Cuipo Tropical Rainforest Preservation

A friend and peer recently reached out to me concerning a budding new organization called Cuipo which is concerned with tropical rainforest preservation, a pressing issue facing our environment. He kindly provided me with some background on the fundamentals of this organization: 

"Cuipo is a social enterprise whose mission is to protect the world's endangered rainforest while providing education and awareness programs that inspire individuals and organizations to cultivate lifelong habits for sustainable living. A social enterprise is a company that advances its social mission through earned income strategies.

Cuipo has determined that it can operate more efficiently and incentivize partnerships and joint ventures by working as a social enterprise as opposed to a traditional non profit organization. Unlike traditional non profits who are constantly raising funds to cover a predetermined annual budget, Cuipo is able to reinvest proceeds and utilize their capital to purchase exponentially more land and create awareness for our cause. Cuipo donates 100% of the land it acquires to its 501(c)3 (non profit foundation) 1 Meter At A Time. Cuipo funds the cost to maintain and preserve the land once it has been adopted to ensure that it remains in its natural pristine state, safe from deforestation."

Their innovative strategy makes this organization one to watch in 2012.

More information to come on this organization and how you can get involved. For now, please show your support by "liking" their Facebook Page.

"have a little faith"

I just finished reading Mitch Albom's novel, have a little faith. I must say I was a bit hesitant to give this book a chance, wary of religious cliches and overly poignant anecdotes. However, I must say I was pleasantly surprised and found the story demonstrated the universality of faith in the greater sense of the word. I would like to share a few passages which resonated with me and I believe will help inspire and enlighten anyone on a philanthropic quest. Enjoy.


"When a baby comes into the world, its hands are clenched, right? Like this?"
He made a fist.
"Why? Because a baby, not knowing any better, wants to grab everything, to say, 'The whole world is mine.'
"But when an old person dies, how does he do so? With his hands open. Why? Because he has learned the lesson."
What lesson? I asked.
He stretched open his empty fingers.
"We can take nothing with us."


I walked a mile with Pleasure;
She chatted all the way;
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow.
And ne'er a word said she;
But, oh! The things I learned from her,
When Sorrow walked with me.

--Robert Browning Hamilton


[A conversation on redemption..]
"And maybe people who only get chances to do bad, always around bad things, like us, when they finally make something good out of it, God's happy."


"If you could pack for heaven, this was how you'd do it, touching everything, taking nothing."


"...Which is why our sages tell us to repent exactly one day before we die."
But how do you know it's the day before you die? I asked.
He raised his eyebrows.
"Exactly."


I believe many of these lessons are especially important for those of us who grapple with issues of trust and redemption. In our attempts to provide services for members of the inner-cities, homeless communities and the like, we are often faced with the question of whether our funds and efforts will provide actual solutions or rather be abused and taken advantage of. This question will always persist, however the true stories contained in this novel just might show you how to take a second look and have a little faith...

Taking Care

Okay, this is a little different than my usual post, however, as we embark on 2012 I would like to share an idea with you that was presented to me tonight in my yoga class: Taking Care. You make take this post as a commentary, a philosophy or even a meditation, but I encourage you to take a few moments, let go of your daily anxieties and merely open your thoughts and mind.

As philanthropists, social entrepreneurs, givers, whatever label you choose to cling to, if you are reading this blog you likely belong to a group of people who inherently feel a responsibility to "take care." Often times this responsibility can feel overwhelming. From our loved ones, to the many issues facing our planet and society, never mind our own personal health and sanity, how can we possibly take care of it all? At times we get so wrapped up in this sense of responsibility we lose sight of the true cause, what truly sparked our passion in the first place.

Take a moment to breathe. Think about your breath and how it carries you through life. Even in the face of the greatest despair or disaster, our breath carries us through. We innately bear an incredible coping mechanism, a natural strength to withstand even the greatest challenges. In taking care of the world we must remember the world in turn is taking care of us.

As you look forward to the future and the challenges that stand before you, consider the grace of your breath. Rather than looking to fight or surmount life's challenges, set the foundation to open yourself up for grace. Grace of life, grace of humanity, grace of society, and the cyclical grace of nature which wants to support us in our quest to take care of ourselves and everything around us. Don't allow yourself to become discouraged by the nay-sayers, remember the origin of your passion, and stay present.

This year, I hope to face life's challenges with the grace of breath and the ever-present knowledge that a solution can exist if we allow ourselves to take care and in turn let nature and others reciprocate in taking care. Even though at times it may feel as if you alone are carrying the world on your shoulders, remember, the world is round and the earth in turn carries you.