Bud Konheim says, "yes" when he is asked to supply an item for a charity auction. He says "yes" so often that Nicole Miller has a special room set aside for its charity work.

Tere Zubizarreta says, "yes" when she is asked to give money and time to local charities. She also came up with a great way to give her clients a Christmas gift that they could truly be proud to receive. Rather than sending gifts to her very wealthy customers, her staff gives a Christmas party for needy children. The customers receive a letter from Tere saying that the money they would have spent on a gift for them was spent making Christmas happy for little ones who might not have received even one present. Gives you goose bumps, doesn't it?

Topic for Discussion: How do you decide what charities to donate to?

Answer: There’s nothing wrong with being selfish here. You can pick your own charity. You could make a $1,000 contribution and send notices to 10 of your customers saying you had given a $100 gift in their honor. Often the charity is happy and able to send the notices directly. Another inexpensive but meaningful gift is one that advertises your customer. Bricks on donor walls or plaques on the back of refurbished theater seats are very popular. Also, environmental gifts (A tree has been planted…) are very popular.The holidays are a time of giving and what better way to give than to honor your customer and fill a need at the same time.

You think about it: What kinds of gift giving do you do now? What can you do to make it more meaningful and useful?