You know how they say “every donation counts, no matter how small”? Well, historically I have felt silly donating small amounts of money. I’d like to change that, and am seeking suggestions.
The idea is to donate $10/month to different organizations (so, not a monthly pledge to a specific organization). I can afford to donate more, but that will be occasional, and I know the ways in which I want to target that. I’ve paid lip service for a while to socially liberal (and yet Responsible!) ideology — so, you know, time to contribute something, even if small. Donating my time is another way to participate in the world, for sure. Right now that’s a scarce resource, and is going to a smaller subset of the world.
I care about, in no particular order: health care reform, immigration issues, drug policy issues, education (mostly primary and secondary, for these purposes), reproductive choice, gay rights, racial equality issues, environmental crises, disaster relief. This isn’t an exhaustive list.
There’s always Kiva, or Heifer Int’l, but right now I’m interested in finding donation targets within this country. I realized, thinking about this, that I know more venues for helping poor people in Indonesia than here in the States. I’m particularly interested in organizations with very low administrative overhead.
So, suggestions?
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You may already know about it, but I like using CharityNavigator to check out organizations where I’m considering giving — they’re good on letting you know what the administrative and fundraising overhead looks like, and they have categories so you can browse for a particular kind of charity.
Emily - no, I didn’t know about CN! Thank you very much, this is useful.
Charity Navigator is very useful, yes.
Might want to avoid the superficially similar Givewell–if you have a bunch of time to kill and want something really entertaining to read, though, check out the thread about their astroturfing practices at http://metatalk.metafilter.com/15547/GiveWell-or-Give-em-Hell … it just keeps getting meaner and deeper and, in its way, funnier…
I give through my employer; they suggest an hour of pay per month to start. I get to chose from thousands of charities and each autumn I revisit my choices (I split my annual lump sum among a few different charities because I can’t decide between health care, environment, and social action). I don’t know if you can give through your employer, but it’s very easy that way, so it’s at least something to look into.
The other way I give is that I’ve pretty much stopped giving anyone physical gifts unless I *know* they *actually need* something. I used to call and say, “Tell me to which charity you want the money to go,” but people don’t want to tell you your charity or they have to think about it and then get sidetracked and forget. There’s also the problem that sometimes my friends or relatives want to give to charities that I’m not keen on, but it’s *their* gift, so that’s where it goes… I find all this to be easier when there’s a third party involved (though that also means some small transaction fees). I presently use http://www.justgive.org/ (I used it just last night, in fact, to send my mother a birthday e-card with money for her to donate…).
I also look for creative projects at work where I can effect positive change for a cause I champion without the money coming out of my pocket. Right now I’m trying to gather up a bunch (50+) used uniforms from coworkers, for instance, with the hope that we can get them sent to national park wardens in Africa.
Jacq – thank you for JustGive! That’s a good resource too. I’ve donated on others’ behalf before, but this is better, for the reasons you’ve listed.
