Monday, January 28, 2008
Thinking charitably
Any charities that Tigerhawk readers think are especially deserving? There is a bit more from my 2007 donation to be distributed.
I already give to -
- Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
- Mercy Corps
- Community Foodbank of NJ
- Family and Children's Services
- Homefront
and some very local charities. I'm always interested in not-for-profits that people feel are innovative. I've given to Operation Give in the past, but they seem to have fallen off the radar a bit. Plus, I'd be curious as to where the Tigerhawk reader dollar goes.
12 Comments:
By 
GreenmanTim, at
Mon Jan 28, 04:46:00 PM:
The Belgian de-mining research group APOPO, whose Flemish acronym translates: "product development geared toward the de-mining of antipersonnel mines", is training Gambian Pouch Rats to locate land mines in Mozambique and is a worthy charity. More here:
http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2006/11/a_nose_for_trou.html
I work for conservation non-profits, and support a range of land protection and sustainable rural development projects in the US and southern Africa. For examples of the former, the Trust for Public Land does excellent work with local communities on everything from city playgrounds to tribal lands and remote wilderness. For the latter, anything to do with community-based natural resource management in Southern Africa is worthy of attention. Namibia is a recognized leader in this regard with its communal area conservancies that empower local people to manage and benefit from conserving wildlife and promote livelihood diversification.
By Denise, at
Mon Jan 28, 05:10:00 PM:
If I had extra (I'm a stay-at-home-mom married to a grad student), I'd give to the USO. They might not be innovative, but I'm a military brat, and I remember the USO saving our tails when we got stranded in Guam trying to get back to the states.
By 
, at
Mon Jan 28, 05:19:00 PM:
When I was on active duty, I gave to the USO and to the Salvation Army.
During WW I my grandfather and great uncle were denied coffee and doghnuts at the Red Cross hut behind the lines in France. Yet the Salvation Army workers always gave away whatever they had without taking anything from the front line troops. My grandfather and great uncle had nothing good to say about the American Red Cross.
Now I give to Save The Children.
BTW the USO on Guam was closed for several years in the 90s and early 00s. It reopened last year near the beach on hotel row.
By Andrew Hofer, at
Mon Jan 28, 05:47:00 PM:
Greenman - I am often in Cornwall, CT. Where are you?
By Denise, at
Mon Jan 28, 11:01:00 PM:
I'm glad to hear the USO in Guam re-opened. I have fond memories of a friendly staff member telling me stories about being able to swim in the parking lot when it rained (I was only 8, and had never seen as much rain as there was in Guam).
By , at
Tue Jan 29, 01:54:00 AM:
We recently found kiva.org, where you can make microloans in developing countries. You don't get interest, but they pay back the principal, and you get to decide who gets your money.
By TigerHawk, at
Tue Jan 29, 07:35:00 AM:
I find it curious that nobody has mentioned Yale.
By GreenmanTim, at
Tue Jan 29, 08:51:00 AM:
MD, it happens that Cornwall, CT is precisely where I have my office. 2nd floor of the Housatonic Valley Association's building, directing the efforts of the Litchfield Hills Greenprint. Glad to see you whenever you are in the area. TH can give you specific biographical details.
By Andrew Hofer, at
Tue Jan 29, 09:16:00 AM:
Admirable restraint not to plug the HVA.
I have a connection with the Cornwall Conservation Trust (which we could discuss offline).
I go by the HVA building all the time on my way up to 43 and the Hollow.
By Andrew Hofer, at
Tue Jan 29, 09:21:00 AM:
As for universities - it's interesting how grads of certain prestigious universities get the idea that a college is a true eleemosynary gift just because it's tax deductible.
It's really an elaborate club membership disguised within the enormous tuition. Or for the very rich, an "edifice complex". Princeton is particularly good at this sort of brainwashing, but then again, the student body is quite homogenous and compliant there, having all received their hideous orange and black club garments at matriculation.
But, yes, I give to Yale. Didn't see much point in raising it here.
By GreenmanTim, at
Tue Jan 29, 12:09:00 PM:
The other major charity that I suspect numbers of Tigerhawk readers may support is their place of worship and the activities of their church. When the Chronicle of Philanthropy rates the most generous regions of the country, religious donations, tithing, etc. are highly significant factors.
The question, however, was not simply where do you choose to make charitable donations, but specifically to propose especially deserving and preferably innovative non-profits. That for me screened out my alma mater and mainstream conservation groups, though I work with and support both types of non-profit.
I think it also matters to donors at every level that their gift makes a significant difference. If I have $1,000 in my charitable budget, I might make 5 smaller gifts to five smaller charities that can put it to good use or one larger gift to a particularly deserving project. Since giving matters at whatever level to membership organizations, I tend to dilute my gifts by supporting more non-profits. If I had $100,000 to give, I would expect more leverage from it but even then, I would not want it lost in the untold millions that a behemoth charity might command and would be more restrictive about how it could be used.
Then there is the V.C. approach to charitable giving, where donors are far more hands on and invested in the success of the non-profits they support. There are legal and operational pitfalls here for both the charity and the donor, but the same business smarts and accountability that apply to a V.C. term sheet may be just what the non-profit needs to fully realize its mission. There is lots involved in bringing the charitable "investor" and the charity to a place of effective collaboration, but it can be done and sometimes is quite effective.
By , at
Tue Jan 29, 01:05:00 PM:
My wife and I give to doctors without borders, planned parenthood, and Kiva.
