Raising money for a good cause and eating your heart out is a pretty powerful combination.

In its 20 years, the Wall Street "Taste of New York" has raised nearly $30 million to help St. Jude Children's Research Hospital continue its groundbreaking research and lifesaving care for children battling cancer and other deadly diseases.

The "Taste of New York" is the largest single fund-raising event held on behalf of St. Jude each year. The engine behind it consists of the restaurants that donate their time and food, and the Wall Street Committee that garners the support of companies and colleagues who sponsor the event and purchase tickets.

The event brings the financial community together, with committee members and co-chairs hailing from Goldman, J.P. Morgan, SAC Capital Advisors, AllianceBernstein, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, Zweig-DiMenna Associates, and many more.

The money helps St. Jude continue its commitment that no child is ever turned away because of a family's inability to pay. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance.

The key to thriving in the new economy is understanding why we do things, not just knowing how to do them.

That was one of the takeaways of a panel last night at the Morrison Hotel Gallery featuring WalletPop contributors Jason Cochran, Zac Bissonnette, and Bruce Watson; Huffington Post senior editor-at-large Russell Bishop; and "The Happiness Project" founder Gretchen Rubin. WalletPop's Andrea Chalupa moderated.

Here's a little clip of what Jason Cochran had to say (for more video clips of the panel, see our Facebook page and become a fan!):

A buyout or pink slip may be less hard to swallow when you know your sacrifice helps preserve programs that help the neediest communities in the world.

At least, that's how the Ford Foundation is spinning its latest cost-cutting move: An offer of buyouts to staff members at its New York City and foreign offices, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

So far the Ford Foundation has eliminated 30 jobs this year, and closed offices in Russia and Vietnam. These moves, along with other budget trimming, have saved $40 million.

But with the endowment 30% down and economic recovery expected to take a long while, the foundation decided those cuts weren't enough. Hence, the buyouts, which were reported in the Chronicle of Philanthropy this week (Wednesday.)

The Giving USA Foundation annual survey, a report on American philanthropy funded by the nonprofit fund-raising industry and conducted by the Center on
Philanthropy at Indiana University, was released today, and the results conform to the times: Charitable giving was down 2% in 2008, or 5.7% when adjusted for inflation. The survey, which started in 1956, has marked declines only two times previously.

Two-third of public charities took in less money than the year prior. But the total amount received remains impressive: $307.65 billion, compared to $314.07 billion in 2007. When measured against Gross Domestic Product, giving levels in 2008 were consistent with those in 2007: charitable giving, as a percentage of GDP, was 2.2% in 2008, and 2.3% in 2007.