that wants to be listed send us an email at info@joeshouse.org.
- Follow us on Twitter
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