According to Psychology Experts: Charity Gift Cards Are the Ideal Gift
Experts say TisBest's Gift Card Concept Satisfies the Emotions behind GiftGiving and ReceivingSEATTLE, Nov. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Guess what? The old saying "It is betterto give than to receive" -- psychologists say it has truth. A new company fromSeattle called TisBest (http://www.TisBest.org) has taken this truth about thehuman psyche and brought it to life with a simple gift idea -- the TisBestCharity Gift Card. According to two nationally recognized experts on giving,the TisBest Charity Gift Card may be the ideal gift.
Shoppers at http://www.TisBest.org can purchase tax-deductible CharityGift Cards, and the card recipient selects which cause to support from over200 nonprofits. The nonprofits represent a wide range of causes, fromenvironmental preservation to education and humanitarian efforts.
"It really is better to give than receive," said Harvard PsychologyProfessor Ellen Langer, "Giving typically makes us feel competent, empoweredand engaged."
In experimental studies about the importance of choice, Professor Langerhas found that the opportunity to choose makes the individual feel good and incontrol of their world. Based on this research, Professor Langer says that aTisBest Charity Gift Card may be an ideal gift because it lets the recipientfeel empowered by making choices and in so doing comes to learn more aboutcharities, and it lets the recipient experience the joy of giving to others.
"Giving this card allows both parties to be givers," continued ProfessorLanger. "With TisBest the gift recipient gets an opportunity to mindfullyengage in the whole idea of giving. If you just give to a charity in my name,I'm not engaged."Golden Gate University Marketing Professor Michal Ann Strahilevitz agrees."Giving a gift is about communicating that you value and appreciate the personreceiving the gift," says Strahilevitz. "When one person gives a TisBestCharity Gift Card, it communicates that the giver not only values therecipient, but also the causes he or she cares about. These gift cards allowthe recipient to choose which nonprofit to support, creating that 'extravalue' for the recipients because it shows respect for their beliefs andpassions."
Strahilevitz adds that TisBest charity gift cards offer an extra benefityou don't get from simply making a donation on someone else's behalf. "TisBestset it up so the person who gives a Charity Gift Card can check back at anytime and see whether the card has been spent, and if so, which charity waschosen. This means that both the card purchaser and the card recipient canfeel the warm glow of knowing which cause is being contributed to. It alsomeans that if I give a Charity Gift Card, I can learn what cause the person Igive it to cares most about. That also creates a bond. Giving a TisBestCharity Gift Card is a great opportunity to communicate that you see theperson you are giving the gift to as someone that cares about making the worlda better place. That is far more meaningful than giving a gift card for adepartment store, which basically just communicates that you see the recipientas someone who would like having more things for him or herself."
Strahilevitz adds, "This is a particularly great gift to give to theperson who already seems to have everything. Let's face it, many of us reallydo not need more stuff. However, you can never get too much of the warm-glowthat comes from contributing to a worthy cause."
When selecting a TisBest Charity Gift Card online, shoppers will findlinks to each nonprofit organization's homepage so users can learn about theirmission to help decide which one to support. The cards carry a personalmessage and come in over 30 different designs. TisBest charges a flat $3.95transaction fee, regardless of the donation amount.
"TisBest wants to bring back the satisfaction of gift giving," saidTisBest founder Erik Marks. "Many of us are trying to simplify the holidayswhile embracing the good feelings that gift-giving creates. A Charity GiftCard offers a personalized gift that passes on the goodwill to others."
About TisBest
TisBest founder Erik Marks has long desired an alternative to the frenziedgift-giving of the holiday season and the "stuff" that gives littlesatisfaction to the gift giver or the gift recipient. In his first year of LawSchool 17 years ago, Marks realized that charity gift cards would be an idealsolution to the gift-giving dilemma -- an easy way to give a deeply meaningfulgift for both the giver and recipient. After 17 years as a lawyer andentrepreneur, Marks finally brought his charity gift card idea to life.TisBest, launched in 2007, offers an easy way for people who care to putgift-giving dollars toward creating a better world. For more information,visit http://www.tisbest.org.
About Ellen J. Langer.Dr. Ellen Langer is a professor in the Psychology Department at HarvardUniversity. Her books, written for general and academic readers, includeMindfulness; The Power of Mindful Learning; and On Becoming An Artist:Reinventing Yourself Through Mindful Creativity. Dr. Langer's work on theillusion of control, aging, decision-making and mindfulness theory has led tonumerous academic honors including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Award forDistinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest of theAmerican Psychological Association, the Distinguished Contributions of BasicScience to Applied Psychology award from the American Association of Applied &Preventive Psychology, the James McKeen Cattel Award and the Gordon AllportIntergroup Relations Prize.
About Michal Ann Strahilevitz:
Michal Strahilevitz is a chaired professor of marketing at Golden GateUniversity. She has done extensive research on the "warm-glow effect" ofcharitable giving and has published multiple articles on the psychology ofcharitable giving in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of ConsumerResearch, the Journal of Consumer Psychology and the Journal of Nonprofit &Public Sector Marketing. Professor Strahilevitz contributes regularly to theCause Marketing Forum and the Walk Run Ride Fundraising Newsletter. Herresearch on charitable giving has also been featured in the Chronicle ofPhilanthropy and the Chronicle of Higher Education. She is also on theeditorial board of Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing.SOURCE TisBestBryan Cohen, +1-206-262-0363, ext. 101, bcohen@colehourcohen.com for TisBest
