EL SEGUNDO HERALD June 23, 2016 Page 3 CITY OF EL SEGUNDO CITY COUNCIL Volunteers Needed! The City Council is currently accepting applications for the following Committees, Commissions and Boards (CCB) positions. Immediate Openings Recreation and Parks Commission One position Community Cable Advisory Committee Three positions Environmental Committee Two positions Terms Expiring Soon Planning Commission Two positions expires June 30, 2016 Library Board of Trustees One position expires June 30, 2016 Senior Citizen Housing Corporation Board Two Positions expires June 30, 2016 Capital Improvement Program Advisory Committee One Position expires November 30, 2016 If you are interested in applying, please pick up an application in the Council Office or log onto the City’s website at www.elsegundo.org For more information, call 310 524-2302 or email mjennings@elsegundo.org Charitable Giving from front page Major gifts of $1 million or more are flowing outside Los Angeles County. “Only giving to higher education tended to remain within the county, with nearly $3 billion staying and a little more than $2 billion leaving,” the report said. Those gifts are going primarily to USC, UCLA, Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine universities. Donors’ highest priority would be ending homelessness if they were making a sizable gift locally, they told UCLA researchers. The leader of a statewide foundation see a duplication of services and inefficiency among the nonprofits in Los Angeles, which could be causing “donor fatigue” among the more willing givers. “When donors do want to give to Los Angeles, they can be discouraged and intimidated when trying to navigate the country’s 35,000 nonprofits,” said Anita Hernandez, president and Ending homelessness is the highest priority for large donors, the UCLA study. chief executive of the California Community Foundation. “This difficulty can draw attention and dollars away from Los Angeles to national organizations with greater brand recognition.” She thinks county residents would be better served by a network of “healthier and stronger nonprofits” that join forces and cooperate rather than operate independently of one another and compete for L.A.’s shrinking pool of available funding. Parent, the study’s director, said his team and the nonprofit organizations are perplexed why charitable giving hasn’t rebounded yet in L.A. County, like it has in other metropolitan areas around the nation. He offered some possible explanations, but said nothing was conclusive from the data and interviews with some locals. “We’re sitting here staring at the ceiling,” Parent said, because an expected recovery in 2014 charitable contributions stalled. One possible explanation is: “It’s the economy, stupid,” a line made famous by then-candidate Bill Clinton. Households are earning less now than in 2006, so the connection seems plausible. Or, Southern Californians could be in catch-up mode with home repairs and debt. There’s another possible explanation - immigration. It takes a generation before newcomers to the United States become givers, maybe 20 years, and Southern California has huge immigrant populations from Mexico, Central America and Asia. In time, maybe they’ll contribute - that’s the hope. The report isn’t all data, doom and gloom. Fixing the hole in the L.A. County’s charitable and nonprofit safety net is doable, the reports’ suggests. It’ll take more outside funding, some merger and contraction within the nonprofit community, better marketing to avoid donor fatigue in choosing a local cause to support, and being ready for the largest wealth transfer in U.S. history. A few takeaways from the UCLA report: The economy can’t explain everything: “But as the housing market has recovered and the stock market has reached record heights, charitable giving in Los Angeles has continued to decline.” It’s off by $1 billion since 2006, and the mega-gifts to community-based causes, which have a “transformational effect on an organization’s impact, mission and future,” nearly disappeared after the housing crisis. Faith is strong: “While Los Angeles area donors reported giving across all purposes, both locally and beyond, their patterns of local support vary by purpose. Higher proportions of donors gave overall to basic needs as well as to organizations that serve a combination of purposes, like the United Way, Catholic Charities, or the Jewish Federation. However, religious congregations received the highest proportion of locally focused giving.” Nonprofits are multiplying: “The number of nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles County has grown consistently and steadily since the 1970s, with small slumps corresponding to recessions and cuts in government funding. As of January 2016, there were 35,226 registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles County … they appear to be proliferating faster than ever.” The 2.5 percent solution: “It wouldn’t take huge efforts to transform the future of our county. If Angelenos gave 2.5 percent of their annual income – with the extra 0.5 percent going to Los Angeles – Los Angeles County nonprofits could see an additional $1.5 billion in revenue,” the report says. • Kill the 9-to-5 by Turning Your Hobby into a Thriving Business (BPT) - A beloved hobby can feel like a mini vacation from everyday life. Whether it’s gardening for relaxation, photography as a creative outlet or computer coding to exercise the brain, hobbies serve as an escape from stress and boredom. What if rather than a hobby being your escape, it was what you did for a career? “When you do what you love, it doesn’t feel like work. However, people are intimidated by the idea of transitioning a hobby into this type of dream,” says Jim Salmon, vice president of business services at Navy Federal Credit Union. “Becoming a successful entrepreneur doesn’t have to be difficult with the right drive and passion.” Navy Federal Business Services has helped thousands of people turn their dreams of owning a small business into reality by providing expert guidance and financial support through Business Services products. Here are some of Salmon’s expert tips based on best practices he’s observed through his close relationship with entrepreneurial clients: 1. Take your time. Becoming a successful entrepreneur doesn’t mean you have to drop everything and devote all your time to starting a business. In fact, research shows the opposite: People who keep their day jobs while starting companies are a third less likely to fail than those who abandon their full time jobs. Instead, they’re tinkering, researching and cautiously testing things out to see if their idea is a viable business venture and if there is a market for their product or service. 2. Set a timeline. Is there a season where it would make sense to test out your business venture? Or perhaps there’s a transitional time in your life where you’ll be looking to open a new chapter. For example, transitioning your hobby into a viable business venture a great option for active duty military personnel and veterans because they naturally begin to think about what their second career will be after retiring or leaving the Armed Forces. 3. Decide on time commitment. Decide how much time you are willing to dedicate to your new venture in the beginning. Being an entrepreneur means being your own boss which affords you unprecedented flexibility, but the effort you put in directly effects what you get out. Keep in mind, entrepreneurship isn’t just for full-time professionals. Turning a hobby into a career is a great option for military and stay-at-home parents who require flexibility in regards to working hours and location, but they may have more open time to dedicate to the transition. 4. Create a business plan. Transitioning a hobby into a profession is a lot of fun, but it’s also serious business if you want to be successful. That means creating a business plan that includes goals and plans for attaining them. This will serve as the foundation for how you strategize and build a successful business today. Plus, when it comes time to finance your budding business, a solid business plan will give you a leg up and direction for the future. 5. Find financial backing. Depending on what type of business you want to pursue, you may need some additional funding beyond what you can afford. Establishing a relationship with a financial institution like Navy Federal Credit Union will help you learn more about small business loans and lending products that will help your small business grow. Bring your passion and your business plan - potential investors and financial institutions alike will want to see both before they make a decision. Editor’s note: National Small Business Week is May 1-7. • Finance The Jewelry Source 337 Main St. El Segundo. 310-322-7110 www.jewelrysourceUSA.com ©2007 Your girlfriend wants me. Badly.
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