I'd been planning on posting an entry about my personal philosophy regarding charitable giving for a while, but a friend recently asked about charitable giving, so I figured I'd repost here.


First of all, when choosing where to send my money, I don't think it's a matter of one Cause being More Worthy than another. There are an endless number of Worthy Causes out there -- far more than a single regular person can contribute to. The key is to find your cause(s). After all, if everyone gave money to Cure Terrible Diseases, who would fund musical instruments for schoolchildren?


Here are some of my personal Don'ts:

I don't contribute to the Disaster of The Month. Yes, tsunamis and hurricanes destroy people's lives. They also get a helluvalot of publicity and a lot of resulting donations.

I don't contribute to organizations that mail me a bunch of hokey tchotchkes under the guise of "gratitude for your generous donation." I want my money to actually help the cause, not go towards sending other people hokey tchotchkes.

I don't contribute to organizations that try to guilt me into giving money (e.g. photos of emaciated children with flies on their faces.) I don't do guilt, and I resent feeling manipulated.

For the most part, I don't contribute towards "giving a man a fish" causes. Sure, my $5 could provide a meal for someone who needs it, but it's a pretty paltry return on my cash, IMHO.


Here are some of my personal Dos:

I try to give to organizations that use their money well. Check out Charity Navigator for ratings of various charities to see how they rank among others with the same goals.

I like financing systems change. I am a big fan of micro-loans. Some organizations I've contributed to in this category are TechnoServ, Women for Women International, and Fonkoze USA. I also occasionally send money to Oxfam, USA, since their mission statement includes the goal of changing global, national, and other "official" policies which end up hurting poorer people and nations.

Similarly, I like financing education (e.g. World Education, Pro-Literacy Worldwide.)

I fund America's 2nd Harvest (which ships "cosmetically inadequate" -- i.e. not pretty enough to be put in grocery stores -- food to people who need it) with reservations, because although it would be better for people to eat local food, the sad fact is that we've devolved into huge, dislocated food sources, and I'd rather it be shipped to people who need it than thrown away.

I fund organizations that cherish humanity (e.g. Special Olympics, New York City's Fresh Air Fund, Southern Poverty Law Center.)

And, as part of that category, my Personal Cause to which I give a fixed amount every month, is the Center for Victims of Torture. One of their programs takes rescued children soldiers from countries such as Sierra Leone -- children who had been stolen from their families at the age of 7 or 8 and forced to hack apart people with machetes -- and, with trained teams of specialists in dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and other skills, helps them heal and teaches them how to be children again.


As far as giving time vs. money, I've enjoyed doing Habitat for Humanity because sometimes it's nice to do manual labor (ie. not have to think analytically) and know you're helping someone.

And, in a certain way, it's also a way of living one's life: be kind to others, and do what you can to try to make other people's lives easier.