Suggestions for non-political donations.

[Joebert]

Hi there,

I currently give money to Doctors w/o Borders, LinkTV, Democracy Now, and the local radio station that plays Democracy Now.

I am thinking of giving to

The International Committee of the Red Cross
Greenpeace
American Cancer Society
Peta
Amnesty International

Edit: Adding ACLU (How could I forget!)

I am not willing to donate to religious organizations, and I want the money to be used instead of being payroll for administrators.

Or, I could go the other way, pay down all debt, and invest more. But that doesn't do anybody any good, but maybe me down the road.

Who have I left out, who should I avoid, who should I be giving more to?

I left out political, because I have given to the DNC to support Dean. I am also holding out to see if the Democrats are going to bother running local candidates this time in 2006.

Any direction and insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Planned Parenthood

and battered women's shelters.

[Walt Starr]

2. Looks like you've got a good list there!

I'd add the ACLU, though.

[Joebert]

5. Forgot them! On the consideration list for sure now.

[Joebert]

20. I am now a member.

They didn't let me sign up for ongoing donations at intro. Weird.

Thanks for the direction.

[Warpy]

3. Red Cross has been tainted by mismanagement

and are an imperfect organization at their best, often charging people for what they "give" in terms of disaster and war relief. They do a decent job of aiding POWs, though, and most of the most egregious mismanagement occurred under Liddy Dole.

I've been giving to Doctors without Borders instead. When they start to suffer from success, I'll probably go back to the ARC.

[Joebert]

4. Are you referring to the ARC, or the ICRC?

I know the ARC has problems.

I thought I'd read that the ICRC was much better, especially since they are able to get into see the prisoners in our illegal out-of-jurisdiction prison camps.

[Warpy]

7. Right

The American Red Cross (referred to in the first post) has had a lot fo management problems and a suit by Canada over knowingly selling Canada HIV tainted blood is still grinding through the courts, thanks to Liddy Dole who has since moved on to bigger and better things.

The International Red Cross/Red Crescent is a slightly different animal, and they're the ones who get in to see POWs and political prisoners. However, they're not nearly as easy to find to donate to.

Until the International group leans on the ARC sufficiently to fix all the problems of misspent donations, executive profiteering, and less and less being spent on the people they're supposedly helping, they can kiss my few donation dollars goodbye.

[Joebert]

12. A good point. They should be able to fix their chapter problems.

To the bottom of the list they go.

[SophieZ]

6. good start

Media and Honest Elections to me are two of the things that underlie many of the other things we want.

Other media, besides DU, that do a really good job:

www.CommonDreams.org

www.Truthout.org

And, to me, the election integrity organization that gives the most bang for the buck is the very underfunded group,

www.votersunite.org

It doesn't matter who runs for office or what they stand for if the votes don't count. After many months of intense research on this, talking with experts etc., I am convinced the election system is in a HUGE mess, and is not verifiable.

Voters Unite, based in Washington State but with a national scope, has worked for two years without any fundraising, helping local activists, talking with election officials, testifying, hosting a mammoth website of election news -- they just had a brief fundraiser, and came up short. Any and all help is appreciated.

(disclaimer -- I've communicated with all three groups above, but have no financial or official ties to any of them.)

[Joebert]

8. Good ideas

I will read up on Voters Unite, but they're under the political umbrella. But point well taken about (un)counted votes.

I am trying to spread the little bit that I have around.

I figure I have different categories:

Media: Democracy Now, local radio, LinkTV
Health: MSF

I am thinking:

Environment: Greenpeace
Human Rights: ACLU, Amnesty International
Health: American Cancer Society

[BrotherBuzz]

9. Your list is stand-up

and I'm happy to see you list Doctors Without Borders at the top. The only suggestion I could add would be to include a modest donation to your local chapter of the SPCA. - then and only then you will have all your bases covered and our four-footed friends will thank you....

[Joebert]

Thank you!

I couldn't remember the name of that organization. I had Peta on my tentative list, but would rather put it into a less explosive group.

If I can ever get myself weaned off of meat, then Peta might see a few bucks, but the SPCA is right up my alley.

I am not an animal person, but animals ought to be treated properly. I think it would be nice to have some more life in the house beside myself, but I'm just not around enough to be fair to them.

And I just don't like the feeling of owning anything alive. I'm just a very detached person I guess.

[BrotherBuzz]

15. LOL, turtles are pretty low maintenance....

Goldfish, too. I understand where you're coming from with regards to pets as I thought the same at one time until I met a woman that came with a dog....well, twenty plus years later and we still enjoy our dogs. Oh, for what it's worth, Sally Girl owns us, not the other way around...something to dwell on, no?

[Joebert]

21. I am now a "Guardian" albeit a cheap one. :-)

They're going to get $25 a month from now on.

Good suggestion.

[Freddie Stubbs]

10. Give locally

There are probably a lot of deserving charities in your area that can use your help. The United Way probably has a list.

[Joebert]

11. We are pressured to give to the UW at work.

I don't respond well to pressure.

[joneschick]

13. no one mentioned DU

NARAL
Mother Jones
Southern Poverty Law Center
Second Harvest

If I should know any negatives on these, let me know........

[Joebert]

14. DU probably wasn't listed since it might be political. :-)

I'll look at the others though.

[joneschick]

16. well now that you put it that way..

well duh! I kinda noticed that when I went back to look at my posts. LOL more rum for me. (or less rum, whatever)

[Joebert]

17. No worries.

When I start the spending, DU will get a donation.

[Joebert]

22. DU just got the donation. :-)

[WillowTree]

18. Rainbows

A fantastic organization that provides grief support groups for children who have lost a parent or loved one to death or divorce. While many of the groups use space in churches to hold their sessions, Rainbows is not a religious group and is not affiliated with any church or religion (many groups meet in school facilities or elsewhere, too, but often churches have space that they'll let such groups use at no charge). It was started over 20 years ago by a young divorced mother who found that there were many groups and resources for adults dealing with divorce issues, but was unable to find similar help for her three young sons. The amount of good that this organization does is incalculable.

Rainbows and its affiliated groups (for different age brackets) is completely not-for-profit, has only six paid staff members (at last count) and relys on untold numbers of volunteers operating out of a small office space in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The programs are free to the participants.

It's something to consider, anyway, if you're inclined toward giving to child-focused organizations that really help.

www.rainbows.org

[Joebert]

19. Thank you.

I'll put that on the list to look at closely.

So far, I'm set up to:

Monthly: MSF, LinkTV
Annual: Democracy Now
Single: Radio station, Multiple Sclerosis Foundation

I am looking at adding:

Monthly: Amnesty, Greenpeace, American Cancer Society
Annual: SPCA


As far as political, I am looking at:

DU (of course)
More to Dean and the DNC
Local Dems if they bother in 06

Basically, it comes down to the fact that I am paid a stupid amount of money for a job that is my hobby. I'm single, and have limited expenses. I need to put the money somewhere it will help. My job will be outsourced as soon as they can figure out how. Right now, I make sure the people we already outsourced are at least taking care of our customers. It's not the customer's fault (completely at least) that the jobs left. They shouldn't have to have poor support.

[ima_sinnic]

23. I like Oxfam and the Heifer Project

--they sponsor community development projects in poor areas of the world. The Heifer Project provides a cow or a flock of chickens, a hive of bees, or other animal-type contributions that give a family or community a means of support.

[Joebert]

24. I forgot about them.

And away we go...