Day 6 #7DaysOfSocialMediaVulnerabilityChallenge2017

I spent so many years with just enough income to be OK. It has only been in the past few years that we have started to have enough that we are in a place to give back. As I shared yesterday I love to plan. This past year we had a charitable giving focus on non profits that were doing positive work in water system clean up and preservation. See my blog post from last year if you want to learn more http://surrealvolunteering.blogspot.com/2017/01/middle-class-donation-2017-guide.html

In 2018 I think our society needs to foster places of honesty and dissent. Telling stories that are not click generators but hold truth. This year I have selected the following four places that we will donate to. 

National Public Radio-  a big player in the media space. . https://www.npr.org/ I listen to them almost daily and while they lean left, I hear voices from both sides and stories that are followed because they are important not because they have funding tied to them.

The Stillwater Current - a small voice in the media space.  http://www.stillwatercurrent.com/ Local independent news is going away. Helping keep locally owned voices is important. I grew up in Minnesota and am excited to support news in my home state.

AIDS quilt: http://www.aidsquilt.org/ AIDS remains taboo across our society while it continues to impact those we love. This project helps raise awareness and helps keep the conversation moving forward.

Fourth this year is going to be helping fund high school art teacher projects via Donors Choose. The first project we will be supporting is this one: https://www.donorschoose.org/project/block-printmaking-art-ernative/2773345/ Art is a path to understanding, conversation and expression. Giving students resources to help explore their thoughts is critical as we see our freedom of expression being questioned.

We have at this point established a few ongoing charities that we support

Goodwill industries – The method of used items to create employment opportunity model gives so many a chance for employment who would otherwise fall through the cracks. We support them through routine donation of used items.

Big Brothers Big Sisters – I have been volunteering with them for over a year and expect to continue that into 2018. I support their various fundraising events (5k’s and restaurant give back nights) 

The United Way -  This is an opportunity to touch many non-profits in a collective community approach. 

The American Red Cross - This cornerstone of the American nonprofit landscape needs our support year round.

Rotary - I am active with the local Rotary, my club has a monthly monetary donation in support of the local food bank, thus through my rotary contributions I will be supporting both Rotary and the Food Bank.

A few things to note about this strategy.

1.    While this sounds like a lot, we break it down where different organizations get donations on different months helping keep to our budget. – I set calendar reminders to help me remember who I have slated to donate to each month (Did I mention I love to plan).

2.    The total that we plane to give across these is less than $2,000.

3.    I attempt to amplify my gift by following social media accounts and sharing twitter updates when I donate.

4.    We rarely if ever give to spontaneous asks such as at the supermarket or our workplace, this helps keep us focused and on budget while we donate to causes that help our society.