The Smarter Giving Guy » about us

Moving to SeriousGivers

SG Guy — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:07:54 +0000

The learning and connection with readers at SmarterGivingGuy.com over the last two years has put us in the position to develop www.SeriousGivers.org (SGO) — an expanded site that includes data on almost 300,000 charities plus lots of great donor information. Moving forward, I’ll be focusing my efforts on SGO. I look forward to seeing you at SGO!

Ed Long, the Smarter Giving Guy

Columnist Liz Pulliam Weston highlights “Top Tips”

SG Guy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:23:53 +0000

Columnist Liz Pulliam Weston recently highlighted our Top Tips for Avoiding “Charity” Scammers on her popular Ask Liz Weston blog.

Holiday scam season is starting — thanks Liz, for helping to spread the word!

Take a look.

Join our Serious Givers group, get a copy of Top Tips.

Daily Breeze highlights Smarter Giving program

SG Guy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:12:11 +0000

In Sunday’s edition, the Daily Breeze newspaper highlighted the Smarter Giving program. I think it’s a darn good summary of what we’re trying to accomplish.

Take a look.

Private Advice

Staff — Sun, 17 May 2009 03:56:25 +0000

We love to help donors and volunteers make more effective use of their donated money and time. We do that through

This site (smartergivingguy.com)
Our classes and
Our private advice service.

Private Advice
We can help an individual, couple, family or organization be a smart (even brilliant) giver. As your private advisor, we can help you focus your philanthropy, set priorities, create budgets for your current and deferred giving, evaluate, select and create effective relationships with charities, be tax-smart in your giving, and incorporate family members and your other advisors (accountant, financial advisor, attorney, etc.) in your philanthropy — in each case depending on your goals and situation.

Foundations and other grant-makers across the U.S. use on-staff program officers to help them set their giving priorities and/or evaluate and select charities. We can do the same for you.

Our unique service is for those who give, or plan to give, what they consider to be a significant amount to one or more charities — and want to do so wisely and well.

We do not be prepare legal documents, give legal advice or otherwise providing legal services. We urge our clients to retain an attorney or attorneys to advise them on legal issues.

Although we are able to advise you concerning more than 1.4 million organizations, we do not advise on (i) organizations which primarily operate outside the United States – because we cannot be confident that we will find adequate accurate information; or (ii) organizations that Smarter Giving Guy staff members have helped form or operate – because of our duties of confidentiality to them.

You can reach us using any of the options provided on our Contact Us page.

Privacy

Staff — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:48:07 +0000

Our website privacy policy is simpler than 1 – 2 – 3:

We will never sell, exchange or give away your email address.
When you make a comment through our “Leave a Reply” box, we may well post it on this site for all to see. The posting could include the name and/or website you gave when submitting your comment. If your comment is really good, we may include it and the name and/or website in other things we write. We will never show your email address.
That’s it!

Contact Us

Staff — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:22:58 +0000

Have questions or feedback for us? Use our Ask Us page or our Tell Us page. Or

email us at staff@smartergivingguy.com, or
if you’re reading one of our posts / articles, use the “Leave a Reply” box, being sure to enter your email address carefully, or
call us at 310-612-1146.

About Us

Staff — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:32:06 +0000

About the Smarter Giving Guy

Ed Long, The Smarter Giving Guy

The Smarter Giving Guy is a nom de web for Ed Long, a nationally-known nonprofit founder, attorney and frequent writer and speaker on legal and consumer protection issues.

Ed’s 40+ years of experience include

founding and leading nonprofit charities,
managing a 50-person law office,
helping nonprofit and public agencies raise millions of dollars,
working with corporate and foundation grant-makers and
speaking before diverse audiences.

His skills, experience and energy put him in a strong position to train and help others to focus their philanthropy and to evaluate and select charities.

A 1967 graduate of LeMoyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., where he earned a B.S. in Business, Ed is a 1970 graduate of The Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He graduated number three in his class and served as an editor of the law review.

He spent 23+ years with a major International law firm, and opened and managed its Los Angeles office from 1982 through 1993. At the end of 1993, he left big law firm practice to become an elder law attorney (helping older adults and families plan for and deal with elder care, legal and financial issues).

In 1996, Ed shut down his private elder law practice and, with his wife Pat, co-founded Healthcare and Elder Law Programs Corporation (aka “H.E.L.P.”), a unique nonprofit provider of information and advice to older adults and families on care, legal, financial and consumer protection matters. Ed and Pat retired from the H.E.L.P. staff in May 2008.

Ed was a co-founder of KEEP-SAFE Coalition, a nonprofit group that unites community and social service, law enforcement, financial and related service professionals to combat financial abuse and protect older adults.

Ed is president and a co-founder of Caring House, a nonprofit home (now in development) focused on end-of-life needs of those who are dying, and support for their families and loved ones. He also serves as a member of the bioethics committees at Torrance Memorial Medical Center and Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance. He has served as a trustee with the Palos Verdes Library District and as a commissioner on the Los Angeles County Commission for Older Adults.

Ed started the Smarter Giving program in 2009, to help people make the most effective use of their donated money and volunteer hours. In addition to frequent public speaking, he offers private advice to individuals, families, foundations and other organizations.

Edward W. Long’s Profile

About this Site

This site provides general information, not specific advice on individual matters. Persons wanting specific advice on the matters discussed should contact an advisor experienced in those matters. Each posting is based on California and Federal law and programs in effect on the date of posting. Nothing on this website creates an attorney-client or other professional relationship. The Smarter Giving Guy does not prepare legal documents, give legal advice or otherwise provide legal services. We urge our clients to retain an attorney or attorneys to advise them on legal issues.

Don’t forget: Philanthropy is terrific, but first take care of yourself and those who depend on you.

Copyright

Staff — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:16:55 +0000

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward W. Long and the Smarter Giving Guy website with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.