'Tis the Season
Echoing CSCS’s post of a year ago, I wonder: where are you giving your money this year?
My friends in fundraising tell me that this is a very difficult year for progressive non-profits, and the next six weeks, when most nonprofits make close to 50% of their yearly income, are looking disturbingly lean. This is not surprising: every election year is difficult, and this one perhaps more so, because so many donors give to campaigns rather and forego gifts to non-profits. The pervasive economic pessimism, too, plays a role.
So, in case there is some money burning a hole in your pocket, here are some causes that are dear to my heart today. I hope others will add more.
Prison Legal News. One of the last of the once-thriving for-prisoners-by-prisoners news media, PLN is the largest and the oldest extant news source covering prisoners, human rights and the law. With thousands of readers and contributing writers in the more than 5,000 prisons in the U.S., PLN provides breaking news and incisive analysis. More than 1 in 150 Americans is currently behind bars. Help give them the news they need to know.
Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Immigrant farm workers in Immokalee, FL pick nearly all the tomatoes you will eat this winter, for pennies on the pound. They have organized into a highly effective organization that has won fights with some of the biggest fast food conglomerates to improve the lives of workers. On Friday the 30th, CIW will take to the streets in its fight to stop Burger King from undermining the concessions they have gained.
After I wrote this, this Op-Ed appeared in the paper. So much for highlighting lesser-known organizations….
The Center for Reproductive Rights. Three words: the Roberts Court. A bunch more words: when the staff doing reproductive rights work at the ACLU felt they weren’t getting support within the institution, ten or so years ago, they came in at night, took all their files, and CRR (then the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy) was born.
CRR is (I think) unique in using the law both domestically and internationally in defense of reproductive rights. For instance, they provided support to litigation in Colombia to end the total ban on abortion (I wrote about it here).
The Center for Social Inclusion. CSI does public policy research to address structural racism, tests for effective messages for communicating these policies to the public, and disseminates the results to grassroots racial justice advocates. Their burgeoning network is hopefully creating an echo chamber in support of policies that will provide greater opportunity to millions of Americans, through progressive housing, education, and urban policy. They also recently hired me: if you click on the link today, you will find no online donation button; the fault is entirely mine (it’s complicated - give me a week).
Happy Holidays!
Thanks for this. I gave my money this year so far only to City Harvest. I'll probably also give something to the EFF and the NRDC. They're my usuals.
I read that giving donations instead of gifts is a bit of a trend this year...that's a trend that sounds like a good idea.
Much better than the pet rock or the hula hoop.
November 29, 2007 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Corporate donations instead of holiday cards to suppliers/customers also seems to be the trend.
The places I give to:
Portland Art Center
The Wild Salmon Center
The CAT Adoption Team
Southern Poverty Law Center
Granted, I don't give much to each. But, I figure every bit counts.
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November 29, 2007 12:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Granted, I don't give much to each. But, I figure every bit counts.
Small donations typically only account for 20% or so of an organization's budget, but they are also fairly stable, and easy to get. If I had my way, I'd want to be an organization with a much higher percentage of income from small donors.
November 30, 2007 11:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
I tend to give to the more traditional charitable groups that aid the poor and other vulnerable people, but these are good suggestions for branching out.
One specialized appeal I give to is the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, which raises money to beat a rare but devastating illness. I have met the founders and some of their children (two have died), and so it has a personal meaning.
The organizations that Devon cites are good and so easily overlooked or never heard of by most of us. The big environmental organizations are good, too, but are powerhouses when it comes to raising money.
I love that story about the reproductive rights people.
Thanks.
November 30, 2007 12:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
I tend to give more to advocacy than direct services, on the theory that effective efforts to change the structural conditions will in the long run have more impact than efforts to alleviate suffering as it happens. (There's a certain cruelty in that, though.)
But maybe it's better to support both, ideally in the same organization. This recent study of "high-impact nonprofits" found that some of the most effective organizations, over time, have recognized that they must do both direct services and long-term advocacy.
Here in New York, one group that seems to have a plan in this regard is the Partnership for the Homeless. I can't vouch for their effectiveness, but I know them to be quite ambitious - they think that a combination of services, advocacy and scholarly reflection on both can end homelessness in the city in little over a decade.
November 30, 2007 8:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
What to give yourself is always a delicious question. I think I'm going to give me a gift of $25 this year to spend at Kiva.org.
Microlending has proven to be an interesting way to address global poverty, by providing very small loans to start-up small businesses in the developing world. I've often wondered how long it would be before nickel-and-dime donors like me could get into the act. Kiva, which I've just discovered, makes that possible.
So I'm going to try it out and see how it works. It's a spinachy gift to give yourself, but the question to my mind is whether it's a deliciousish spinach surprise (Peg Bracken, RIP), or the kind they served for school lunch.
December 15, 2007 3:50 PM | Reply | Permalink