Stingy

[filkertom]

A political day today. Probably with many volatile comments So let's plunge right in, shall we?

First, NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof quotes a report saying liberals are stingy donors to charities, preferring to work for government-based solutions.

It takes a couple of mouse clicks to get to the comments on the column. They are fascinating, and mostly confirm my first thought, which is that Mr. Kristof is, shall we say, missing a bigger picture.

I could get into a snarky riff on how Of Course Conservatives Give More To Charities Than Liberals They've Got All The Damn Money (even though there is a bit of truth in that, and certainly liberals are likelier to need charities). There's also the philosophical argument, that conservatives give to private charities because they support less government (and giving to private charities "shows they work", bolstering their argument). There are other institutions people give to, such as museums, college endowments, and public broadcasting, that don't necessarily show up as "charities". You can even mention the social aspect, how some people give for the sake of looking like they're giving -- not because they're not generous, but because they want the recognition of how generous they are. They get their name on the letterhead or a plaque or the program book or announced on the air or something, and therefore they are Good People. I'm not sure those don't apply equally to both sides, but they're out there.

I know that I don't have a lot of money. I also know that that's why I give.

I have never had a lot of money; I never expect to. (Especially with the medical bills, but that's another issue entirely.) Thankfully, I have never been in so dire a strait that I was in danger of missing a meal or sleeping outside except by choice. But I have been close enough that I know how it hurts, both physically and emotionally.

It's humiliating.

Back at a point when I was younger, stupid, didn't have a car, back living with my mom (who didn't have a lot herself), I stood by the side of the road and broke a young woman's heart. She was heading back to her college for graduation, and she really really wanted me there, and I gave her two hours of bullshit and made her cry and made her drive five hours one-way alone and depressed... because she wasn't driving back right away, and I didn't want to tell her I didn't have the $35 for a bus ticket back home, and I didn't want to ask her or anybody else for charity. That was around twenty years ago, and it's still one of my lowest points, one of my biggest mistakes, one of the things I'm most ashamed of. Not being short the money, but doing that to her. She was and is a great lady, and she didn't deserve that, and I was a jerk twice over. It would've taken thirty-five stupid bucks to fix everything, and I had too much pride to ask anyone for it, and I hurt her. I see her now and again; it took me years to get up the guts to apologize to her.

And that's the thing: That wasn't an emergency. That was a social situation. I had some investment, or so I thought, in maintaining my pride. When you're really up the creek, pride is the first thing to go.

It has to be, if you're going to eat.

We have an advantage, here in Michigan; we have a deposit bottle bill, and every pop bottle or can is a dime waiting to be redeemed. While loading a bag or two of Pepsi bottles into the van, I have seen homeless people going through cans and dumpsters looking for deposit bottles, and I have given them my bags rather than be embarrassed by watching them dig through the garbage.

I've stopped to give a five or a ten to the guy beside the exit ramp with the Will Work For Food sign.

I kick in a buck or two here, a buck or two there all the time. Goodness knows everybody begs for help, especially this time of year: pretty much every line at Kroger and KMart has St. Jude or The United Way or the local food bank or something at the register, Best Buy and certain car dealerships have the toy donation boxes up front, the clothes donations boxes are more front-and-center, every gas station has a coin can. I kick in. About five weeks ago, some guy in line ahead of me at Kroger was seven dollars short at the register, and he was paying in rolls of coins. It was no effort at all to help him out.

I do not say this to show how wonderfully generous I am. I say this because I hate the fact that all I can do is this pittance of a dollar here, a dollar there. I wish to Christ I could do so much more, and this is all I can do.

I'm not in physical shape at this point to help in a soup kitchen. Or shlep stuff in a recycling center. Or stand outside a Planned Parenthood clinic and help women get past protesters.

And I know that there's a decent chance of any money I give to a street person going to booze or smokes.

But, y'know? I don't even mind that. Because if they do that, they're trying, at least for a moment, to escape where and what they are now. Attempting to regain a smidge of dignity.

As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that I could have a charity concert. And I think, sometime this year, I will. Maybe a house filk or something. I don't know. Something that will help somebody.

I'm in okay shape. I have very generous friends who helped me out when I needed it this year, and I'm very grateful, and I'm getting so much more music ready for you all because that's really all I can do.

But I give when I can, even if it's only a little, because if you can give somebody something to eat and a little of their dignity back, it's a very good thing.

If you have any particular charity you'd like us to help with, please link to it here. Mine is Planned Parenthood, with an extra nod towards Kiva. I also visit The Hunger Site (which is actually six different sites, click on all of 'em) and Free Rice. If you know of other click-to-donate sites, please share them with us. Thanks.

Comments

[baphnedia.livejournal.com]

Tom,

The biggest thing is that you give for what you (and many of us likely) see to be the Right Reasons. Giving is not something you do just when your rich - it is something that you do all the time.

Sometimes, it even comes back around full circle and surprises you. I'll likely post something about my recent surprise in that newsletter I never sit down to write...

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I hope I do. I certainly try to. And, if you don't get to that newsletter, by all means take some space here.

[mimiheart.livejournal.com]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn3s2j33oEY

If you watch the video, Jones Soda gives money to a charity that gives vitamins to kids.

[zianuray.livejournal.com]

http://freekibble.com/

http://www.freekibblekat.com/

Trivia, but both donate whether the answer given is right or not.

[barbara-the-w.livejournal.com]

Then there are those of us who don't give to *certain* charities (such as, say, Salvation Army and Boy Scouts), because of their exculsionary and arrogant rules and behaviours. I firmly believe that an organization which accepts federal funds can't exclude people from their organization. That's just immoral.

I give locally to the food bank. Because that makes a difference, every day. I like the idea of the concert, Tom. My local food bank is doing something similar: http://www.access-inc.org/

[ebenbrooks.livejournal.com]

Excellent! I'm doing a Heroes Against Hunger Tour in December to benefit my local food bank, http://www.sandiegofoodbank.org/

So far, we've collected a bunch of non-perishable food and around $35 for them. I have two more shows this month, so hopefully there will be more.

If you do decide to do a benefit concert for your food bank, let me know and I'll cross-promote it on my Heroes Against Hunger site http://music.ebenbrooks.com/heroes.html

[zellion.livejournal.com]

Knowing that not all people are alike, I've still been taught to be wary in giving money to people, for the booze/drugs/scam factor. I'm far more likely to run by a the store, get a loaf of bread and a bunch of bananas (total cost? $3 maybe?) and hand that out to someone on the street who asks me for help. There was a guy who would sometimes stand on the freeway off ramp I used to take for my old job with a "will work for food" sign. I used to keep non-perishable food in my car to hand out to him, except for the time he was standing there in the rain and I gave him my umbrella.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

I always wonder -- if this person has to stand out on the street with a sign, do they even have a cookpot or a can opener?

[isolde-deely.livejournal.com]

at work, we support The Family Place, Juvinile Diabetes, and Special Olympics. This year, we had the Kentucky Harvest kitchen food bank asking for food donations, and they asked each team to donate 100 items. It didn't quite happen that way, though my team did 200- there were teams that did none. Sadly, most of that was ramen for most of the teams- I ended getting hot chocolate and other foods as well. It makes me feel good that I can help out in what small ways I can- even if I don't have a lot of money.

I can always buy dress down passes at work, and that money also goes to charity as well, but that usually isn't a priority so I don't do it.

I do it because it makes me feel better, to give to those who need money for researh, medical bills, food, support etc. I don't do it to make people go "ooh look at me" and that seems to be a more conservative attitude. I have never used this for taxes - I probably won't.

I don't care what the conservatives think- we DO make this a better place.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

And that's another thing: the tax deductability. I suppose it's possible to get receipts for donations made through the cash register, but... not so much for the cans, or the toy/clothing boxes, or handing it to someone on the street. And I'd feel icky adding that up for a tax break anyway.

I understand people do think in those terms for their donations, but I just don't get it. You give because someone needs.

[fair-witness.livejournal.com]

I did what I could with the helpvera fundraising earlier (Vera and I are both SFWA Musketeers), and because of that I learned about this charity:

http://www.modestneeds.org/

[rmeidaking.livejournal.com]

I regularly donate to The Red Cross of Washtenaw County (http://www.wc-redcross.org/), because I know the money will be going to help folks in my area. My son's school, Ann Arbor Academy (http://www.annarboracademy.org/), which is a tiny school for kids with ADHD and other learning issues, lost major funding from Pfizer, Visteon, and other corporations in the past two years. (It's hard to run a school on tuition payments alone.) I have supported Food Gatherers (http://www.foodgatherers.org/) from time to time, but last time they sold my address to a bunch of charities, which means I'm only giving them anonymous cash from now on. I give clothing and household goods to The Salvation Army of Ann Arbor (http://www.sawashtenaw.org/). I prefer charities that are secular or at least not preachy (yes, I know that the Salvation Army is an exception, but most people don't even realize that they're a church), and I make a point to give locally. I figure there's something wrong with the picture when people support starving people in Africa, but don't support starving people in their own county.

I recently discovered GoodSearch (http://www.goodsearch.com/), which allows you to rack up 1 cent per search. If you're like me, this can be a couple of dollars a week. Most charities are represented there.

[zellion.livejournal.com]

I think also, if you need food you go to the food bank, if you need somewhere to sleep you can go to a shelter for a few days.

I know there are a lot of families living on the brink of that kind of thing- *just* having enough money for rent and getting by on what they can by and neighbors can give them. What about the little things we do that make people's lives a bit more bearable?

What about the man who stopped along a busy freeway when my car caught on fire to make sure I was ok and offered to help me get somewhere or call for help? What about the young mother at Aldi with the 3 month old baby yesterday who let me watch her daughter while she ran out into the pouring rain to pull up her car so her baby wouldn't have to get soaked?

Are conservatives more likely to donate one big showy offering but ignore the random acts of kindness? That's what I'd like to see a study on.

[ebonypearl.livejournal.com]

Have you seen Modest Needs (http://www.modestneeds.org)? Or Healing Species (http://www.healingspecies.com/), or SAFENOWPROJECT (http://www.safenowproject.org/s/564/safenowStart.aspx), or Camp Laurel (http://www.camplaurel.org/), or Stand Up For Kids (http://www.standupforkids.org/scontribute.html), or Heifer International (http://www.heifer.org/), or World Gifts (http://worldgifts.cafod.org.uk/), or Buy a Goat (IHFO) (http://www.ihfonline.org/survivalprogram.php), or What Kind of World Do You Want (http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214=20)? A lot of these are small, accept small donations, and aren't as easy as The Hunger Site or Free Rice, but if you're shopping for gifts anyway, some of these are good places to both buy a gift and help someone else.

Until yesterday, I ran a personal charity of my own called Sandwich Saturdays, where I'd make and take sandwiches out to the homeless. I did that for 10 years, went from feeding about 7 or 8 people a week to, yesterday, feeding 139 people. I used to be able to give several sandwiches to a person, yesterday, I was limiting it to one sandwich per person and had to look at people and tell them, "I'm sorry, I'm out of sandwiches." My little charity isn't enough any more. I've known this since the homeless population exploded starting about 3 years ago, and I'm revamping what I do and how.

I keep cases of bottled water (and small bottles of sunscreen in the summer - Oklahoma sun is brutal) in my car to hand out to the "will work for food" people along with a brochure with places that will give them food, clothes, a place to sleep, and maybe a chance at a job.

I teach guerrilla gardening to homeless people and give them seeds - teach them how to plant food in waste spaces and how to harvest them and eat them, and they are thrilled to do this - it's a charity they can do, and they can even benefit from it in a couple of months when the plants ripen. I'm going to vamp up that charity and give away more vegetable seeds and teach more people how to guerrilla garden and wildcraft and survive.

I help train hearing ear dogs (I have one and he helps train the others) and give them away, usually only one or two a year.

I think liberals give charity in more personal ways than many people suspect. Our donations aren't tracked and accounted for, but they are nonetheless real and effective.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

That was pretty much my point. And you... you're a dynamo. Anyone out in OK want to help ebonypearl with the sandwich thing...?

[jblaque.livejournal.com]

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com

Click on the big purple button and sign up for the daily reminder e-mail. Every click provides food for shelter animals.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have The Hunger Site at the top, but I just edited that to mention that it's actually six different sites.

[bayushisan.livejournal.com]

I've always been taught that God blesses people with abundance so that they may be a blessing to others. That's how I've always looked at the world and that's how my family has lived, even though we've had an abundance of lack. We've never been wealthy and I don't think we ever will. We've helped people, not because they deserved it, but because they needed it. If I ever had the money I'd likely use it to build a free hospital for those who don't have health insurance to come to when they needed it.

My personal favorite charities, being one's that I would support, are things like Habbitat for Humanity, Child's Play and other related charities.

I feel the need to mention this one as well, and I'm sorry if it causes an argument Tom that's really not my intent. Pastor Rod Parsley, and I know many of you don't like him, has a ministry that helps to free those people being kept as slaves in the Sudan. Those are the kinds of things I can support regardless of any disagreement I may have over a person's politics.

Heck I'd support funding AIDS and cancer research, I'd support charities designed to get medical aid to the poor in other countries. Politics have to be set aside to help those who need it.

Just from my perspective as a Christian I point to the story of the good Samaritan. The Samaritan in the story stopped to help a man who needed it, despite the fact that the man he helped would have otherwise reviled him.

*sigh*

I do feel your pain on the medical bill front Tom. I've been denied Medicaid two or three times now despite having nothing and my doctor telling my not to work anymore. Things will work out in the end though and that's why charities exist, to help things work out in the end.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

No argument on the religious charities. I'm not a fan of Pastor Parsley, but he's doing some good work. I cannot fault that. I do have problems with the charities that insist on proselytizing before giving anything. The sales pitch should be the good work itself. But that's me.

[catnip13.livejournal.com]

We try, but don't always succeed, to make a donation at every pagan sun holiday. At Yule, we donate a toy to one of the Christmas toy drives, at Imbolc, we donate a live tree to the local school district to plant (our yule tree, usually).For the spring equinox, we usually make a cash (or food) Harvest Home Animal sanctuary (most of their efforts are with rabbits). At Beltane, Planned Parenthood. At Litha, usually the food bank (because food banks actually are more in need in the summer months, when kids are out of school and not getting free school lunches). For Lughnasadh, we donate to the local non-profit community argiculture organization, at Mabon, Best Friends Animal rescue, and at Samhain, the city historic cemetery preservation society. Important to note, though. These donations are cash or goods, and I don't get a receipt.

Other groups I like to support are Habitat for Humanity, the Nature Conservancy, Sacramento Tree Foundation, Community Alliance with Family Farmers, The California Native Plant Society, Cornucopia Food Bank, and Wildlife Rescue. Those are largely nickel and dime donations, but I still make them.

[hms42]

World Hunger Year - Founded by Harry Chapin in 1975.

http://www.worldhungeryear.org/

I just purchased the Serve #3 CD when I was near the Hard Rock in NYC last month.

[netpositive.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing your big heart, Tom. :)

A relatively unknown resource that I'm trying to point out more to others this year -- and it's kinda federally-supported, even! :P -- is: the U.S. government does a "Combined Federal Campaign", aka "Catalog for Caring", where they evaluate and list charities eligible for donation elections by federal workers via payroll deduction. Among the useful variables it tells you about, however, is how much of a donation would go to "fundraising/administrative" vs. doing the actual charity work -- and they tend to screen out or avoid including charities that spend less than 75% on the latter.

Now, the Campaign itself is obviously only open to Federal workers (of which I was one for 8 years, which is how I know about it). However, the information they gather is readily available to everybody via the miracle of the Internets! Most local areas have a CFC, and you can find the ones in your state (or wherever) via http://www.opm.gov/cfc/Search/Locator.asp

I know there are other comparison and/or collective donation sites out there such as http://www.charitynavigator.org/ or http://www.networkforgood.org/. Nonetheless, I still find the CFC is a nice resource to have available. :)

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. I've always tried to donate a little bit here, a little bit, at the cash register, with food drives, any way I could think of. In the past I have spent time sorting through and giving out food at a food bank.
Now that I've been sick so much this year (almost 5 months that I couldn't work, mostly in bits and pieces here and there), I am one of those people who may not be able to make it work anymore. I have a house and a car with payments, the usual other stuff like utilities, and 2 credit cards that got maxed out while I was trying to get back on my feet. I simply cannot make the payments on all of it, even though I am back to work full time (oh, and the comany has announced a 2nd round of layoffs for early next year, and I have no idea who they are going after there), and I have been feeling like I am banging my head against the wall. I also have 2 cats and I wonder what will happen when I cannot afford to buy them food.
My heart feels like it's been breaking, not only because I have nothing to give, but because I may lose what little I have.
I am looking for a 2nd job, which occasionally feels like I am trying to take someone else's first job away from them, but I can't even find one so far. I could make it with a 2nd job, I could.
My apologies that I've not contributed much other than what feels kinda like a rant.
I hope that we all get through this.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

I make automatic monthly donations to the APSCA and I'm fostering a kitten who's mother was abused. When you foster a pet, you give an animal who would otherwise be in a tiny cage (maybe with a euthanasia date) in a shelter. You give it a home and love. The fostering agency buys the food and toys (though I buy the food and toys most of the time. I can afford it and my other cats enjoy it too.) and you bring the foster to an adoption show so a family has a chance to take her home. If it doesn't workout, they can bring her back - no questions asked - instead of taking her to the pound. I've had little Pepi for 4 months now and in this economy that's sadly not unusual. I know that if she was in a shelter, she would be dead by now. Either she had to have been put down or she would have lost the will to live being trapped in a tiny cage. There's no way to put a monetary amount on this. You can't put a price tag on love, joy, or devotion.

My supermarket has bags of prefilled groceries for $5 and $10 and bins out front for the food bank. I buy them when I have the chance. I just wish they had them all year around instead of just the holidays.

[valkyrwench.livejournal.com]

I don't necessarily donate to a particular charity - I do my clicks most days (gotten lazy about that lately, must get back into the habit), and try to keep my friends going throughout the year where I can. I will almost always throw a buck or three at people who are doing animal rescue, or shelters who are in need. Other than that, not so much with the charity.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

The charities I support, both financially and with advocacy, are World Hunger Year (the organization founded by the late great Harry Chapin, which supports both immediate solutions and teaching about how to break the cycle of poverty), New York Cares (a general-purpose volunteer organization; there is a similar and similarly named organization in many large cities), and City Harvest (which redistributes extra food from restaurants and supermarkets to people and groups who need it). I've volunteered for all of them (though not recently due to scheduling, dammit) and will gladly get out and do what needs doing. If I had a bit more money to give, the next organization on the list would be Doctors Without Borders, who do awesome work.

ISTM that a big key to Kristof's argument is this: "According to Google’s figures, if donations to all religious organizations are excluded, liberals give slightly more to charity than conservatives do." Conservatives, I strongly suspect, are regularly exhorted to tithe, to give to church causes, whereas liberal religious organizations don't do that as much, or as effectively. Not saying that's a bad thing -- while there are certainly faith-based scams, there are plenty of such organizations on both side of the fence that do loads of good. But clearly, liberal giving tends more toward secular organizations than otherwise.

[lemmozine.livejournal.com]

I've contributed to 4 charitable institutions this year. The 2 main ones are local. Swallow Hill is a non-profit center for folk music, being 5 things altogether (concert halls, gathering place for song circles & open mikes & such, recording studio, music school and community outreach) - this week, some radiator pipes broke, there was a water leak, and the recording studio was completely demolished - the water leaked from above and the ceiling caved in. I've spent much time in the last 8 years doing volunteer work there, & donating money and so forth. If anyone would like to read about what they do and what goes on there (for example, the concert schedule for 2/19/09), the website is at http://www.swallowhill.com/ - yes, it's local, but if you have anything like it near where you live, please, support it, buy a membership, become a volunteer - and if you don't have anything like it, find some people and get it started.

GASP of Colorado is the local anti-smoking activist group. Anyone who enjoyed Colorado's smoke free restaurants during Denvention 3 has GASP to thank for it. You probably have a local anti-smoking activist group. Find them and support them.

I recently became a member of Greenpeace. There's a donate button at the top of their website: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/

Lastly, I'm a member of American Atheists. They do some excellent work. http://www.atheists.org/

[lemmozine.livejournal.com]

And, oh yeah, I forgot my favorite charity of all, Interfilk. Go to a filk con, donate generously and bid high - please.

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

I try to avoid discussing politics in relation to charitable giving. To me charity isn't a left or right thing, it's just a Right Thing.

It's a shame we don't have a deposit program like yours Tom. We tried to pass one, but an idiot in our legislature put provisions in the bill that would have made it so obnoxious that there was no way it would pass.

Thank you for linking several good charities. Two of the places I give to now have managed to really hork me off recently, and if they can't give me a good explanation for certain actions I need to find some new places to re-allocate my giving.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

The other nice thing about the bottle bill is that it makes an incredible amount of sense for the environment. Instead of adding to landfills, the plastic and aluminum are recycled. And our streets and highways are way the hell cleaner than they were when I was a kid.

[ravenclaw-eric.livejournal.com]

One of the reasons that I'm a bit leery of a lot of charities is that I've read 'way too much, over the years, about "charities" where most of the money they get goes to "administrative expenses," with only a small fraction actually being used for their ostensible purpose. (The Southern Poverty Law Center leaps to mind here..)

If I know of someone who needs help, I'm a lot likelier to help him directly, and cut out the middlemen.

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

Try browsing around here:

http://www.charitywatch.org/toprated.html

To make the "top rated" list on that site a charity has to spend at least 75% of their budget on program work, which does not include administrative expenses such as salaries or fund raising activities.

[deor.livejournal.com]

Another play-to-donate site: Free Poverty (http://www.freepoverty.com/). Like Free Rice in concept but for water. Charity Click Donation (http://www.charityclickdonation.com/) lists several charities of the click-donation type, for easy keeping track of. Nothing But Nets (http://www.nothingbutnets.net/) focuses on supplying mosquito netting, for malaria prevention. I also like to remind people that they can 'contribute' computing cycles to Distributed Computing (http://distributedcomputing.info/projects.html) projects, such as Folding@Home.

[brmj.livejournal.com]

Well, free poverty is probably better then poverty you have to pay for.

In all seriousness, though, they could really have chosen a better name.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

This is a relatively new program, but I think it deserves a mention: Everyone Deserves a Roof, which builds durable portable shelters to give to the homeless.

[brmj.livejournal.com]

I would like to direct you to www.goodsearch.com. It is a search engine that donates money (presumably ad revenue) to a charity of your choice with every search you make. Results are from Yahoo, so they usually aren't as good as Google in my opinion. However, they are often good enough that using it is justified.