Charities, giving, and what to look for
So my friends one thing that drives me really nuts is the weekly, if not more often, knock on the door from a charity soliciting donations. For some reason they love our neighborhood. I have considered hanging one of those no soliciting notices near the doorbell but it seems so unfriendly to me. I also wonder how much of the money collected goes to charities and how much goes to the person soliciting. When I was in college I had an “opportunity” to work for a “charity”. The concept was, I got 50% of what I took in, otherwise unpaid position. Luckily I was too lazy to even go down that route, and my stripping career was short lived, so I followed my book career.
Anyway one of my very close friends (Amy, I miss you, say hi to Troy) wrote me an email today that was timely with the recent increase in door knocking activity.
Smartgivers is a website (and organization) that tracks charities and non profit groups. Their Giving Guide is a nice tool to look up charity that might be asking for a donation.
FYI I was also contracted to give input on the Smartgivers website.
For those of you that know me, I am a volunteer for InnerCity Tennis and do my best to donate financially to other organizations. I believe in participation and volunteering for our community, so take part in an organization that matches your interests.
To expand on the “giving” topic — I really like the idea of giving with a lesson. Example, instead of giving for birthdays, why not give contribution to the birthday person’s 529 plan, or 401k, etc… Here’s a company that has done numerous studies on cross generation giving and family-401k. Family-401k is a real good way to get young adults to save rather than spend. http://www.sharesavespend.com/
I did hang a sign on my door that said
“No Solicitors, No Canvassers - Girl Scout Cookies okay.” I am more likely to give if someone has a table set up than someone trying to guilt trip me at my front door or on the street corner. The door-knockers can then move on to other houses instead of wasting their time with me - yes they love my neighborhood too and also our house is a beacon with our “radical” signs hanging off the house and in the front yard.