"Today another young president has challenged another generation to give back to this nation," said Mr. Kennedy, for whom the legislation was named.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/us/politics/22service.html?ref=us

The gauntlet is down, the challenge is on but many Americans feel too overwhelmed by their own economic distress to reach out to the less fortunate. And yet the need for individual donations is greater than ever. As companies close and corporate donations disappear charities are becoming desperate.

"With all the talk of recession lately, social and economic charities might not be foremost on your mind. And just as you're pinching your pennies, so is corporate America, causing several high-stakes charities a lot of worry about where they'll get the donations they've long received from deep-pocket financial and legal companies nationwide." David Alm, http://awearnessblog.com/2008/04/recession-hits-charities-suffe.php

"The goal is to create enough individual donations to compensate for the losses in corporate donations. And the only way to do that in this economic environment is to make it fast fun, easy and cheap." Says Jennifer Falvey of Inlieuofagift.com.

Merle Kailas, the Waxman Foundation's executive director, said, "I think it would be unrealistic to expect the same level of donations from the same donor base, but that does not mean you cannot make new friends." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/12/business/12give.html?_r=1

Inlieuofagift.com offers electronic invitations with a "donate now' button associated with the charity of the party host's choice. Guests are asked to make a donation in lieu of bringing a gift. In addition to the invitations, the site offers a gift card with a donation attached. There are no fees and all donations are 100% tax deductible. Inlieuofagift.com partners with Guidestar.org and Justgive.org to offer access to 1.8 million charities.

Celebrating Mother's day in a shelter is no woman's dream for her family. "We are truly on a mission. This economy may mean cutbacks for all of us but for the poor and the homeless it's devastating. No matter what your favorite charity is, they need your help now more than ever," Jennifer Falvey says, "We're new and we're growing fast. I hope that making donations in lieu of bringing gifts becomes a way of life for Americans so that charities never have to count on one or two big donors again."

Inlieuofagift.com offers the party invitations, Guidestar provides the database, Justgive processes the orders. Together they've teamed up for a powerful response to the crisis in charitable donations. Inlieuofagift.com is fast, fun, easy but most importantly free.

Inlieuofagift.com was launched December 2008. Originally they listed 5,000 charities and are currently up to 1.8 million. They've been featured on the the Today Show by Kathy Lee Gifford. The company is based in New Canaan, CT.

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