Blog
Stuff our boss says etc.
Why So Emotional?
31st January 2017
“It takes a big man to cry. But it takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man.” By far one of my favorite Jack Handy quotes. If you’ve got a quirky (read brilliant) sense of humour and you’ve never heard of Jack Handy’s ‘Deep Thoughts’ do yourself a favor and look them up. …
Giving over the Christmas season – everyone’s asking for money… what should I do?
9th December 2016
As we prepare to enter into the season of giving and a time when every store, commercial, ad, and relative is suggesting we spend money – what can we do to either make giving more interesting or keep from simply glazing over and numbing ourselves to the multitude of opportunities all around us? I think
Guest Post: The Fear of Generosity
8th December 2016
Below is a guest post from Beth Borody Every day we have the opportunity to be generous to those around us. Every day we make the decision to reach out and give, or stay to ourselves. There is a fear around giving – that if I give you something, then I am losing something, and
Reflect – Recharge – Release
5th December 2016
Now that it’s been just over a week since our soft launch I want to relive some of the highlights and thank you for a great event we won’t soon forget. Reflect November 23rd gave us a chance to look back at where this all came from and the incredible highlights along the way. After
Now that Thanksgiving & #givingtuesday is over, what should I do?
2nd December 2016
More of the same! I think it’s great that giving has now been given its own day and that we can come together as a global community to think about giving and the difference we can all make together. If this serves as a powerful reminder that giving is good
Want to be in our video?
21st October 2016
Hi Givesome Friends, Have you ever wanted to be in a Givesome video? Of course you have. Well, our next Givesome video is going to be shot by YOU with YOU in it. Here’s how to do it: First, watch this video…HERE Shoot a couple of short video clips with your phone (5 seconds max) that showcase
Introducing our Givesome Ambassadors
20th October 2016
One of the joys I’ve discovered through launching this new start up is all of the fascinating people I get to meet along the way. This group is no exception. I met each of them at different stages of the journey – one was part of a young leadership team that I presented to; one
Meet our newest Givesome Ambassador – Steffi
20th October 2016
Hi! My name is Steffi Lane and I am currently a Biomedical Sciences student at the University of Guelph. I am avid lover of The Office and I would do anything to see Noah Gunderson in concert. One of my favourite people to follow on Instagram is Coco Ho who is a professional surfer. I
Habit vs. Have it part II – Finding your niche
18th October 2016
If you didn’t read the post “Habit vs. Have It part 1” you can read it here Another great benefit of creating a habit of giving now rather than waiting until you have ‘more’ is the discovery of your sweet spot. Finding that need and that opportunity to give in a way that reflects who
Thanksgiving Toonie Giveaway Style
14th October 2016
Last weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. It was also the day I’ll be giving away toonie #128. The best part about this challenge so far is hearing the variety of things that people say they’re going to do with their toonie. So being Thanksgiving I’d like to share some of the awesome things I’ve heard
Trying to give with what I have
11th October 2016
The following is a guest post by Mike Shanks of PropertyGuys.com A few years back when I first bought my PropertyGuys.com franchise I wanted to get connected in town, but I also wanted to give back to the community. I did some investigating and ended up joining a local service club. It seemed like a great
Habit vs. Have it
3rd October 2016
We’ve all likely heard at least one person say it. And many of us, myself included, have said it ourselves at some point or another. “When I have more I will give more.” This is noble and makes some sense when you first hear it. But it’s not as certain as we might think. Simply
Three awesome initiatives from three awesome people
9th September 2016
The first question I’m often asked when I give away a toonie is ‘what am I supposed to do with it?’. The honest answer is – anything you like. It’s only two bucks, which is something most of us spend several times a day without giving it a second thought. But that’s why these three
Global or Local? Finding your giving “thing”
6th September 2016
I’ve found it interesting that the majority of people I meet with and talk to about giving have a particular passion within the context of giving. Not long into most conversations, I can begin to pick up their reason for their interest in giving. The biggest category I’ve noticed so far has been the interest in
Is Giving Really All That One-Sided?
31st August 2016
We all know the basic rule of thumb with giving – in order for it to work, there needs to be someone who gives and someone who receives. But until we make a regular habit of giving – be it time, gifts, effort or objects – it’s easy to miss the fact that giving isn’t
What Happened With All Those Blankets
26th August 2016
This is a special blog post that shares a brief interview Jay had with Kamati from the Children’s After School program in Namibia. It explores what happened when we gathered a group of people together to raise money to give to these children. Jay: What difference did the blankets make for the kids last year? Did
Together We Got This
23rd August 2016
I was in Haiti several years ago to help build an addition onto a school and was blown away by the creativity and ingenuity of the Haitians we worked alongside. We lacked a lot of the modern equipment. We didn’t have cement trucks and heavy machinery. We didn’t have scaffolding and fancy tools. But what
What 74 Toonies Have Taught Me Thus Far
19th August 2016
74 Toonies down. 291 more to go. Since this is almost exactly 1/5th of the way in I thought I’d pause and reflect on some of the deeper (and lighter) things I’ve learned thus far: 35 years old and under is the sweet spot. I had a solid run of yes’s for people under 35
Toonie Giveaway: Saved at the Gas Pump
12th August 2016
I’m up north in the Muskoka’s spending a lovely week with my parents on the lake. This has always been a place that I look forward to visiting in the summer. Since I was in diapers I’ve come up here for summer holidays and a much needed change of pace and scenery. Naturally, I included
The Other Side of Giving
9th August 2016
On our website, the 4th point under ‘What is Givesome’ reads, ‘we believe that when people experience the impact their dollars have on the lives of others they also benefit from the experience – and are more likely to want to give again.’ Rather than try to prove this with fancy arguments and scientific
What if you could SEE?
2nd August 2016
I’ll never again underestimate the power of seeing with your own eyes the result of something you’ve contributed toward. Just weeks after officially registering Givesome as a nationally based not-for-profit I thought it was time I seriously put my theory to the test. I knew how much it meant to me to get to see
Toonie Giveaway #51 – Everyone Has a Story
28th July 2016
I’m almost 2 months into my toonie experiment. I gave away toonie #51 today and once again met another total stranger (Cory) who through the toonie exchange I got to speak to and get to know a little. I was in line for a mini train ride that my son wanted to go on… again.
What good is $2?
26th July 2016
I get questions all the time around the small amounts of money that we encourage people to give towards the projects that interest them. Giving as little as $2 towards a project is not the typical opportunity that people are offered. So why offer it? I have two reasons. One reason links back to
Bikini’s, Interpreters & Toonies – Day 30 & 31 of the #tooniegiveaway
21st July 2016
Day 30 and 31 were by far the best two encounters to date. (If you don’t know what the Givesome #tooniegiveaway is check out my earlier blog here ) Day 30 I was a few hours from home hanging out with some friends at a place we call ‘the rapids’. I put a toonie in
How would you react to a random stranger giving you money?
15th July 2016
This afternoon I gave away my 24th toonie. It’s been just over 3 weeks since I started giving away a toonie a day and I’ll confess, I freaking love it. It’s refreshing and life-giving to give. But it doesn’t come without its challenges and if I’m honest, it still feels a little unnatural. I’ve been …
I Want People to SEE
12th July 2016
Imagine with me for a minute. You have a son or daughter, or a best friend or a grandparent or someone special in your life. It’s Christmas or their birthday or some day that is meaningful to them and you buy them a present you KNOW they’ll absolutely love. But a few days before the …
365 ‘Toonies’
1st July 2016
It only took one lunch with ‘bottomless’ fries and two beers to convince my friend to lend me the key ‘nuggets’ on blogging. Not that there isn’t more to it than that, but I like to try and keep things simple. One thing he said that stuck with me was to come up with a
The ONE Thing
20th June 2016
For 14 years now I’ve been obsessed with a single thought. It’s a question really. A question I’ve asked a million times. And it took flying all the way to Africa to even realize it was bothering me. The question is – Why is a charitable donation so disengaging? There are other words I could
