The government values my used jeans more than my time.

Inauguration Day Disclaimer: This is a soap box I hope to retire with the new administration. It is time for us to abandon the institutional mentality behind resourcing nonprofits and embrace a new way of engaging leaders who work to solve our social problems. I have every hope and expectation that we as a community will begin to tease out the solutions.

Recently, as I was itemizing a bag of clothes to donate to a local charity, it occurred to me that the government valued my used clothing more than my time. For each pair of adult jeans, I added up $6 as fair market value for deduction purposes. This is what is allowed in Form 526 under contributions of property.

I then reflected on a not too long ago time in my life when I committed long hours of leadership to a local 501C3 organization that focused on our local farmers market. In fact, I spent a good part of three years of my life putting in countless hours working to raise awareness and build a coalition around systemic food issues in North Texas. I engaged a variety of stakeholders (consumers, government, media, and institutional support), to further the conversation around our regional food system. All this while holding down a "real day job" (and raising a family).

So back to the $6 tax deduction for my used (still cute) jeans. It occurs to me that our federal incentives are focused too narrowly. As a career social sector leader, isn't my volunteer time devoted to systemic issues something of value? Something that could be called a "contribution", with similar tracking and incentives?

The bigger questions would be....
How do we find ways to engage the skills and expertise cultivated by our citizens to help solve the social issues of our time? How do we give nonprofits a competitive edge to attract these social entrepreneurs, even for a short time. And how do we get leaders, to do what they do, and help distribute their burden when it is directed to nonprofits.

I have a few ideas. You?

Now hear this....ALL DONATIONS ARE LEGIT!

My alter-ego is ED of Dallas Social Venture Partners, one of 25 Social Venture Partnerships around the world. I have enjoyed working with a community of citizens who desire to be intentional about their giving and strategic about their volunteer-ship. Like the Social Venture Partners, I have always approached my philanthropy through strategic service. However, I've never really taken my monetary giving seriously. At least not beyond a tally of what I could recall during tax season.

I guess I was not inspired by the small amounts I was able to give here and there. I never felt legitimate since my donations were not large enough to be called "platinum" or "sustainer" or would categorize me as a "large donor".

But thanks to the evolution of web technology, the movement of micro-financing, and the recent Obama-approach to campaign fundraising, ALL DONATIONS ARE LEGIT! And so, borrowing from SVP terminology, but with a personal spin; I will now keep track and promote my gifting to those organizations whose missions I so care about! And, I will call it... "My Social Investment Portfolio".