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giving-happiness

Giving Feels Good

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The world smiled less in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged communities and left its thumbprint on vulnerable populations.1 In many ways, the pandemic magnified preexisting disparities and inequalities. With blaring headlines and constant noise, we can lose sight of the good happening all around us, but when we genuinely see positive life change and smiles, we cannot help but become addicted to bettering our communities.

The Smallest Act Has Power

At times, practicing generosity can feel small when the issues around us appear big. The pandemic reminds us that the magic of doing good is consistency, not the size of a gift. Never should we discount our power to create impact through gratitude and small acts of kindness. Together we focus on the glimmers of hope and work to make them shine brighter; this is the great purpose of life, caring for others and giving back through gratitude.

Gratitude Advances Generosity

Generosity is a journey that changes us as we look beyond ourselves and choose to focus on the wellbeing of others and not just ourselves. Such action feels good, as we spread hope and goodness through our time, skills, reflection, and financial gifts.2 Generosity cultivates gratitude because we stand up for right and good, even when it feels complex, and the world seems dark. Experiencing empathy and acting on it fills a longing in every one of us as it connects us to the stories of others and helps us shed toxic emotions. Compassion brings a ray of hope to a hurting world and leads us to act.

Giving Feels Good

Gratitude turns us from a scarcity mindset to one of abundance and growth, moving our brains from a reactive survival mentality to a place of purpose and contentment. When we choose gratitude, we experience better mental and physical health, happiness, and life satisfaction.3 Brain research shows that generosity activates positive responses in our brain, releasing serotonin (mood-mediation), dopamine (the feel-good chemical), and oxytocin (compassion and bonding chemical), resulting in an energizing endorphin release.4

The benefits of financial giving include lower blood pressure, increased self-esteem, lower stress and depression levels, longer life, and greater happiness and satisfaction.5 The research is clear: We create a positive impact by pursuing an abundant life where we give freely to those around us. The secret to life is not about the dollar amount of a gift; it is all about how giving to others benefits them and helps us find a deeper purpose, thankfulness, and happiness.6

Today anyone can serve as a philanthropist just by deciding to give to a cause. Gone are the days when a select few sources provided for world change. Technology continues to create a bridge that allows the gratitude and giving of each individual to travel faster and more broadly than ever before. We work together to envision a better world and take steps forward to create it, five to ten dollars at a time.

GVNG: Set up your GVNG Wallet and give to 1.6 million charities, including our friends at the Gratitude Network, who offer a variety of ways to pursue a generous life.

  1. (2021). Gallup global emotions. https://www.gallup.com/file/analytics/352337/Gallup_Global_Emotions_2021_Report.pdf
  2. Brown, J. & Wong, J. (2017, June 6). How gratitude changes you and your brain. Greater Good Magazine, Berkeley https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_changes_you_and_your_brain
  3. Allen, S. (2018, May). The science of gratitude. Greater Good, Berkeley. https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/images/uploads/GGSC-JTF_White_Paper-Gratitude-FINAL.pdf
  4. Cleveland Clinic. (2020, October 28). Why giving is good for your health: Studies show how giving affects your body. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-giving-is-good-for-your-health/
  5. Cleveland Clinic. (2020, October 28). Why giving is good for your health: Studies show how giving affects your body. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-giving-is-good-for-your-health/
  6. Harvard Health Publishing. (2021, August 14). Giving thanks can make you happier. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier
giving-happiness

GVNG and Engiven Partner to Make it Simple to Donate Cryptocurrency to Any U.S. Nonprofit

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October 14, 2021—GVNG, a financial product and technology platform that empowers citizen philanthropists, and Engiven, a leading cryptocurrency donation platform, have partnered to make it easy for GVNG users to contribute cryptocurrency to their GVNG Wallets, providing a tax-smart path to donate to more than 1.6 million U.S. nonprofits and many international NGOs.

“GVNG is one of the few personal charity accounts or donor-advised funds (DAF) with the ability to accept cryptocurrency,” said Kyle C. Murphy, CEO of GVNG Technology, the technology arm of GVNG. “The trend we’re seeing is that both established crypto investors and the next generation of philanthropists want the ability to give to their favorite causes using a variety of currencies and investments. Our partnership with Engiven makes donating crypto seamless for GVNG users. Both our organizations want to simplify giving, providing the tools people need to support the causes that matter to them.”

Users of the GVNG Wallet contribute funds, assets and crypto to their account, getting an immediate tax benefit. Then, over time, they can donate the funds to any U.S. charity, directly in the app. With the integration of Engiven, cryptocurrency donations are converted to U.S. dollars instantly and then added to user’s GVNG Wallet. When users contribute stock or crypto to their GVNG Wallet, they get full credit for the value of the asset when it is donated, and they don’t have to pay taxes on the capital gain.

“From the beginning, we’ve dreamed of making it possible for any charity to receive cryptocurrency donations, and this new partnership makes this vision a reality,” said James Lawrence, CEO and co-founder of Engiven. “More than 20 million Americans own some form of crypto. Many of these donors have incredible gains, and now they are empowered to use those gains for good.” 

This integration is the first of many possible joint projects for GVNG and Engiven. As crypto becomes more intertwined with individuals’ financial picture, making sure they have tax beneficial ways to leverage crypto for good is key.

About GVNG

GVNG is as much a philosophy as a financial product and technology platform–it is designed to increase giving by empowering the citizen philanthropist in everyone. The GVNG Wallet provides the power of a charitable foundation in a simple-to-use app. Like a 401k for giving, individuals, companies, and other organizations can contribute funds, crypto, stocks, and bonds and get a tax benefit immediately, while providing a seamless path to donate to more than 1.6 million charities over time. Unique to GVNG, users can amplify their impact by running their own tax-deductible crowdfunding campaigns to support their favorite charitable causes. GVNG is integrated with payroll and banks to ensure giving is always part of the overall financial wellness picture. GVNG provides a unified picture of impact over time with a single tax receipt at the end of the year. The GVNG Wallet is administered by GVNGorg, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization (a California nonprofit public benefit corporation) and powered by GVNG Technology, Inc.
Learn more at www.gvng.org.

About Engiven

Engiven is a leading cryptocurrency donation management platform providing an end-to-end giving solution benefiting nonprofits and their donors. For more information about Engiven, visit engiven.com.

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Use Your GVNG Wallet to Donate to Disaster Relief Efforts

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Heartbreaking headlines reach our hearts and screens. In response, we feel moved to action but aren’t sure how to help. In a disaster situation, money is one of the most helpful ways for an individual to make a difference because it allows a charity to direct the aid where it’s needed most.

Responding as Individuals and Families

To give support after a disaster, use your GVNG Wallet to select a verified nonprofit focused on the cause. You can easily give to multiple organizations from your GVNG Wallet. Here are a few ideas for disaster relief organizations to get you started:

For regional disasters, consider supporting local nonprofits, including churches, community outreaches, and those providing direct relief. Centralizing your charitable giving through your GVNG Wallet allows you to instantly donate to nonprofits while seamlessly tracking your giving for tax purposes.

Responding as a Business Leader and as a Company

Leadership teams who provide the GVNG Wallet for employees add an invaluable tool to their crisis communications toolbelt. With GVNG, an employer has a public response to a crisis in an instant with the ability to launch a cause-based campaign, match employee donations, pair an action-based campaign with an executive statement, or enable employees to start peer-to-peer crowdfunding campaigns of their own.

Employers can seed an employee’s account with any dollar amount for employees to distribute to the cause of their choice, whether that is the recent disaster or a different cause. When employees distribute funds, they participate in an active employee engagement exercise and live a shared philanthropic experience. The employer provides choice to the employee while acknowledging the employee’s desire to impact the world positively. Through this, the employer builds trust and encourages generous living. To donate to relief efforts, set up your GVNG Wallet now and search and select the organizations or causes of your choice.

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Employee Misery or Happiness? Making Work Matter

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Every day across industries, many employees dread working, struggle to find motivation, and wonder if their contributions matter. The factors that cause job misery include irrelevance, anonymity, and the lack of feedback regarding success or failure (also called immeasurement).1 In contrast to misery, employees who report high happiness levels are at least 12% more productive and outperform the competition by 20%.2 Google experimented with increasing employee happiness and found a 37% increase in happiness resulted in faster and more effective work productivity.3 

As you consider the place you work and the virtue of happiness, who stands out in your mind? That upbeat co-worker? An executive who reminds you how your work matters? Maybe you’re reminded of the co-worker who speaks positively about others or your manager who cares about your wellbeing. Whether we work remotely, in a hybrid environment, or entirely in-person, we long to feel known, valued, included, and competent.

The authenticity, calm, and warmth radiating from a happy employee are contagious because work can feel less like an obligation and more like a fun adventure. While most of us strive to become better humans day in and day out, it takes an intentional person and a unique organizational environment to cultivate contagious joy for others.

How to Increase Employee Happiness

What do we know about the aspects of an organization that contribute to high levels of happiness?

  • Employee engagement is an indicator of a thriving company. Companies that successfully engage employees see more happiness, wellness, retention, significant profits, and lower costs supported by salespeople closing 37% more sales.4
  • Company culture directs and defines a company’s environment and impacts purchasing decisions as 66% of consumers considering factors like company culture and employee welfare when choosing between brands.5 Culture includes what the company stands for, how it treats others and its impact on the world.6 Healthy company cultures promote trust resulting in psychological safety and teams who innovate.7
  • Emotional Intelligence. For managers and executives to increase employee happiness, they need to address barriers to performance, give positive and constructive feedback, and help employees create clear and measurable goals. They also need to acknowledge their shortcomings, convey empathy, and show genuine value in their employees.8
  • Authentic Friendships. As colleagues collaborate through meetings, hallway discussions, and virtual chat conversations, they form connections and interest in learning about one another. Shared hobbies and knowing one another’s favorite charitable causes strengthen these workplace social connections and create intersections for acceptance, shared synergy, and cause-oriented passion. Employees who have friends at work are happier, report a 50% boost in satisfaction, and those with a best friend at work are seven times more likely to be engaged.9
  • Global Impact. Charitable giving fits right in with company culture and motivates employees through generosity and meaning.10 As they create a positive impact worldwide through donations to nonprofits, employees feel greater fulfillment and meaning, which leads to more productivity.
    • Employer Tip: Make it easy for employees to donate to charitable organizations by funding their GVNG Wallet. Provide team members with $10 to give to an organization of their choice and remind them of their work’s broader impact on the world. In addition, employees can give to other employees through optional peer-to-peer transactions.

Communicating Employee Value and Global Impact

As leaders get creative at addressing job misery, they can leverage the impact of workplace giving and personal generosity to appreciate, validate, and encourage team members. As leaders show employees that their work matters, positive emotions, and experiences increase, reflecting positively on the company brand. Happiness is a function of knowing your employees, connecting everyday tasks to the company mission, consistently expressing value, and providing helpful feedback. When you empower your workforce through the GVNG Wallet, you communicate value, show relevance, and build trust.

  1. Lencioni, P.M. (2015). The truth about employee engagement: A fable about addressing the three root causes of job misery. Jossey Bass. https://www.tablegroup.com/product/engagement/
  2. Sgroi, D. (2015). Happiness and productivity: Understanding the happy-productive worker. Social Market Foundation (SMF) & Warwick’s Centre on Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE). http://www.smf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Social-Market-Foundation-Publication-Briefing-CAGE-4-Are-happy-workers-more-productive-281015.pdf#page=9
  3. Leveling Up. The statistical case for company culture [infographic]. Leveling Up & Single Grain. https://www.levelingup.com/management/statistical-case-company-culture/
  4. (2019). Happier employees=greater success. Canadian HRReporter. https://www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/wellness-mental-health/happier-employees-greater-success/304956#
  5. Edelman, R. (2020, March 30). Trust barometer special report: Brand trust and the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.edelman.com/research/covid-19-brand-trust-report
  6. Sgroi, D. (2015). Happiness and productivity: Understanding the happy-productive worker. Social Market Foundation (SMF) & Warwick’s Centre on Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE). http://www.smf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Social-Market-Foundation-Publication-Briefing-CAGE-4-Are-happy-workers-more-productive-281015.pdf#page=9
  7. Edmondson, A.C. (2018). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth.
  8. H.L. (2010). The stress effect: Why smart leaders make dumb decisions – and what to do about it. Jossey-Bass.
  9. Riordan, C.M. (2013, July 3). We all need friends at work. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2013/07/we-all-need-friends-at-work
  10. Mittal, P. (2020, September 30). Happy employees create happy customers. Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/356865