A neat philanthropy idea
 

I'm not sure if this would be considered a philanthropy, but it's a neat idea. One of my coworkers has a daughter who loves penguins, so for Christmas, her hubby sponsored a penguin in her name for the year at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Your name is put on a plaque near the animal's "dwelling" (they really aren't cages anymore) and you contribute a certain amount of $$$ to help with the animal's upkeep. Naturally, the bigger the animal the bigger the $$$! Plus it would be good for getting your name out and recognized.

I thought this would be cool for the groups with animal mascots (attention Chi O's, the NATIONAL AVIARY is here in Pgh - hint hint). I believe most zoos have similar programs.