Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World [Paperback]

Wendy Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2009

"With open hearts and open hands, we gave what we could, and a little became a lot."- -from <EM>Give a Little</EM>&nbsp;Dimes destroyed polio. Five bucks can beat malaria. <EM>Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World</EM> not only contains remarkable, inspiring stories of how small donations are making an extraordinary difference in the lives of millions both here in the United States and around the world, but also lays out where and how to start giving . . . today. Together, ordinary Americans have far more transformational power than any government or big foundation. In 2007, giving by American individuals amounted to $229 billion-that is, 82 times the amount the Gates Foundation gave that same year. Simple, inexpensive things-a water filter, a bike, an irrigation pump, a bed net, a goat-cause a ripple effect that lifts a whole family, a town, and, astonishingly, even a nation out of poverty. Inspired by Smith's twenty years in the nonprofit sector, Give a Little shows how easily we can dip into our pockets and, with just a few dollars, change the world.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Inspired by the generosity of everyday Americans in the aftermath of 2004's tsunami, Smith, a longtime fund-raiser for nonprofits, winnows through the muddle of hyperbolic language found in fund-raising letters to explain how even the smallest, seemingly insignificant gifts to charitable organizations can make huge differences. Sobering statistics address the four critical issues of hunger, health, education and access to tools, technology and infrastructure as Smith explains how forgoing an inexpensive luxury just once a week—and donating the corresponding few dollars—can fix a bridge, feed a child or bring clean water to a family, possibly redirecting lives in an entire Third World village or U.S. city. Cultural mythology says that pocket change doesn't make poverty change, but Smith's research proves otherwise: small donations make a difference around the world and at home, and giving is psychologically beneficial to donors. This book occasionally devolves into maudlin appeals, but it is redeemed by its positive premise and practical approach. (Nov.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; Original edition (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401323405
• ISBN-13: 978-1401323400
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #851,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Give it a little of your time and read it, November 25, 2009

By 

zenpundit.com "zenpundit" (chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World (Paperback)

At first glance, Give a Little, is a book that has a theme of the transformative social effects of cumulative small charitable donations but it also has implications for national policy. I was struck by several aspects.

First, the quality level is high ( it reminded me most of a narrowly focused Malcolm Gladwell book). Give a Little was refashioned from a more academic study with plenty of statistical data into a very readable book for a popular audience. The sense of depth carries through.

Secondly, though I'm certain that the author, Wendy Smith, who spent twenty years in the public/NGO sector wasn't thinking in these terms, the principles behind the humanitarian programs she examines also have the potential to revolutionize foreign aid and economic development policies, breathe life into the "civilian side" of counterinsurgency, focus humanitarian aid, enhance public diplomacy and speed postwar/postcatastrophe reconstruction.

Smith's chapters delve into a variety of the most successful , and at times least well known, programs that have two things in common: first, they are directed at permanently improving the "human capital" or "social capital" of the recipients rather than sustaining a subsistence existence. Secondly, the programs all manage an enormous ROI for every donation due to generating powerful, downstream, "ripple effect" benefits. Cents given today translate into tens or hundreds of dollars of positive outcomes gained and negative costs avoided tomorrow

There are many worthy organizations profiled ( ex. Ounce of Prevention, Bridges to Prosperity etc.) and Smith offers the readers anecdotes that are deeply positive and uplifting narratives of individuals, families and communities transformed by the power of small donations designed to empower the people of the "bottom billion".

A valuable book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BANG FOR YOUR BUCK!, December 9, 2009

By 

Zora Divine - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World (Paperback)

When it comes to philanthropy, I am as cynical as you can get. I did not support the victims of the Tsunami or Katrina. Why? I was sure most of my contribution would be diluted by overhead and/or misuse of funds. Yet, I'm not a piker. Historically, I have given generously. I support my alma mater, any friend or relative who hits me up, and charities that support causes/research for subjects that have personally effected me. Do I really do my duediligence? No. Do I really believe my donations make a difference? Not sure. Why do I give then? Because no one can say I don't. Like I said I'm a cynic.

GIVE A LITTLE by Wendy Smith is a game-changer for me. Not only does Ms. Smith debunk the myth that the Bill Gates' of the world are the major donors -- they're not. Every day American families provide almost two-thirds of all donations to charity and those donations are less than $250.00. While there are so many 'good causes' out there, Ms. Smith makes a convincing case that our first dollars should go to ending poverty. Several years ago in Sports Illustrated, Rick Reilly wrote that ten dollars bought a mosquito net and prevented a child from malaria in Africa. Ms. Smith takes this several steps further and shows that saving one child creates a ripple effect that impacts postively not only the child and his or her family, but an entire community. Done often enough the effect can be exponential. In her book, she clearly outlines the causes of poverty and shows how we -- every day ma and pa citizens -- can transform the world thru small donations to dozens of organizations that provide goods as mundane as mosquito nets, water pumps, water filters whose impact ripple.

I challenge you to read GIVE A LITTLE and not come away with a new mindset about your charitable giving. And... not be inspired to give small donations to many of the worthy organizations profiled in her book.

A MUST READ highly recommended by a former cynic.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Empowering guidebook, November 14, 2009

By 

Brown Eyed Girl - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World (Paperback)

So many times I wished I had a reliable source for knowing how to make the most of my donations. I have sent $10.00 here and there to charities that sent me things in the mail that I knew were reputable (thinking, "this is not much - how can this really help...") but with this book it clearly maps out how my "little" can go a long way in making a difference for the better. Smith's book offers the average "Joe" (and Josephine!) an understanding of how much impact small gifts (especially when small gifts are all we can afford right now) can have on other people's lives. I loved the way she mixed in personal analogies with facts and gave lots of resources. I LOVED IT!