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.
