I just did something that I've done more times in the last year than in the rest of my life combined. I responded to an email asking me for money by giving some.
This time it was an email from Ira Glass of This American Life.
Last week, it was from MotherJones. I also recently gave a donation to an organization I'm on the board of, the Sistersong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective. Other times it's been Bitch Magazine, or my college alumni association. Each time it's less than 30 dollars. Often it's only 5.
I am by no means a rich person. I'm paying my bills, I have some savings from my first few years working full-time with minimal expenses. My freelance income is modest.
So what's been motivating my recent donations? Well, the economy for one. I realize that times are tough for a lot of groups and organizations, and since I didn't really lose anything in the stock market (never had anything there to begin with), I'm doing okay. At least, not worse than I was before. I've decided I can spare what it costs to buy a cup of coffee, or a nice meal.
Another thing that's changed my perspective is being on the other end of those asks. After working for non-profits for the last three years, I've done my fair share of donation emails. I've also gotten involved in boards--I'm now on the Board of Directors of two organizations, including the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, which has a huge focus on fundraising. I'm doing the difficult work of learning to ask for money as well.
When I used to think of philanthropy, I'd think of really really rich people giving huge sums of money. The culture of giving has changed, thanks to online donation programs and groups like MoveOn.org or the Obama campaign, who encouraged people to give even small amounts understanding that if many people did, it would make a big impact.
Where do you donate?
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Where do you donate?.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/14446
I get really excited about the microlending movement. My favorite NPO is FINCA International: http://www.villagebanking.org
That is truly cool.
Thanks for this post Miriam! I feel being a donor is a civic responsibility and is an important way of participating in community. I also think it's important for folks to understand the connections between money and change. BTW, Astraea does awesome work around the world. Donating to them is one way to be a part of a global community.
As a full time student (who is saving up for a wedding right after graduation next year) I haven't been able to give a lot of money lately.
Unless blood counts!
Other than that I give my time. I knew I wanted to help... just to help... so I joined my university's Rotaract club. Over the last two years I have helped
- raise money for water sanitation in Panama, scholarships for teenagers in Juarez, Mexico, eyeglass exams and glasses for children in Nepal
- sold items to profit a women's sewing cooperative from Juarez, Mexico
- walked adoptable dogs to help them learn human interaction behavior so that they are better suited to make people fall in love with them
- helped organize a benefit for a local food bank
- and A LOT MORE.
If there is anyone out there that doesn't have money to give, find some time!
Giving to NPR was one of the first best times I felt like I was really an adult. I've been giving more to them since the economic meltdown though I've had less time to listen to them. I've also been curious about microlending,
I'm a sucker for anything having to do with juvenile diabetes or cancer because of personal connections, but then...I'm a sucker for just about anything, since I have spent so much time fund raising myself.
A friend of mine works at a movie theater where adult tickets cost $9. Ticket sellers are required to ask customers if they want to donate $1 to The American Cancer Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or the Boys & Girls Club. She was complaining last night about how angry she gets when people tell her "No, I don't have the money," and then pay with a $10, and she has to give that dollar back.
That doesn't mean they can spare the extra dollar! Or that they don't want to use that dollar for refreshments...they are allowed to buy popcorn with that leftover money. I'm on SSDI, and every once in a while I treat myself to a movie. I really have to carefully budget to do that, and I genuinely need whatever leftover money I have. No one is obligated to give money in that situation.
In fact, I don't think I've ever added a dollar to donate to a cause, such as in a supermarket with that policy. When I had more money, or had a month with lower medical expenses I have donated to specific organizations or campaigns I was interested in and had done prior research about. And I've responded to email fundraising letters from groups I already knew about.
But something about the 'add-a-dollar' makes me feel manipulated. There's no time to think about it, and it feels like 'oh, if you don't give a dollar, then YOU REALLY DON'T CARE ABOUT SICK KIDS or some such. It always occurs after you've already spent money somewhere, which I think makes it less likely to succeed - if I've already shelled out for groceries or movie tickets, it follows logically that I now have less money than I did when I first walked into the supermarket or cinema.
And I say this as someone who has worked in nonprofits and written appeals letters.
Sorry.
I should have mentioned that she was talking about "regulars" at her theater. She has a number of customers that she knows by face and name who come to the theater once or twice every single week. I think most people can recognize that there's obviously all sorts of reasons people wouldn't donate, but she said it's upsetting because she knows these people have the money to come to her theater every single week. Maybe they are great philanthropists and donate tons of movie through other avenues. But, I can still see how this would be aggravating.
I agree except that I bet those campaigns do succeed because of what you said, that feeling that you noted, that if you can't even give one dollar you must really not care. And what's one dollar? Maybe someone here knows how successful those campaigns are?
These "donate $1" campaigns seem to often be for disease research. I'm glad there are people donate to these causes but I prefer to give my money so that I know it'll make an immediate difference in someone's life.
I admit that I probably have the extra $1, and sometimes feel like a jerk for saying no to things like that at the grocery store/chain restaurant/whatever, but it's not where I choose to donate. I am not convinced that giving $1 to childhood cancer at the grocery store is making a difference. I can't see how my $ is used, I don't know anything about the politics of the place that I am supporting, and I am generally suspicious of philanthropy that is related to corporations/chains. I always think about things like the Yoplait "Lids for the Cure" campaign -- and how breast cancer research would actually get more $ if you donated the cost of the stamp, instead of buying more Yoplait, saving the lids, and sending them in. (Not to mention the fact that I don't agree with the research that is being done... etc.)
Do I care about kids with cancer or diabetes? Absolutely. But, I can't support everything, and I choose to say no to those campaigns. So, perhaps the people who are declining the opportunity to give an extra $1 to those campaigns aren't heartless and greedy - they just donate elsewhere, or don't have enough information about where their $ goes.
I tend to make a couple larger donations each year (large as in, $50. I'm fresh out of college too..) Last year I donated all of it to the Obama campaign, but otherwise I tend to give to the local PBS station. I was thinking about donating this year to the local Planned Parenthood, I recently found out it's the only abortion provider within about 90 miles. I would rather donate some sweat equity, but I'm finding that I dont have a lot of free time lately.
Our little family likes to "tithe" a certain percentage of our income to community groups and organizations that do work we believe in. Some that have received our money in the past:
-Our alma maters (I'm a graduate of a women's college, and supporting their scholarship fund, which enabled me to attend, is very important to me)
-CFED (financial literacy and education)
-our state affiliate of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
-Women's Ordination Conference
-local food pantry
-a transitional home for immigrant and refugee women where I used to work
-local anti-violence groups
I just remembered - anyone ever been to an Alternative Gift Fair? They usually host them around the holidays. My college town has a pretty big one. I know DC does one as well at a church in Tenleytown.
Basically, it is a room full of charities sitting at tables and you can walk around, talk to the reps, look at their materials and if you want to, donate in someone's name (or your own). Then they usually give you a notecard saving "_____ bought a goat in Guyana!" or "______ is helping keep women healthy in Tompkins County with Planned Parenthood" or whatever. Then, in people's holiday cards, you slip the little note cards. When my friend and I go, we literally spend hours agonizing (in a good way) over how to split up our limited budget over all the great organizations.
Here's the website of the one I went to in college: http://www.ithacaaltgiftfair.org/
I recently graduated college and am underpaid and underemployed at a nonprofit. But I still have more money than I ever had before. I also have cultivated an understanding of the impact of even small donations as a result of my organizing work. So this is the first year I have started to give in any significant and deliberate way, though the amounts are small.
So far I have given to Choice USA, the Civil Liberties and Public Policy program, and the National Network of Abortion Fund's George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund. At the end of the year I will assess my finances and give as much as I can to the Boston Arts Academy, a public high school for the visual and performing arts that I attended.
I think it's interesting to note that all are organizations I have some personal connection to.
I am by no means rich - but I do make it a point to donate to Planned Parenthood through the Combined Federal Campaign each year. It's pretty easy, too, because the money is taken out of my military paycheck to go directly to PP, so it's like I never saw the money, so it's not my money.
Recently, I donated to the George Tiller Memorial Fund for the National Abortion Funds Network.
People say that money doesn't really matter, but part of activism is about giving money, because social justice organizations can't just run on sheer values and convictions alone.
We may not all have time to volunteer, but donating is something that we can all do. Even $1, if we all did it, can help an organization out.
I don't have a lot of money either, and I'm still paying student loans, but contributing as much as I can is important to me. Last year, I think I only donated about 1 percent of my income. I decided that I wanted to do better this year, especially after hearing Peter Singer talk about the moral obligation we all have to reduce hunger and poverty. I agree that donating is a civic responsibility, part of living in community with other human beings. And the thing is, I can pretty much always spare $20, and I feel lucky to be able to do so, so I would rather just give it away.
There's a foodshelf org in MN called Second Harvest Heartland, where a $1 donation purchases about $9 worth of food for distribution; I support them monthly. We have awesome public radio and TV in MN, and I support them as well. My favorite reproductive justice organization is local, too; it's called Pro-Choice Resources, and I do a fundraiser for them once a year--which, as others have said, opens your eyes to what it means to ask for money, and makes you more willing to hand it over. I've made a lot of small one-time donations to the HRC, moveon.org, Planned Parenthood, etc--responding to online requests more than ever, like Miriam. I support my alma mater. I also have an awesome church gig where a big chunk of the weekly offering goes out the door to a partner organization, so if I have a couple bucks in my pocket, I can give money to the Center for Victims of Torture (also local), or an organization in India dedicated to educating girls, or whatever.
Finally, I'm a sucker for pretty much any hippie with a clipboard who comes to the door.
"Last year, I think I only donated about 1 percent of my income. I decided that I wanted to do better this year, especially after hearing Peter Singer talk about the moral obligation we all have to reduce hunger and poverty."
Yes! I've always cared about international issues but Peter Singer's book The Life You Can Save convinced me to donate 1% of my income at first to international organizations once I have an income. If you're doing that you can pledge that you are at thelifeyoucansave.com. I think I'd start with Oxfam and Spread the Net (spreadthenet.org). After that I'll see what community organizations get my attention.
I have a $10 monthly donation going to Heather Corinna's Scarleteen, which is one of the most important sex-ed resources on the web, and I give $20 a month to a queer art gallery here in San Francisco, Femina Potens. Other stuff is a little bit random.
Mariam - I want you to know that you fucking rock for donating, by the way.
Everyone else, too. Each time I see someone make a donation for a progressive/social justice cause, it makes me tear up a little - especially when it's college students and freshly-out-of-school graduates who are having trouble making ends meet.
It's interesting that you note that despite not having a lot of money, you still manage to donate. Here's an article that shows that America's "poor" are the most generous segment: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/68456.html
I donate to an NPR station in a city I don't live in. I used to live in Jacksonville, Florida and really enjoyed their programming, but I didn't realize how much until I moved to another city in The Deep South. I still listen to Jacksonville's NPR station streaming online so I felt obligated to contribute. I also donate to This American Life.
Like many others here, I donate to Planned Parenthood. My first PP donation came about because I was really frustrated by some pro-life things I was hearing from people I know here, but being in the minority in a heavily Catholic (over 90% of my city) area, I felt like I couldn't do anything about it. Then I realized if I couldn't counter-protest, my credit card could.
I, too, donate to Planned Parenthood. Every month when I pick up my birth control refills, I typically tack on $5 to the total.
It comes out to about $60 a year, which I think is pretty nice. If I gave the sum all at once it would scare me, but doing it over the course of the year makes it easier to part with.
As a professional fundraiser for non-profits, I'm so happy to see this post! A couple rules of thumb for my personal giving include
- Giving more to local organizations with budgets 1.5 million and under. Large national and international orgs also do great work, but are more likely to receive large grants/ govt. funding, and I can say firsthand that if your budget is under 1.5 mill, every $25 and $50 check that comes in is deeply appreciated and attended to!
- Always give to general funds, and steer clear of sites like Charity Navigator to make my decisions. NPO's literally could not operate at all if everyone only wanted to give to program- we have to pay rent, we have to pay ED salaries, we have to pay for fundraising and supplies... These all make the work happen as well, but if we're struggling on how to pay the rent because everyone only wants to give to program, we're wasting resources that could have gone to make our work and our reach more effective. Also, Charity Navigator's ratings don't take into account the full picture- for example, multi-year grants are counted the year they are received in their financial assesment, even if the funds are meant to supplement work over a 3 year period. This can cause one year's rating to be high with a large grant, and the subsequent years to be very low.
- If you're worried about how much you can give, look into monthly gift programs- you get less mail, and you're able to make a larger gift. It's much easier to budget out $10 a month than $120 all at once, at least for me. And your impact can be greater!
- If you really care about something, tell your friends about it and recruit them. Also, if you're still worried about having enough resources to make an impact, consider forming a giving circle with friends. If you each have $50 or $100 to give away once or twice a year, and there's 5 or six of you, you can make a sizable gift together. I've seen these be really successful with people who want to pool their resources- groups usually talk about several orgs and then decide together who to direct funds to.
Philanthropy is a feminist issue, damn straight!
As someone who works in (and has always worked in) local non-profits, I'd like to "like" this x5!
I can pretty much say the same things: in the past year I've donated more than I have in my whole life, and it's always under $40 for me. I've donated to:
-Planned Parenthood
-Med Students For Choice
-Ms. Magazine
-National Network of Abortion Funds (Dr. Tiller Memorial Fund)
-Breast Cancer Network of Strength's Walk to Empower
-St. Jude's Children's Hospital for a co-worker's son's trike-a-thon (probably under no other circumstances would I donate to a catholic church)
-Oxfam America
-Best Friends (animal shelter)
Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to donate financially (it's not a matter of giving up nice dinners; there are no nice dinners to give up). I really appreciate organizations that do make it easy to give something else, like time or expertise. I applied to serve on the YWLC and am really hoping that I get to do that, but if not I'll be looking at other boards as well as volunteer opportunities. What's sad is that a lot of places these days have too many volunteers and not enough paid staff to train them, so it's hard to find organizations asking you to do anything beyond writing your congressperson. I'd be happy to provide, for example, foreign language translation skills, or legal research (well, carefully, since I haven't taken the bar and can't practice law). I'm hoping that once the recession calms down a bit I'll be able to do more.
If I do finally get a full-time job so that I can donate, I'll probably be looking for queer-centered or queer friendly organizations and feminist groups. It's hard to decide where the money should go, but I think I would look for one local and one international organization.
this year, i donated time/money to my local representative (the fabulous harry mitchell!) and the obama campaign. i also do anti-death penalty work… usually i end up doing design work for them for free, which i would typically charge for. i used to do volunteer work with hospitalized children, which i loved, but i don't have time for that right now.
moneywise, i do grameen bank (microlending), the salvation army, and the ACLU.
next week, medical students for choice is getting a few bucks from me.
I've been in grad school for the past 2 years, so amounts have been very small, but here's the (probably incomplete!) list:
- my local NPR affiliate
- Traction (a local org in Durham working to build progressive community)
- Southerners on New Ground (a group doing antiracist work in the LGBTQ community in the South)
- Center for New Words (a Boston-based feminist org, and the parent org of WAM!)
- my local Planned Parenthood affiliate
- the Obama campaign
- a local progressive theatre group
- This American Life
- RadioLab/WNYC
- a few different "Race for the Cure"/"Leukemia/Lymphoma Society"/"Avon Walk for Breast Cancer" thingies that friends have asked me to pledge to
Occasionally, I donate to disaster relief efforts. I also do a fair amount of donating my time, energy, and sweat to organizations when I can -- especially when I'm low on funds. I canvassed with the Obama campaign, have volunteered with my local theatre group, etc.
Also, Bitch magazine. :)
-Breast Cancer Fund (environmental health BC org)
-Bitch Magazine
-Planned Parenthood
-La Casa De Las Madres (DV shleter in San Francisco)
-About Face
-Killing My Lobster (local non-profit comedy troupe)
-Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
I'm on SSDI, so I don't have much to give financially. I do give when I can - in the past year or so I've donated to:
-Human Rights Campaign (queer rights)
-Obama's campaign
-Democratic National Committee
And I always send some money to NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) because mental illness affects me directly, and if I had to choose just one cause, affordable treatment (inpatient, outpatient, prescription, support groups) for us would be it.
I think whatever the amount you are donating, you want to make sure your hard-earned money is not going down the drain. Do your research, and make every penny count for someone who truly needs it. Check out Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org/) to help you make a worthy choice.
I recurrently donate to The Advocates for Human Rights (http://www.mnadvocates.org/). And for gifts, I like to shop at madebysurvivors.com . But personally, I'm more into donating my time than my money; right now I volunteer as a Court Appointed Special Advocate.
Hi cndjil- re: Charity Navigator, check out my post above, and also here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122963299671419401.html for more about how it's a tricky navigation of an org's effectiveness.
Massive kudos for being a Court Appointed Special Advocate, also! That is truly awesome work.
I managed to find a job which significantly increased my salary this year, and made a commitment to donate every month to a local food bank. I was only a few months away from having to go there myself, so it only made sense to help them out. Of course there are a plethora of other places I'd love to donate to, but I'm trying to focus my giving as much as possible. Next year I'll probably broaden my horizons a bit, but for now I'm going to help people eat.
And since I can't give blood, but have a little extra money for once, it all works out!
Hi everyone!
As an intern at the National Network of Abortion Funds, we wanted to tell you all that we have raised over $50,000, which will be going directly to women. Any amount that you have donated is going to change someone's life and we want to thank you for that. We're excited to have you as part of our community!
Be well.
Stefana
Hi everyone!
As an intern at the National Network of Abortion Funds, we wanted to tell you that we have raised over $50,000 for the Tiller Memorial Fund, which will be going directly to women. Any amount that you have donated is going to change someone's life and we want to thank you for that. We are excited to have you as part of our community!
Be well.
Stefana
Doctors Without Borders
Planned Parenthood
I wish this list was longer, but I'm an unemployed grad student, so I do what I can =/
I donate small amounts to Bitch and NPR and the ACLU and other groups. Recently though most of my money goes to a nonprofit devoted to helping students in the tribal areas of Pakistan afford higher education.
Oh man, kind of off-topic, but have any of you watched that mess over at the blog Shakespeaere's Sister? The main blogger doesn't use ads, and so she's getting donations from her readers. No big deal, right? It wasn't at first, but the tone of the fund-raising posts is getting ridiculously guilt-trippy, not to mention some storming-off/silence/forgiveness cycles by the main blogger.
Would you all donate to a blog? Under what conditions? Would it have to be registered as a nonprofit and have a collective of writers, or are you comfortable "paying the wages" of a single writer?
I've given to this blog.
The main thing I would care about is that the blogger(s) seem committed to using at least some of the money to improve the blog in a worthy manner. I don't like money that just goes into a black hole. Generally, the more information that is provided the better I feel.
I also do take into account how badly the blogger seems to want the money, though I realize this can be tricky. There must be an explicit ask, although repeated explicit asks like the one you described above might be offputting, depending on what was going on.
I've donated to:
Center for Media and Democracy - www.prwatch.org
Democracy Now! - www.democracynow.org
Palast Investigative Fund - www.palastinvestigativefund.org
Informed Comment - www.juancole.com
So much mouth, so little money. :-(
I make regular monthly donations by automatic withdrawals from my bank so that I never actually see or plan for the money in my budget. The places I donate to regularly are:
Veterans for Peace (I'm a disabled vet and a member)
Stephen Lewis Foundation -- AIDS in Africa
Lambert House -- queer youth in Seattle
I do occasional loans through Kiva and have also made single donations from time to time to other groups that come to my attention, like Pretty Bird Woman House.
Then there's the hidden stuff that doesn't often come up in conversations like this. Over the years I've taken in friends who have been without a place to go, even if all I can do is give them a meal and let them crash on the couch for a few days. I've probably had a dozen people stay with me over the years for a couple of weeks or for a year or more. But I see it as giving back to a community that has supported me when I had nowhere to go and my only other options were homeless shelters or sleeping under a bridge somewhere.
Donation and giving isn't all about the dollar signs. It's about what you do with your life.
This American Life
Bitch Magazine
Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood
The only organization I've sent a check to is Planned Parenthood during their Pledge a Protestor campaign in the fall. I think it was around 50 bucks. I can't really afford to donate, so I compromise by purchasing fair trade goods that I need that also help small businesses in developing nations. I really like the Greater Good Network.
I also sign a bunch of petitions every week for causes that I believe in. I like Care 2. They make it really easy to contact legislators, world leaders, and organizations. It's not money, but it's a way to make a difference quickly.
The Alpha Phi Foundation
http://alphaphi.org/foundation/index.html
As an alumna and now a recruitment adviser of this fraternity, I am honored to donate both my time and money to this great organization. The money raised by our chapters around the world are used for women's cardiac care research, scholarships, and sisters in need.
Just an FYI for those of us who are guilted into United Way Campaign Season. You can specify where your United Way donation goes. It can go to the local Planned Parenthood or anywhere else that is a 501c3 even if they're not a United Way agency. Every year NPR and PP get my dollars and it's pulled out of my paycheck through United Way.
I give $10 a month to the ACLU, the EFF, and Chicago Public Radio (so $30/month total). The ACLU and NPR are (I hope) self-explanatory, and the EFF's goal is "to confront cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights today." I also donated (both time and money) to the Obama campaign this past year.
I, like many of the other commenters, am in a small non-profit and don't have a ton of cash, but I feel like I can set aside what's realistically just the cost of a movie, popcorn, and cab ride every month to support organizations doing work I find important.
I'm always looking at adding other organizations (if/when I can afford to do so) so will definitely be bookmarking this thread to check back later! I'm specifically thinking about Planned Parenthood or the National Center for Transgender Equality, but would be open to other suggestions or recommendations.
In the last year, in varying amounts:
-Women Empowered Against Violence (DC NPO that works with survivors of domestic violence)
-Planned Parenthood
-American Cancer Society
-American Heart Association
-World Wildlife Fund
-A breast cancer walk
-Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (works with family survivors of service members who have died in active duty)
-Obama for America
and I live in DC, and here we have Street Sense, which is a newspaper that comes out every two weeks written by people struggling with homelessness, who are then the paper vendors and earn a certain percentage from each paper (cost $1). I always try to give at least $2 depending on how much cash I've got. And it's not much, but I also every Christmas deliver food for this great organization called Food and Friends here in DC.
I just started a new job and, very fortunately, am making more money than I expected I would be out of grad school, so I'm really looking forward to being able to support other organizations that I love, but haven't had the chance to in the past.
The Fistula Foundation (they do work in Africa with women who have developed holes between their anal tract / urinary tract and vagina during childbirth due to lack of medical care, genital mutiliation and the young age of many mothers. Because of the holes these women constantly drip faeces / urine and are ostracised from society. They can't work and many are extremely depressed / suicidal as it is a very humiliating problem. The Fistula foundation surgically repair the holes and help the women rebuild their lives.
The Eating Disorder Association of South Australia (I had an eating disorder).
The Cancer Society (relatives have passed away due to cancer).
It's really important to me that the charities I support are personally meaningful. I hope that people don't necessarily give to "my" charities, but to charities they give a damn about.
I found this post via my Astraea Google alert (full disclosure: I work for Astraea) and it reminded me I need to start reading Feministing!
I am a big believer in giving to general support, and I try to give as a monthly donor whenever possible. I am a monthly donor to:
* Astraea
* the Sylvia Rivera Law Project
* Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
I additionally am challenging myself to give about $20 a month semi-randomly to different groups, and I try to give to people on the subway when asked (which is about a specific practice, rooted in Jewish tzedakah values, about giving when asked regardless of what it might be used for.) My criteria for those gifts are:
* is this a group that is queer-friendly and explicitly anti-racist/multi-racial?
* is this a group that is local to NYC/works locally?
I raise money professionally for Astraea (hence the Google alert!) and I have raised money in the past for other local organizations.
I have been challenging myself to give away 10% of my income. It's been hard, especially because of some of the economic instability in my past*, and I won't get there this year.
I really support the giving framework of some of the smaller public foundations, like Astraea or Third Wave, especially because they are able to pull in gifts from all over and direct them where they are most useful. I wouldn't necessarily know about some of the programs they fund, but I am glad they do and my money can go to support them. (I'm not just saying that because I work at Astraea, either!) I think collective giving, be it through giving circles or these movement foundations, is a really powerful way to make a difference.
* plus, I think, growing up in a home with middle-class values, putting more of a priority on individual security/hoarding resources, than I think I hear from some of my friends who grew up poorer/with a more collective approach to resources. Complicated statement, to be sure.
In the last year or so:
Obama for America
Save the Children
National Youth Rights Association (NYRA)
NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts
Hi Miriam,
This is a great post. I like to give locally to organizations that have big impacts in the community - and my favorite is http://foundation4change.org/. They fund grassroots organizations fighting for human rights and economic equality. They give seed money to a lot of smaller nonprofits that are overlooked by other larger foundations. Their big issues for 2009 are immigrant rights and LGBT equality.
http://twitter.com/Create_change
Thanks so much for this post Miriam. My giving is a bit like yours, small amounts to organizations that I think are doing great work, and will appreciate my help.
And you're right, your donations do make a difference...like you, I recently joined the fundraising field, and it just happens to be with Mother Jones.
So, from all us at Mother Jones, thank you!
Thanks so much for this post, Miriam. My giving is a bit like yours - small amounts to organizations that I think are doing great work, and will appreciate my help.
And you're right, your donations do make a difference...like you, I recently joined the fundraising field, and it just happens to be with Mother Jones.
So, from all us at Mother Jones, thank you!
Hi Miriam,
I am late to this post by a couple of days but just wanted to say thank you on behalf of all of us at Mother Jones for your support. Gifts both small and large make a huge difference to our organization--we truly wouldn't be here if it weren't for folks like you. A significant chunk of our supporters contribute at the $30 level and below and let me tell you there is strength in numbers. Collectively our smaller donors help bring in just about $1M each year! Thank you so much for helping to keep non-profit, independent investigative journalism alive and kicking!
Best,
Laurin Asdal
Director of Major Gifts
Mother Jones
Oh, and to answer your question I support:
Mother Jones (duh)
Bitch (proud former Board Member)
Obama for America
The Global Fund for Women
KQED (SF NPR affiliate)
KLAX (UCB college radio)
Southern Poverty Law Center
Planned Parenthood
Chicago Foundation for Women
I usually give $30 a pop... not sure why that's the magic number!
Children of the Night, which helps children who've been exploited as prostitutes recover.
SOME, So Others Might Eat, a local food/clothing charity
I always buy Street Sense, the homeless issues newspaper; 70 cents on the dollar goes to the vendor- but that's not really a donation as much as a sale.