Charity
I’m totally overwhelmed by the amount of charitable solicitations I receive. It’s probably the majority of my "junk mail" — but in some ways it’s harder to deal with than the commercial solicitations, which I have no hesitations about sorting directly into the trash can. I toss all of the charitable solicitations into a pile, and then every few months I sort through them and try to figure out which ones I want to respond to. (I don’t give money in response to phone calls, no matter how good the cause.) And because I respond to them, even occasionally, they just keep coming.
We’re thinking about cutting down dramatically on the number of different organizations that we give to, while keeping the total dollars about the same. We talked to a financial planner last week, and among other things, she suggested that we might want to give appreciated stock instead of cash. But that only makes sense if we’re going to give essentially our entire annual pool of money to one organization, instead of dividing it among the 20 or 30 good causes that we’ve supported in the past.
I’m open to suggestions on:
- how to pick a single organization to support out of a number of worthy causes
- how to get organizations to stop sending us so much mail — often 5 or more letters from the same organization in a given year.
May 14th, 2006 at 9:33 pm
I use the payroll deduction plan at work, at 2% of salary split 5 ways, and the only charitable organizations I give to outside of that are Ashoka and a Quaker group headquartered in Guatemala which gives Guatemalan Indian students scholarships (depending on the election cycle I give to people I either support or dislike less than their opponents, too.) I realize there are lots of other worthy causes, but if I give to them it just encourages them to send me lots of mail, I don’t give away any more money in total, and the extra mailings waste resources.
So, in my experience, if you don’t send an organization any checks, eventually they give up on you.
May 14th, 2006 at 10:04 pm
Charitable solicitations make up the majority of my “junk” mail too. I also find it hard to just toss them into the trash, and wind up with a considerable pile to sort through.
I’m not sure about how you go about picking a specific cause to support. In my case, I decided to focus on one or two issues that are important to me.
This is EXTREMELY difficult to do, because there are sooo many issues that I care about, & so many worthy causes. I’d be interested in seeing what some of your other readers do, but I’ve chosen three major causes –> http://www.nrdc.org/ , which works in defense of the environment; Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome & Fibromyalgia groups, like http://www.cfids.org/, http://www.co-cure.org/ & http://www.fmnetnews.com/, which provide information to patients, doctors, & caregivers, fund research into treatments and – hopefully – a cure, & lobby in Washington for the help that patients need; and a local college radio station that I enjoy, http://www.wers.org.
I don’t have a considerable amount of money to give, and these causes are important to me: they all work hard, in different ways, to make the changes I want to see in the world. I can’t really think of any other way to choose – you just try to find groups that are doing things you wish you could do.
Or maybe you pile them all together and play “one potato, two potato, three potato, four?”
May 14th, 2006 at 10:21 pm
I don’t really know what to tell you about how to cut down–I’m on the 20-30 groups model myself. I did start keeping a spreadsheet of our charitable and political giving about 7 years ago–so I’m only giving once a year to the organizations that we support. It really helps, not just with mail, but with telefundraisers, too. It doesn’t stop the mail, just lets me throw it out more easily.
May 14th, 2006 at 11:39 pm
I find the mail easy to toss, but had started to give randomly based on newspaper articles — I’d see an article on the St. Louis symphony (that was the weirdest one) in the paper, and it would move me, and I’d give. Or, I’d read articles about some new egregious violation of privacy, and give money to someone. So, I’ve started the spreadsheet, too. I’m planning on keeping my money to 10 or so organizations, and to keep track of the bigger picture. I’m also looking to start giving money more frequently in ways that brings me to the attention of people, in the hopes that, say, a political candidate knows that I support her for her support of abortion rights, and not for her support of the war. Or, a foundation knows I give because of their participation in a lawsuit about libraries.
bj
May 15th, 2006 at 9:36 am
I had to call each organization and ask that they a) not give my information to any other, and b) that they not send me anything. Sometimes I had to repeat step B. I felt bad that an organization I gave $10 to would fritter it away vainly soliciting for more. As far as choosing, I try to maximize my charitable effect on the changes that in 40 years I’d most want to have contributed towards. What do you want to tell your grandkids you helped bring about?
May 15th, 2006 at 10:37 am
We tithe the customary 10% to our small church, but we also give to the local Crisis Pregnancy Center, to missionaries we know, and to any kid who asks for contributions to their Christian school fundraiser or mission trip. Much of our giving is need-based: after hurricane Katrina, we both sent company-matched checks to Habitat for Humanity, and we emptied our wallets yesterday at my grandparents’ church for the wife and 5 children of a missionary who just died in a motorcycle accident. Still, we do not give as much as we could, and probably should.
Of course, charity must go beyond writing checks. We send care packages to missionaries. We volunteer lots of hours at our church, give rides to an elderly widow, and babysit our friends’ children for free. Charity means small things like finding a good cause to donate your old clothing/electronics/housewares too – and bigger things like allowing friends-in-need to sleep on your couch for a few weeks or months.
My parents very much set an example for me in the generous, relentless gifts and Christian hospitality they show to everyone around them, and in the way my Dad uses his vacation time to volunteer at various free medical clinics.
My husband and I are not wealthy by U.S. standards – we are very young, have lots of school loans, and are at a huge housing disadvantage in the hyper-inflated D.C. market. But we offer up our few hundred square feet as a place for hospitality, and people are blessed.
May 15th, 2006 at 10:49 am
I especially hate getting the solicitations that come with address labels– as handy as they are for me, they’re never from causes/orgs I give regularly to, and so I feel guilty that I don’t, and then guilty that they’re spending so much money on these mailings.
We give to some local orgs– the public high school for the performing arts my husband attended, the college radio station we listen to. We also give to some national ones– planned parenthood, feminist majority, americans for the arts, muscular dystrophy (my cousin has SMA). We also give to some feminist magazines/newspapers– Bitch and off our backs, and we try and remember the Ms. program that sends copies of the magazine to shelters and prisons. Also, to a group for literacy and female prisoners that I donate time and energy to as well, and cofounded.
Those causes are all closely aligned with our interests and identities– I think that’s how most people give. But I am constantly reminded of all the groups I’m NOT giving to, and I hate that.
May 15th, 2006 at 10:49 am
I especially hate getting the solicitations that come with address labels– as handy as they are for me, they’re never from causes/orgs I give regularly to, and so I feel guilty that I don’t, and then guilty that they’re spending so much money on these mailings.
We give to some local orgs– the public high school for the performing arts my husband attended, the college radio station we listen to. We also give to some national ones– planned parenthood, feminist majority, americans for the arts, muscular dystrophy (my cousin has SMA). We also give to some feminist magazines/newspapers– Bitch and off our backs, and we try and remember the Ms. program that sends copies of the magazine to shelters and prisons. Also, to a group for literacy and female prisoners that I donate time and energy to as well, and cofounded.
Those causes are all closely aligned with our interests and identities– I think that’s how most people give. But I am constantly reminded of all the groups I’m NOT giving to, and I hate that.
May 15th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
The concept of trying to effect change and the concept of charity sometimes seem distinct to me, so I also try to balance my giving among the two (and a third, which is supporting things we want to have access to). So, my effect change “charities” include things like political contributions, ACLU, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Freedom to Read, and NOW; My charities include organizaitons like Doctors without Borders, Red Cross, and CARE; and my “provide a service” charities include things like the local children’s theater, my children’s school, and our public radio station. Of course, these things overlap — I support the Freedom to Read foundation because I love libraries, even though I can afford to buy my own books now, and I support the school so that others with less money can have access to it, too.
The concept of “tithing” appeals to me, though I am an athiest, and don’t belong to a religious organization. So, I’m trying to work towards “tithing”, at the 10% of our income level, to the organizations I support. I haven’t figured out how to give at that level yet and divide my contributions in a thoughtful way, but that’s part of the goal of the spreadsheet. Another goal of the spreadsheet is that I’ve gotten so frustrated with “renewal requests” that I ignore them; sometimes, I think not giving my annual contribution to organizations that I do want to support. So, I’m hoping by keeping track, I won’t end up missing sending my support.
bj
(yes, me again)
May 15th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
I call the ones that send me mailers and tell them to take me off their mailing list. I usually have them charge my credit card monthly so that I have an accurate record and they don’t mail as much, since they know they’ve got me.
I choose organizations that resonate for me personally and which use their money wisely (I check to see how much of their money goes to admin. costs versus doing the work I want them to do). I give more to some than to others and in the case of two or three I volunteer at either an annual event or an one-going basis. As the kids have gotten older they have become more involved. Three times a year I organize a clothing, blanket, toy drive for a local homeless shelter which caters to families (mostly mothers with young children); doing that gives me the most satisfaction.
My favorites:
Habitat for Humanity
Second Harvest
ACLU
Save the Children
My local NPR station
Planned Parenthood
my synagogue
Cystic Fibrosis Research – I am proud to say I have raised almost $5,000 for the walk on Sunday to help find a cure for Adelaide. It’s not too late to donate if anyone is interested. Just go to my blog and search “Adelaide” for details.
And then there are the random politicians I support or the occational donation to NOW or the Sierra club. There are a lot of worthy organizations but I have picked mine and the others I toss with no regret. There is only so much I can give.
May 15th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
The Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/catid/1/cpid/17.htm) provides usefull information about the finances and efficiency of ~5000 charities. Seeing how little of my contributions actually gets to the supposed target (with some charities) has altered my pattern of giving.
May 15th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Guilt over mailing labels is absolutely not necessary. This is a numbers game (I used to work in direct mail), and they’re not expecting a return of more than a few percent. The labels are already “paid” for as part of their costs of fundraising, and have no meaning to them.
I EFT to the Southern Poverty Law Center, and usually give some money annually to local women’s organizations/clinics. That plus shul dues is it. I don’t take myself off mailing lists because I’m still curious about what people are doing in the junk mail biz, also because I’m not interested in fighting hydras.
I used to go through this frenzy of “aagh, who do I give to and when, how much”, but it’s amazing how much the EFT solved that. I’d meant to review the decision every couple of years and maybe pick a new organization, but I really like SPLC and see no reason to change.
May 15th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
I give almost exclusively to local organizations, and almost always anonymously. I receive very little mail. This works for me.
May 15th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
I’d take my name off mailing lists, but my kids love when I hand out the address labels, stickers, and note pads from the junk mail solicitations. We have countless pieces of construction paper festooned with colorful address labels on display around here.
I wish my giving was a little more systematic. We give to local service organizations, local conservation groups, diabetes research, a couple of cancer research organizations, Habitat for Humanity, and Oxfam. Plus sporadically as disasters strike. I used to give regularly to Amnesty International, but stopped when their mailings started coming biweekly.
I’m thinking that my next charitable dollars will go some microcredit organization like SEWA or The Adelante Foundation.
May 15th, 2006 at 11:23 pm
Here’s a question: do people feel the need to approach the tithe threshold of 10%, whether giving to a religious organization or other non-profits? And is it 10% gross or net? Or of take-home? (I think I researched this online once and found that the average American family gives 2.5% of gross.)
May 16th, 2006 at 11:23 am
I’d love to hear where the religious concept of 10% came from. The number always seemed steep to me, but then, I realized that if you just accepted it as a part of your cost of living, from the time that you were young, that you would learn to share your bounty, even when the actual contribution became bigger. And, I went from that idea, to thinking that this is an idea that comes from religion that I can borrow and try to transmit, even though I am not religious. It becomes a self-imposed tax that you get to direct. (I’ll admit to considering the possibility that if all of us self-professed compassionate liberals were to apply the rule to ourselves, maybe we would become more relevant).
One of the private schools that we visited in our area imposes this limit on itself: that 10% of tuition will be given out in scholarships; that means, effectively, that you are spending 10% of your tuition payment to support scholarships.
10% is arbitrary, but setting a number seems like a good idea to me. (Mind you, I would never tell anyone else to do it, since I can’t know what they’d have to give up to find the 10%).
bj
May 17th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
bj:
The word “tithe” means 10%, and the concept comes from the Old Testament.
Abraham tithed to Melchizedek the king of Salem in Genesis 14:20: “Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” Jacob vowed to tithe to God in Genesis 28:22, saying, “…of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
Later, the tithe was made mandatory for the Isrealites under Moses, and it provided sustenance for the Isrealite priests. Christians still tithe based on the Old Testament/Jewish example. But the Christian principle (based on the story of the poor widow who gave her entire income — 2 tiny coins — to the Lord) is that we should cheerfully give as much as we can, even up to all that we have.
Yes, it is a financial sacrifice — but one that Christians like me make out of compassion for the poor and out of thankfulness to the Savior who sacrificed his life for us.
May 17th, 2006 at 8:38 pm
I hate the piled up solicitations too and pretty much to toss them all (after removing all the free stickers and whatnot to also give to the kids for craft projects). We tend to give to nonprofits where our friends and colleagues work, provided they also match our political and social values. My husband and I both work for nonprofits so what comes around, goes around.
I just discovered this site – they call themselves the amazon.com of charitable giving. I might give it a try. Certainly seems easy!
http://www.networkforgood.org/
May 17th, 2006 at 10:27 pm
I have tithing as a goal, and if you consider it as 10 percent of after-tax income, we come pretty close. I find it a useful concept, both because it encourages me to dig a little deeper than I might otherwise, and because it tells me that I don’t have to beat myself up for not giving everything I own away.
We definitely give in ways other than money as well as in cash. I appreciate the reminder to think about the ways in which we model giving for the boys — writing checks isn’t very tangible to them. We do follow my family’s tradition of having one day of hanukah’s gift go to charity, but the boys get so many gifts from other family members that I’m not sure it sinks in. D’s preschool has tzedakah projects every month, but I’m not sure how much he gets out of them.
May 18th, 2006 at 8:50 am
I try to give to organizations that cover a multitude of ideas that I believe in, like the ACLU. And then for other groups, I think that they need to say their membership is a high number so sometimes I will join at a low dollar amount so that membership numbers can be higher. (of course this might just be something I’m making up, but I’m pretty sure I read it somewhere.)
May 18th, 2006 at 10:05 am
I have what may be a dumb question. Given that I keep hearing that as a nation, our savings rate is well below what it should be (negative, I think) and that so much of the middle class is unprepared for retirement, how do you balance saving for retirement vs donating? Do you take your 10% out of what would otherwise be disposable income but pay for your savings first? We give to charity, but probably not to the levels of others because I worry about things like how much I’ll be paying out of pocket for medical expenses 30 years from now.
May 18th, 2006 at 10:33 am
I’d also like to hear more about the logistics of tithing from people who do it as part of their religious faith. Are there official rules? for things like net and gross & after tax income for calculating the tithe rate? How about investment income? Does one use the AGI from their taxes? Or, is it done more on the basis of honor; that is, you figure out what 10% is.
I think I’m going to aim for 10% of my after tax income (which will mean my adgusted gross income (AGI, which means I’m subtracting some pre-tax savings)-taxes). But, I’m making up my own rules.
What we’re noticing is a technical discussion is that 10% is a flat rate — it doesn’t depend on how much money you have, and that it’s much easier for some to set it as a goal than others.
bj
May 18th, 2006 at 11:06 am
I have never heard “rules” about the net vs. gross question from the Presbyterian or Baptist churches I have been a part of, and tithing has not been part of the membership requirements. Churches do keep track of your donations in order to give you a reciept for tax purposes. I understand that the Mormons have a stronger requirement and more detailed rules about tithing, and that some Christian denominations don’t believe the tithe is a continuing requirement at all.
I too have noted that God seems to be decidedly in favor of the flat tax. There is no progressivity to tithing. However, he did allowed the poor to substitute less expensive birds and animals when they brought sacrifices to the temple.
May 18th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
Most religious folks that I know, from many denominations, consider tithing to be 10% after taxes. (This is not necessarily what your minister will tell you, however.) I personally focus on my take-home pay — as there can be wide swings in “after tax” based on how much of your health care you’re expected to cover.
Also you never know what people are actually giving. Both my parents are ministers, and this has given me an odd perspective; because they had access to the books, my parents often knew how much people at church were actually giving. They never named names, but it was clear from their comments that some people who loudly proclaimed to be tithing were in fact not coming anywhere close, while others who never said boo were giving a ton.
May 19th, 2006 at 7:54 am
I try to “five”–give away five per cent of my after-tax income. It’s always a challenge but it helps to have a concrete number to work toward and it’s distinctly less of a challenge now that our monthly budget isn’t running into the red.
Anyway.
I do something similar to Mieke–I divide my monthly five per cent between organizations that provide direct services to those who need them (like unicef, food banks, women’s shelters) and those working on the root causes of problems (like the national anti-poverty organization, juvenile diabetes research foundation) and so on. And of course a bit of it right now is going to the Annika fund, but that only makes sense, considering. Except for the Annika fund, all of my donations are planned and automatic–they either show up on my mastercard bill or are taken directly off of my paycheque, so I never see the cash. This way I never feel I have to respond to any solicitations–I know I am giving my five per cent and I feel no guilt at not responding to requests for more. It works well for me. It makes charitable giving part of the budget and something I can plan on rather than a result of a disaster where my guilt runs away with my common sense and I end up giving a lot in these big lumps, which I can never actually afford at the time but also never add up to five per cent over a year.
I can’t remember where I read it, but I remember reading on several occasions that low-income folks give away a significantly higher percentage of their earnings than high-income folks do. It always brings me up short when I’m tempted to tell myself that I can’t afford to give more than I do.
May 19th, 2006 at 1:05 pm
Yes, it’s true, people in serious trouble tend to help each other out with cash, no questions asked. It’s why I lasted about two weeks in one of those awful Clean Water Action canvassing jobs, in the midst of the 90s recession when I was poor too, and looked it. Iirc, after you met the $110 nightly quota, you got half of the rest of your take. So two weeks in I was canvassing in projects and my own neighborhood, and here were horribly poor people with little kids scrounging up change because I asked for it. Giving it to me and some lawyers and whatever ghouls lived on the chain inbetween. I said forget it. The CWA boss was completely mystified and kept telling me it was legal. Then again, she saw no difference between scare-tactic propaganda and public education. Awful. I went back to one of the big houses I’d canvassed and got a job lead. That one also paid lousy, but at least I wasn’t robbing poor people.
Otoh, I’m betting that if you’re poor and giving away money you’re not sending it to Medicins sans Frontieres or cancer research. You’re giving it to the church or to someone you actually know or know of. A particular sick kid, etc. If you’re not poor, you’ve probably removed yourself from the world of daily bad trouble where there’s no net and no cushion; you probably don’t know too many people who’re bad poor. So that very direct sense of need and being in it together is gone. So, mostly, is the rare sense of being able to do some meaningful human good with that five bucks even though it hurts to give it.
June 15th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
Hi Elizabeth:
I’m posting to give info. There’s something called a “Charitable Endowment Fund” (for example, the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Fund. With it, you can transfer a lump sum for charities (for example, stocks), claim the tax break when you transfer the money, and then disburse it. It’s a way to deal with stock transfer without having to make a decision about giving money to only one organization. It also means that you’d give money through the fund you’ve set up. I haven’t done it et, but am looking into it. You have to be planning on giving in the range of 25K for the vanguard fund (which has that as a minimum balance), but others have minimums closer to 10K.
bj