Now that this year and this project are drawing to a close, I figured it would be good to post my own wrap up and final reflections. Originally I had thought of having this being an ongoing project, but it turns out it's very difficult to even pick out twelve causes among thousands!
Charitable giving is more effective when you chose fewer causes to give more to anyway, so I plan on leaving this project up as a reference and guide for people who would like to get involve but aren't sure what their primary interests are, or even what is out there that would interest them.
I'm happy to have done this, but I'm learned some of the downfalls of having such a wide giving portfolio as well. Evidentally, at least one of the organizations I gave to sold my contact information out (and I've got a good guess which one) and I've received direct mailings for foundations for multiple different diseases and starving children--I even got one today in German! But really, if someone is going to spend the money to send me not only paper, but pennies and tote bags, I don't really think my contribution is needed!
Over the course of this project, I've determined which ones mean the most to me and which I've had the best experience giving to.
While I'm not planning on regular additional contributions out of my own pocket (for now), I will continue to recycle my microfinancing loans for Kiva and keep using GoodSearch for Love146. The North American Friends of the Asian Rural Institute reached out to me about getting more involved, and I'll be doing some volunteer Japanese-to-English translations for them as needed. I'll continue to sponsor a HeroRat, I just don't know yet if it will be Chosen One or one of their up-and-coming stars.
Not that I'm capping my giving to just these organizations--as local needs arise throughout the year, I'm likely to participate as I see it worthy to. Sometimes it helps to be flexible, too. Last March while I was helping at a fundraiser for relief for Japan some ladies dropped off some women's clothing and diapers. In an emergency situation abroad it's just not efficient to send physical goods, so I gave them to a local crisis pregnancy center and then contributed to the fundraiser for about how much the goods were worth. I wound up giving more out of pocket than I planned, but it honored those ladies' generosity and wound up helping someone else in the process. If you're open for these things, the opportunities will come.
Generosity doesn't have to be planned, and I don't think it should be. When it comes to development and putting your money where it's going to be most effective, though, you're going to have a wider and deeper impact by making a plan. If an organization can anticipate a regular amount of support each month, that helps them with their financial planning. If you focus all of your charitable giving for the year to only one or two causes, then the amount you contribute will be able to go further rather than being stretched thin.
It's a sad fact that most normal people can't afford to give as much as they'd love to. Just because I'm not giving to all of these organizations again doesn't mean I don't care about the work they're doing, which is why I'll continue to advocate and bring them up whenever there seems to be an appropriate place to do so. Sometimes getting someone else aware of something will do more than $10 would.
Nevertheless, let's not forget how quickly $10 will add up when put together with other peoples' $10. Generosity never has to be about the amount.
Happy giving, everyone.
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