Mitt Romney Boxing Match

While Mitt Romney might not have any intention to run in the 2016 Presidential Election, he’ll nonetheless be fighting soon.  This time, however, he might come out of it with a black eye.  The former Republican Presidential candidate is planning to box Evander Holyfield, the former heavyweight champion.  This bout is scheduled for May, and the two will be getting into the ring in an effort to raise money for charity.

David Worley Fannie Mae Boxing

Come May, this photoshopped fantasy could become a reality.

News of the fight first came from the Salt Lake City Tribune, and in an interview Romney said that it will most likely be a very short fight, or else he’ll be knocked unconscious.  Those who are expecting something out of the “Rocky” movies will probably be disappointed, as it’s probably not going to be much more than the two men getting into the ring to spar around for a little while.  Romney thought that it would ultimately be much better entertainment than just having dinner and listening to speakers, and he’s probably right.  That being said, it would probably be more entertaining if it was a full-on fight, as opposed to some quick sparring.  But the main purpose of the event is to raise money for charity, not to put a former Presidential candidate and Massachusetts Governor in the hospital.

The match is scheduled for May 15, as part of a several-bout evening in Salt Lake City to raise money for Charity Vision.  Last year, the Romney family traveled with the group to Peru, and Romney recently returned from a trip to India with them.  Charity Vision donates medical equipment to doctors and facilities in poverty-stricken areas around the world to help aid with eye surgeries.  One of Romney’s songs has described the evening as a “black-tie event”, and that the fundraiser will be patterned after a 1920s-style party.

Open A New Tab For Charity

workstation-david worley fannie maeEvery day people spend time on the internet opening new tab after tab. Instead of just a blank page initiating, Alex Groth and Kevin Jennison found a way to make this previously useless page a tool for charities. Currently found as applications for both Firefox and Chrome, this idea automatically donates money to charity every time a new tab is opened. Each page generates fractions of cents, but that amount adds up considering how often people open new tabs throughout the day. Those blank pages everyone is used to seeing now direct to information about charities. A key component to the charities’ earning potential through this method have to do with advertising. Alongside the information that appears on the blank pages, ads appear as well.

Tab for a Cause is the name of the app created by Jennison and Groth, who are both employed at a startup in Silicon Valley. Anytime someone views the ads in the previously blank new tab, Tab for a Cause receives money to be sent to a charity of choice. Clicking on the ad is unnecessary, which makes the user experience even simpler.

The idea stemmed from a thought that small donations didn’t seem impactful enough. By banding many users together to create an atmosphere where very little is generated very often, suddenly small contributions make a large difference. Tab for a Cause launched in August of 2012 and had more than 3,000 users that raised $4,000 in just two months. Each tab brings in at least a tenth of a cent and users open on average ten tabs a day. One cent per day can certainly make a difference with consistent use.

The main areas of focus are charities for peace, the environment, human rights, education and more. When the app is first set up for an internet browser, one may decide if they want to support all charities or focus on one or a few. For those interested in learning about this charitable internet application, visit the article written by the LA Times here.

10 Most Charitable Cities

David Worley Fannie Mae CharityAs Ebenezer Scrooge could have told you, being wealthy doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re charitable.  I recently came across an article that speaks about a report released on Monday by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.  According to the report, wealthy individuals have scaled back on the amount of money that they’ve been donating to charities, while the less affluent have increased the amount that they’ve donated.  Between 2006 and 2012, Americans who earned $200,000 or more decreased the share of their income that they gave to charity by 4.6 percent.  On the flip side, those whose annual salaries were less than $100,000 donated 4.5 percent more of their income.  The report calculated these numbers through looking at tax returns.  According to the report, these 10 American cities gave the highest percentage of their money to charities:

10. Virginia Beach, VA.  3.3% of annual income.

9. Charlotte, NC.  3.4% of annual income.

8. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.  3.6% of annual income.

7. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  3.7% of annual income.

6. Jacksonville, Florida.  3.8% of annual income.

5. Nashville, Tennessee.  3.9% of annual income.

4. Atlanta, Georgia.  4% of annual income.

3. Birmingham, Alabama.  4.8% of annual income.

2. Memphis, Tennessee.  5.1% of annual income.

1. Salt Lake City, Utah.  5.4% of annual income.

After I got over the pride swelling in my chest upon seeing that both Charlotte and Dallas were included on this list, I noticed some interesting patterns about these cities.  With the exception of Salt Lake City, all of the cities in this list were southern.  This seems to reaffirm the ancient stereotype of southern hospitality.  Salt Lake City, however, is the center of the Mormon Church, a church known for its missionary and humanitarian work, so it’s hardly surprising that the people who live there would be charitable.  Then I noticed something else that seems to tie all of these cities together: they’re all from very religious parts of the country, and their residents tend to have high church attendance rates.  According to the study, cities with higher church attendance generally donated more of their money to charity than wealthier cities with lower church attendance rates, such as Los Angeles and New York City.  An interesting thing to think about, no doubt.