I will now list some of the charities that have been mentioned so far. I’ll try to include everyone who gave a very specific charity. I might not say too much as that’d take all night and don’t want to make a habit of spending hours at a time writing stuff about prospective charities, but feel free to explore them. In fact in the future I’ll probably list all of the nominations about 5-7 days before I choose the monthly charity. This time since there is so little notice, I’ll update at some point in a week or so as well, if there’s much more traffic.
I suspect that this is how it’ll usually go. I’ll avoid making too many posts that mention just one charity, but more often just put a ton of them in a post and people can comment on which they think would be the best. In the end this isn’t going to be completely democratic, as I will have the final say, but I will certainly take everyone’s opinion into account.
1. Kiva.org: The only one that wasn’t submitted by someone else is kiva.org. Kiva.org is a charity that helps you give micro loans to poor aspiring entrepreneurs all over the world. When you loan one of them money, and they pay you back, you can then loan this money to someone else.
2. ACLU: My beautiful girlfriend Susan suggested the ACLU, which stands for American Civil Liberties Union. I am actually already a member as I tend to give them about $100 per year. They certainly do believe in most everything I believe in, and Susan is actually on the Board of Directors for the Philadelphia ACLU. Let me quote her comment below:
“ACLU!!!! They have projects on drug policy, the school-to-prison-pipeline, women’s rights, gay rights, Guantanamo bay, etc. They represent the girl who was stripped searched by school officials, parents who don’t want their kids to be taught intelligent design in PUBLIC school science classes, organizations that are being criminally prosecuted for trying to register more voters, teenage girls who are being criminally prosecuted for cell phone pictures of themselves, churches who are being shut down by municipal governments for trying to run homeless shelters, doctors who lose their clearance for criticizing the government, immigrants who were being forced out of Hazelton, etc., etc., etc. And most of the issues/suits I’m describing are in Pennsylvania alone. Imagine the work they are doing all over the nation.
These are all things that you believe in. Just because Bush is out of office, doesn’t mean civil liberties are no longer important. This is an organization worthy of your donation! (Of course, there are many other organizations that are also worthy, but I’ll try to sell you on one at a time.)”
3. Computer Labs for Kids: This was submitted recently and seems to involve donating computers and computer labs to poor people/orphans around the world. Here is a quote on their website by their founder Shira Evans:
“I’ve seen firsthand the excitement and love kids have for computers while setting up computer labs in Chicago Public Schools. I’ve worked in IT for over ten years and my resume includes certifications such as MCSE and A+. This non-profit is a way for me to combine two areas that I know and love. You can join us and share the excitement of helping children in poverty become better equipped to meet the challenges of their changing future.”
4. CharityWatch: MacCauley Peterson, whom many of you may know from chess.fm, submitted CharityWatch. It seems to be an organization that investigates charities, and helps you make informed decisions on which charities use their funds most efficiently.
5. BuildOn: Kameron Tolliver quickly suggested building for books, which has seemingly changed their name to BuildOn. I believe their main focus is building schools in impoverished areas around the world. In fact I believe that my half-brother Jean-Francois may have spent some time doing this in Nicaragua.
6. USCF Legal Defense Fund: The USCF is getting sued! They need help! I love the USCF and while I’m generally going to make sure to avoid giving any reasons why I don’t want to donate to a particular cause, I think this wouldn’t be a great way to start it off. While I definitely would like to donate to chess at some point (maybe once every 6 months or so at the most), I don’t want to start the project by getting involved in all the weirdness going on in Crossville.
There were some other comments made with no specific suggestions behind them. I know one poster mentioned Multiple Sclerosis but I don’t believe he gave a specific website or foundation to give to. In any case if there’s one you really want to be selected, but it doesn’t happen this time around, this is going to repeat every month, so sooner or later if you keep pressing for your cause and get support from other posters, good things should eventually come!
Also there is one thing I failed to mention in my original post on what type of charities I’d look for. I forgot to mention that I’ll also occasionally focus on Philadelphia based groups, as this is where I live. I’m sure that people from around the country and world might not be so excited by that, but local charities will certainly be chosen from time to time. Also I’m willing to consider other localized charities in the United States, if they are doing really good work.
I look forward to any comments!
I’d say that the first three charities are all good choices. ACLU sounds really interesting. They obvioulsy fight for very important questions, it’s just that I don’t know what difference they can make. If ACLU is an organisaiton with the ability to take the step from word to action then I would vote for this alternative.
Your intention to give to charity is noble, however I have the feeling that you’re lining the pockets of a rich charity executive. I recall seeing on 60 minutes the American Red Cross and how they used the pictures of a woman’s home that burned down on their website. They were being sued by the woman whose home burned since they used her burning home’s picture but did not give her a single penny. 60 minutes also pointed out that the director of the San Diego chapter where this woman lived earned $595k a year.
I’m not intending to be 100% negative with this post. If you do find a charity that gives your donation to those that need it, I think there are many of us here that would love to hear about it.
Your thoughts?
Bill
My initial thoughts is that there are thousands and thousands of charities, yet you named one that did something wrong. That’s like saying that I shouldn’t eat at a restaurant because once a waiter was rude to you. The idea that all charities are somehow existing to line their pockets with money and exploit people doesn’t make much sense to me, so I’m not sure what the implication is.
dear Greg,
David Kane encouraged me to contact you. I recently met an amazing woman who gave up a good career to start giving writing workshops for disadvantaged kids in the poorest, most violent neighborhoods of Washington DC. After a year and a half, she has a team of 11 volunteers running the program in schools, shelters, etc and extraordinary stories of transformation, the kids just love it and open up in beautiful ways. By writing, I don’t mean literacy but learning the power of the word, having kids tell their own stories in poetry, essays, theatre, etc. She now wants these stories to not only empower the kids but contribute to social change by providing them to organizations that lobby on issues such as homelessness, education, domestic violence, etc. I was so inspired by her that I just joined her Board, I have worked in non-profit for 10 years and can give her advice on strategy, fund-raising, etc as well as share my networks. She’s been an angel to so many people, I feel it’s time a few angels take care of her too. She has done all this work as a volunteer, by the way. Anyway, the organization is called http://www.bookfruits.org – part of the support she needs is to allow her to update her rudimentary website to show all the new growth and developments. If you’re interested, I’ll be happy to put you in touch with her and give you more information.
Many blessings to you and your very generous commitment to share your good fortunes,
Carole Frampton
Just want to say I think it’s a good thing you’re doing. If I win decent money in poker I’ll be able to do things like this too
. I recommend giving money to a civil liberties charity or any one which supports freedom.
Hi Greg,
Kudos to you for doing this- in addition to helping directly, your example to others is the kind of positive message we need much more of in this priveleged country. I told Carole (above) to post here- I’m not familiar with the charity she espouses but Carole herself is a very trustworthy and admirable individual so that charity is probably worthwhile. I would also like to nominate UNICEF which has a very high rating on that charity rating site. I have researched them myself as a frequent donor and they have had an undeniably positive impact on the world’s most underprivileged and suffering children- often in war zones. They are currentyly active in Darfur and were recently very active with the children devastated by the latest Iraq war. They have one of the lowest administrative costs of any major charity meaning that a high percentage of donations reaches the intended recipients. Thanks for considering them.
I know you didn’t want to start things off with a chess charity but later when you are receptive, I have a chess charity that I would you to consider at that time.
Thanks again, Mr. PM3000
Kamus
Hey Greg,
I thought you and your readers might be interested in this site that our local Habit for Humanity Chapter discovered recently where one can use a search engine and it earns a few cents per a search for your chosen charity.
The site is http://www.goodsearch.com
Happy giving,
Sara
Greg, are you gonna choose your charity the same way when you go out to eat?
Is it gonna go in a cycle or one charity one time only? How are you gonna go about this?
I’m not sure what you are asking exactly. Basically each month we are going to choose a charity, I’m going to give them some money, and hopefully a few other people do as well! There are no real rules other than that, and nothing that says the same charity can’t be used twice (although I suspect that’ll be very rare)
Greg!
As a product of public school, Philadelphia public school to be exact, I know how shitty some of those classroom can be because of lack of new books, interesting tools, simple supplies, whatever. That’s why I use my blog to give money to specific classrooms through Donor’s Choose.
http://www.donorschoose.org/
I focus on science at the middle school level, but you can look at all different classrooms in different locales, poverty levels, grade levels, etc. Each teacher writes a synopsis of the project that they want funded, so I usually pick the most passionate and explicit one.
I like that, besides a small administrative fee, all the money goes directly to the project–not so in some of the largest charities.
Here is one way to check out how much of the money from a charity is going to services and not administrative stuff or salaries (from CharityChoices.com):
“To get financial information about nearly every charity in the country, go to http://www.Guidestar.org.
Guidestar calls itself “the web’s clearinghouse of information about nonprofit organizations.” It has a huge database of information about charities.
For most charities it has their “990 annual reports,” which is the information report that charities with budgets above $25,000 must submit each year to the IRS.
Glancing at a charity’s 990 report can give you exactly the information you want to decide if you should think about supporting a particular charity. That information is how much the charity spends on “Services,” “Management and general” and on “Fundraising.”
Here’s how you do it. When you go to guidestar’s website, click on “Advanced search.” Enter the charity’s name. Enter any other information you have about the charity. The guidestar search engine should lead you to information about that charity.
The initial information you find may be enough for you. It will include the charity’s contact information, a short description of what it does and a summary of its financial information.
You can learn more by clicking on “990 report.” To get a report, you must register with Guidestar, a fairly simple process for which there is no charge. Once you have done that, you will get the 990 for the charity (often the 990 will not be for the most recent year because of how long it takes the IRS to process these returns and get them to Guidestar).
A 990 can be a very long document. But you can get what you need quickly. At the bottom of page 1 you will find the charity’s total revenue. On page 2, look at lines 13, 14 and 15. Line 13 is the amount the charity spent on its services. Line 14 is the amount it spent on “Management and general.” Line 15 is what it spent on fund raising.
Add lines 14 and 15. Divide the charity’s total revenue into the total of lines 14 and 15. This will give you the percentage the charity spends on administration and fund raising. The Better Business Bureau suggests that this percentage should be under 35%. The federal government’s charity drive (the Combined Federal Campaign) wants it to be under 25% (though it will allow charities to participate in the CFC with higher expenses as long as they submit a plan for lowering these expenses).
A red flag is when a charity’s fund raising expenses equals or exceeds what it spends on its services.
But there is a very important caveat when you examine this information: there are very legitimate reasons that some charities will have relatively higher fund raising and administrative costs. It may be new. It may have a cause that does not have wide appeal, which makes it harder for it to raise money. It may not get a lot of large grants from foundations or corporations, which means it has to rely on small contributions from individuals, which cost more to raise.
Another interesting piece of information you can find on the 990 report is how much the charity pays its five top employees. You will find this on “Schedule A.”"
Fund Raising is always needed to support existing and future projects.-*,