The Giving Spirit – Who We Are

The Giving Spirit provides aid to these vulnerable and fragile lives by assembling and personally distributing survival kits to the children, women and families living on the street. These kits contain over 70 individual items providing sustenance to the homeless in their time of need. Our efforts have personally and positively impacted the lives of our volunteers and our homeless friends from Skid Row to Santa Monica

“There is so much in this bag,” a recipient at the Downtown Women’s Center told our volunteers. “Everything on my list that I prayed for is in here! How did you know exactly what we need?”

The Giving Spirit – Why We Do It

Thanks to your kind support, our outreach ability to the homeless of Los Angeles continues to grow. We invite you to explore our website, to learn about what we do and the lives we touch, to educate yourself about homelessness, and to get involved – whether by donation or by hands-on participation or both. Without your desire to help those less fortunate than yourself, many lives – from the homeless to the volunteers – would not have been touched by this act of grace.

Our Mission

As told by our founder, Tom Bagamane….

Dear friends:

For those who have been with us since our inception in 1999 and for our new-found friends and family who have become involved with our work, we are privileged to continue The Giving Spirit’s efforts with great hope and promise.

As we enter our eleventh year of providing aid to Los Angeles’ homeless community, we find new challenges to our mission. More people need our help due to unfortunate circumstances caused by our current economic climate. Recently, I spent a day with a friend personally reaching out to the homeless, spending time with them, listening to their stories and hearing about their needs and the challenges they face as they struggle to live their life on the street.

To our dismay, we found more folks that were just recently displaced – with nowhere to turn. We also found more women and children than in years past. Many are eager to return to the workforce but can’t find work. Others simply have been turned away by an overloaded “system” woefully inadequate to handle those society tends to forget when things get tough. The street is their home, and for many, this is where they will spend the rest of their lives.

The street is a far cry from where most of us live our lives. For that we are all truly blessed. Thus, the reason we created The Giving Spirit.

Our format is simple. Your contributions allow us to purchase goods in bulk from discount stores, collect donated items from generous distributors and manufacturers, assemble and fill the bags with the help of volunteers and then distribute the bags directly to our homeless friends throughout this sprawling city.

This is what makes our mission so special. We bring the aid to the homeless, preventing them from traveling long distances with all their worldly goods (or leaving them unguarded). In the previous ten years our small group of volunteers have, thanks to the amazing generosity of you and your peers, personally served more than 9,000 souls in Greater LA. You have helped us provide food, blankets, clothing, toiletries, water – and hope – at a time of the year when they feel the most alone.

Routinely our volunteers are told, “Before you came, I had no idea where my next meal was coming from,” or “Thanks for remembering us. Do you know what it’s like to be forgotten?” I don’t, and I hope you and I and those we love never will…

Whether you choose to participate in our work or not, we thank you for your large hearts, your acute social conscience and your endearing friendship and loyalty.

Godspeed and peace to you and your families.

Tom

Tom Bagamane,
Founder and Chairman
The Giving Spirit

Our Progress

Over 95% of every donation directly supports our homeless outreach effort, giving our charitable organization one of the lowest overheads. We keep administrative expenses low by seeking the participation of the corporate community in donations of goods and services, while also continually expanding our volunteer and donor base. The graphs below illustrate the results of our efforts!

Founded in 1999, and granted 501(c)3 status in 2001, The Giving Spirit continues to grow, thanks to our grassroots base and the goodwill of our friends and family. The following graphs chart our growth and the success of our outreach efforts over the years.

Legal & Tax Documents

(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. All Links open a new browser window).

The Giving Spirit Bylaws (26 pages, 1,061k)

The Giving Spirit Articles of Incorporation (2 pages, 65k)

The Giving Spirit City of Los Angeles Information Card (1 page, 341k)

The Giving Spirit Form 990 (2011) (21 pages, 589k)

Updated IRS 501(c)(3) Letter for 2006 (1 page, 32.6k)

California Tax-Exempt Letter (2 pages, 47k)

IRS Income-Tax Exempt Letter (4 pages, 193k)

Calif Exempt Organization Annual Info Return – Form 199 (2010) (4 pages, 209k)

Team

Our Board

Tom Bagamane, Chairman: tom@thegivingspirit.org
Chris Ashworth, at large: chris@thegivingspirit.org
Tim Ingram, Secretary: tim@thegivingspirit.org
Candace Ng, Treasurer: candace@thegivingspirit.org
James Segil, at large: james@thegivingspirit.org

Committee Chairs

Clarence Johnson, Events Committee: clarence@thegivingspirit.org 
Michael Rogers, Marketing/Communications Committee  - Email TBD
Tim Ingram, Procurement Committee: tim@thegivingspirit.org 
Jim Underwood, Fundraising Committee: jim@thegivingspirit.org 
Mark Sleeper, Outreach and Distribution Committee: mark@thegivingspirit.org