"Santa, baby: Send me an investment with no risk. And big guaranteed profits. With a nice fat immediate dividend and spectacular long-term payout potential. Plus one more thing, Santa. Make it a sweet story. That's all I want under the tree. Plus a BB gun. OK?"
Think I'm hitting the eggnog too hard? Think again. If you really, really want that investment, you can scoop it up right now from Foolanthropy. Specifically, First Book, a nonprofit delivering new books to young children from low-income families.
This is one honey of an organization. For every $1 donated to First Book, kids in need get $11 worth of books. That's a P/E of 1:11. The very solid management team is lead by Kyle Zimmer, who was a corporate lawyer before she became president & co-founder of First Book in 1992.
As she said in a recent visit to Fool HQ, "Yes, we operate as a nonprofit. But we ARE a business. Our budget is very disciplined: More than 98% of our funds go right to our mission. We have a market niche you could drive a tank through -- 61% of low-income families have no kids' books at home. More than 80% of the child-care centers these kids go to have no age-appropriate books. None."
The number of books in the home is the only variable that correlates significantly with reading scores. High reading scores = more success in school = larger earnings capacity.
Since the kids you give books to earn more when they grow up, they pay more taxes. They need fewer services. If you want to think really long-term, consider that your gerontologist is probably in nursery school right now. Along with your lawyer, your accountant, and your rabbi. Help these kids out now with a donation to First Book.
Of course, you asked Santa for a dividend you can count on immediately. How about lower taxes? Sure, Foolanthropy donations are tax-deductible. But First Book does your tax advantages one better. Here's an illustration: When I taught public school, a child who required remedial reading cost the county at least double. The No Child Left Behind program has increased those costs all over America.
Kids who own books own reading. They don't require remedial help. They're much less likely to be left behind. With 30 million books distributed so far, First Book can put them out front from the get-go.
Should you sell your shares in eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), FedEx (NYSE:FDX), Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), or Pixar (NASDAQ:PIXR) to support First Book? Don't be daft.
However, highly placed anonymous sources close to Santa call First Book "a strong buy" and much more likely to yield long-term benefits than a BB gun.
Melissa Ennis heard the Ghost of Christmas Present declare to Alistair Sim: "The boy is Ignorance. The girl is Want. Beware them both -- but especially this boy!" in 1965, and never got over it. She owns none of the stocks mentioned in this article.
