A Lengthy List of News for Lengthening Days

If you happened into downtown Portland last Saturday, chances are you ran into Santa (photo at right). Not once, not twice, but hundreds of times. When it comes to SantaCon, Portland represents. Well, not as much as Moscow, where a reported 70,000 Santas took to the streets a few years ago. Or Londonderry, which holds the official world record (photo at left).

I don't know about you but I'm counting down the hours until the days start getting longer again. December 21, 9:30 p.m. PST. Please make a note of it! Check out this website that has "everything you need to know about the winter solistice of 2011." Note especially the video of the rotating earth on the page, with the prevalence of darkness in the northern hemisphere and light in the southern hemisphere. No wonder it gets gloomy so early outside.

And now for Meyer Memorial Trust's last and rather lengthy list of news for 2011:

• This month MMT made more than $4.1 million in grants!  READ MORE
• Our newest program officer Jill Fuglister has penned a blog post reflecting on her first year at MMT and I bet you want to read it. READ MORE
• In January a sample of nonprofit organizations around Oregon will receive an online survey, with results used to provide insights into the state's nonprofit sector in the first ever Health of the Nonprofit Sector in Oregon report. Adreas Schroeer, associate director of Portland State University's Institute for Nonprofit Management urges a timely response to the survey. Results will be used to "help nonprofit organizations, policy makers, funders and other opinion leaders to develop a critical understanding of how the sector functions today and how it changes over time." READ MORE
• The number of public charities registered with the IRS grew by approximately what percent in the last decade? By what percent did private charitable giving increase during the same period (adjusted for inflation)? If you know the answers are 60% and 0% respectively, you've probably read the new report – The Nonprofit Almanac 2011 – prepared by the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) at the Urban Institute. In addition to summarizing the finances of the nonprofit sector, the publication highlights key findings on private contributions and volunteering. READ MORE
• You might be interested in some of the other recent NCCS publications, like the 2011 survey on fundraising practices that was a collaboration by NCCS, Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Foundation Center, Giving USA Foundation, Blackbaud and Guidestar. READ MORE
• Did you know research has been done on the science of generosity? Quite a lot of it, in fact (including a literature review of nearly 500 studies). The University of Notre Dame has an initiative (funded by the John Templeton Foundation) that is looking into the origins, manifestations and consequences of generosity. READ MORE
• We came across a very helpful article on the ZeroDivide website that answers the question, "How can we be most efficient with social media given everything else we need to do?" READ MORE
• And now, some data that – as Henry Adams once wrote – "would gorge a glutton of gloom" and illustrates how and why so many people are hurting these days: The Great Recession in Five Charts and a Graphic View of Poverty in Oregondespite Oregon's remarkable economic growth that has been accompanied by a remarkable increase in income inequality.

In the interests of ending the year on a glorious rather than gloomy note, I just looked through a few of the fascinating random things of wonderment I've been saving to share with you sometime, trying to pick one that strikes a suitably inspiring and impressive note to mark the end of 2011. Should I choose:

• a video of a comet's close encounter with the sun?
• a countdown of the best TED talks of 2011? 
• evidence of quantum physics in photosynthesis?
• the surprising and thought-provoking story of how doctors die?
• a daily practice guide that pretty much covers everything?
• or maybe the video you probably already saw of the humpback whale jumping for joy and/or saying thanks after being freed from a fishing net?

Oh, heck, I can't decide. You make the call!

We wish every one of you the happiest of holidays and look forward to spending some of 2012 with you. May your coming days be merry and bright, and not just because of the lengthening period of daylight.

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