You never know where a small recommendation leads.  While going to business school at Columbia, Birju heard of an unusual class by Srikumar Rao that managed to integrate business school concepts with Kahlil Gibran and J. Krishnamurti!  Right as he got acquainted with Professor Rao, he told him about CharityFocus.  Around about the same time, Jayesh Parekh in Singapore read Karma Capitalism in Newsweek that featured Professor's Rao work; he got in touch and similarly told him about CharityFocus. 

Sure enough, Srikumar and I met in person, and it was quite clear that he was bringing the process-oriented ethic and value-driven mindset to tomorrow's business leaders.  So, over time, we found ways to support that endeavor in multitude of ways, including visiting his classes in far away places like London. :)

Last week, McGraw Hill just published a book of his -- Happiness at Work.  And it turns out that Professor Rao has prominently featured CharityFocus in it!  Below is the excerpt:

When you honestly, sincerely, completely and mindfully have the intention of being of service to your fellow human beings, something magical happens in the way you experience the world. There is no way to really describe this--you just have to discover it for yourself.

And, deep down in some way, we all know this. All that is needed is to remember. And I know this because of the way participants in my program react to Nipun Mehta.

Nipun Mehta is an unusual character-- a very unusual character. A Berkeley engineer, he was on the tennis team and good enough that he took a year off to explore turning professional. When he graduated, there were many avenues open to him for traditional success including high-powered careers in consulting and investment banking. He turned them down because he was already marching to a different drummer.

Nipun’s observation was that too many, far too many, of our interactions were transactions -- money for products or services. Even when mutually beneficial and freely entered into, transactions impoverish the spirit. There is an indescribable joy in giving for the sake of giving, for doing something good for someone else with no hope or expectation of reward of any kind, not even a thank you. He knew that was true and he came up with a wonderful way to let others discover this for themselves.

With a small group of like-minded friends he created CharityFocus, a nonprofit organization that provides an outlet for volunteers to help many different charitable entities using technology effectively to coordinate their efforts.

Karma Kitchen is a splendid example of the many "gift economy" initiatives sparked by CharityFocus. You can enter Karma Kitchen, open every Sunday in a restaurant close to the UC Berkeley campus, and be served a scrumptious three-course meal.  The entire meal is a gift.   Contributions from someone who has eaten there previously have already paid for your meal, and at the end of the meal, you're given an envelope to make a contribution for people who come after you. No one keeps tabs. Part of the attraction is that everyone who eats there is served unconditionally and with warmth, as if they were guests in a home. Seconds and thirds are a part of the fare and outside of the chefs, everyone -- kitchen staff, waiters, busboys and dishwashers -- is a volunteer.  Karma Kitchen has covered its costs and the some from its first day, and several members of my class at the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley are frequent volunteers.

Nipun has spoken to my classes in New York, London, and San Francisco and the reaction has been surreal. MBA students who want to be Masters of the Universe and executives who are already on their way become teary-eyed. Give, without expectation, for the sake of giving. They all know that there is unspoiled joy in this; they just needed to be reminded and shown how.

[With a description and links to Smile Cards and CharityFocus.]