My charity interests and the goals of this blog project (aka, the soapbox, rationale, and thorough explanation of how I hope this will work):
The way I see the world, there are people living privileged lives and people who aren’t, and regardless of one’s social status, there will hardship and suffering in one’s life. Inevitably, there will be people who will not have much opportunity to alleviate their own hardship. For those people it takes group effort, both fiscally and vocally, to try to change much in their situation. Inevitably, a group of people can devote their entire lives to trying to improve their lives, but it might not be appreciated or make a measurable difference. That is no reason not to try.
A lot of global improvements in standards of living are due to group effort, and well-organized group effort is most effective and efficient. Each one of these groups, be it political demonstrators, schools, or NGOs, needs income to do much good. Certainly, the hefty donations millionaires can afford might have the most effect, or at least more effect than my measly $10 has. However, what if every person who decided not to contribute $10 because they didn’t feel it was enough were to do so anyway? How fast would that multiply? That is where a group has power.
I think that if we want to see wide-scale social improvement, it will require flowing resources from where it is highly concentrated (like middle-class America) to where it is sparser.
That is not to say that those who are privileged are angels descending upon the poor—where is the dignity for the poor in a notion like that? It’s simply that they haven’t been provided with the same privileges, like education, stable government, infrastructure, medical care, and loans. I feel that if people are provided with these things, they will be able to take more advantage of their own lives, and have more that they can contribute to those around them. It’s a cycle, and it just takes some effort to get it started.
That is also not to say that all problems can be solved with money alone. Many social ills will not be swayed with money, and money will not pay natural disasters to stay away. Money will, however, enable people to respond to problems. Depending on where the money is going, it can also do harm. That is why when I spend money, I would prefer it isn’t indirectly going to support ruling militia or provide abortions or put undue pressure on a recipient whose social situation will not allow them to use it effectively. I have looked into the charities I’ve chosen for this project to try to make sure my money will not go to these purposes, and have declined to include some otherwise great causes because of this.
Finally, this is also not to say that all of the American middle class needs to donate everything they own to the poor, nor are they able to. That is the flip side of this blog: to encourage people to be aware of their finances.
What I would like readers to consider is how much they spend every month which they really do not need to be spending. If someone says “no, I would love to help, but I really can’t afford to give even $10”, and then buys a couple of lattes or ten iTunes songs the following week, then they are either a liar or unaware of what they are actually spending every month. I would like to think it’s the latter, because everyone can think of how they’ve splurged on something with $10 (or likely more!) that they’ll never get back again. Hopefully, with this challenge, people will take a critical look at their spending habits and say “well, since I got myself that smartphone, I guess I can afford this after all” or “wow, I really can’t afford this, and I should stop buying all those innocent candy bars when I buy groceries, too!”
Also as part of the financial literacy side of this, I’ve done some more research on tax deductions and whether or not meeting a $10-to-a-different-charity-each-month goal will help anyone. The answer: it can! For every charity showcased this year, there will be ways for Americans to get tax deductions on them. For visitors from outside of the US, I’m sorry I won’t have that information available for your own respective countries, but I would certainly be willing to post any additional information anyone would like to look up regarding that.
Finally, let’s be realistic: Instead of spending $120 a year on twelve different charities, you’re probably going to do more good spending that all in one place (charity isn’t like stock!). Part of the reason this is a one-year project is to get myself and fellow challengers into the habit of giving, as well as to figure out which causes we care most about. I’m a highly indecisive person, so by trying out a variety of causes I’m interested in, I can figure out which ones I feel the most passionate about. Starting in 2012 (assuming I’m in adequate financial health!), I plan on giving larger contributions to just a couple organizations on a regular basis. I just haven’t figured out which ones those are yet. In the meantime, while I have charity-ADD, I hope that by showcasing the organizations in this blog that at least I can get a group of other modest givers to increase the power of my own one-time gift.
Thank you for reading this far, I hope it might have answered any questions you might have had. You can contact me at brittany.a.partin@gmail.com to ask me anything else about the Charity Splurge 2011 project.
