I complain an awful lot, but I do have much to be grateful for in my life. And though I’ve been cranky for a good part of the year, there has been one thing that has worked to pull me out of my funk and make me count my blessings. That is charity work and giving. But choosing a charity to give my hard earned dollars and efforts has at times made me just downright Grinchy.
My husband belongs to a motorcycle club that supported, for many years, a fundraising event called Ride Across Maryland, which raised money for various charity organizations dedicated to research, awareness, treatment, education, etc. for the cause of breast cancer. The club in its final year of taking part of the event raised almost $40,000.
In our final year of participation, Ride Across Maryland became a grant based foundation, but did not disclose immediately who would be receiving the grant monies that year. In fact, we were often confused about what was becoming of their mission and who or what was actually receiving the money. At the same time, Susan G. Komen was exposed for cutting grant money to Planned Parenthood and lack of transparency of how much of the money was actually being spent on the “cure” rather than admin costs. After many phone calls and shoulder tapping at RAM, it was finally disclosed to us that Komen would be receiving some of the money from that year’s funds, because it had already been “promised”.
Angered by all of this business, the motorcycle club formed its own 501 c3 and thus far gives toward non political, non religious, community based projects. Most recently we bought five Smart Boards for a local school that provides programs to students whose needs require a specialized school setting. Last year we sent care packages to a whole deployed Infantry unit in Afghanistan and adopted a family in need in the community, found through the county social services department. Not only has it been rewarding, but we’ve had fun organizing events to raise the money. Putting more than 90% of the funds raised toward good, rather than administrative costs has been especially fulfilling. Of course many of us are willing to give free, unbilled time to the efforts, which saves a ton.
But since this isn’t a tutorial on how to set up a 501 c3, I have dug up a few web sites and ideas, should you be looking for ways to give and want to avoid a little frustration. And by all means, leave your ideas and tips here as well. Charitable giving can be complicated; I know I can use all the help I can get!
Charity Review & Recommendation Sites
Two sites that have researched and done in-depth reviews and analysis of many charity organizations are GiveWell and Charity Navigator. Both have great features on their sites, methodology is different for both.
Charity Navigator rates by, “Financial Health and their Accountability & Transparency. Our ratings show givers how efficiently we believe a charity will use their support today, how well it has sustained its programs and services over time and their level of commitment to being accountable and transparent.” They do also say, “In the not-too-distant future, we plan to also rate charities’ reporting of their results.”
I have taken note that they do give Komen a positive rating.
GiveWell’s number one criterion for rating a charity is, “Strong evidence of positive impact on people’s lives,” along with looking at what cost effective activities they use, how productively do they use their funding and of course transparency and accountability to donors. Most of their ratings involve International charities.
Tip & Ideas for Easy Yet Personal Giving
Adopt a teacher/classroom. We all know a teacher who shells out tons of cash every year from their own pockets for supplies. I found this site, Adopt A Classroom , which had 4 stars on Charity Navigator. Or simply ask a teacher you know.
For anyone looking to adopt a deployed soldier, here are a couple of tips. They get a ton of lip balm, baby wipes and sunscreen. You know what they really like? Nicotine! Soldiers can now receive it through international mail. And don’t judge them because they smoke or chew tobacco, they are in a war zone and it’s nerve wracking and/or boring. American tobacco is hard to come by in Afghanistan and Iraq. New movies and CDs are always appreciated. Box sets of American TV shows make them super happy. We sent them a bunch of hacky-sacks and board games as well. There’s a lot of downtime and anything to beat the boredom is great. Make sure you send a personal note and keep it light. If you are sending anything to Afghanistan or Iraq, do not send pork products (make sure the beef jerky is really all beef), booze or porn. Here is the US Postal Office’s holiday schedule for Military mail.
Want to give time instead of money? I know a mechanically inclined group who asked a local garage to donate a day of the garage so that they could do oil changes for community members in need. Kids in women’s shelters might love story time. I used to go to my grandmother’s nursing home and do the ladies nails. I’m no professional, but the ladies loved it.
Unique Organizations
And finally, if you are looking for some unique and interesting organizations to donate to, here are some ideas below. This is not an endorsement, but through light research, they seem to check out.
The Pajama Program – Provides new pajamas and books to children in the US and around the world who are in group homes or shelters. The children could be waiting for adoption, escaping natural disaster or homeless.
Feeding America – According to the Census Bureau the nation’s poverty rate for 2011 was 15%. Millions in our country are struggling to put food on their tables. This organization works to fight hunger through local and national food assistance programs. Along with working with food banks, they offer a safe place for a child to have a warm, nutritious meal, emergency assistance for disaster victims and work to provide assistance to adults trying to break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
Alley Cat Allies – And because no good CrassTalk post is complete without talk of our kitties, here is an organization dedicated to the protection and humane treatment of cats. Namely humane methods of feral cat care.
Happy giving and as we say here in ole Bawltimore, “Sheason’s Greetins To Yews and Yorez.”
