Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Altruistic Christmas giving?
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December 6, 2012 at 10:13 pm #605822
JanSParticipantlooking for someting different , but not expensive? Some things to consider:
December 7, 2012 at 2:40 am #779219
elikapekaParticipantI did the Heifer project this year. I have people on my list that really don’t need or want anything material, so this was perfect. And it’s easy! No shopping, no traffic, no hassles!
December 7, 2012 at 6:36 am #779220
dobroParticipantDecember 7, 2012 at 4:38 pm #779221
ghar72ParticipantKiva does gift cards now, so the recipient can choose the project they give a loan to.
December 7, 2012 at 5:48 pm #779222
JoBParticipantghar72..
this might just make me choose kiva over other options…
i have always liked the concept of altruistic giving but always thought it too passive..
making the recipient an active participant in giving is a win in so many ways.
December 7, 2012 at 7:56 pm #779223
ghar72ParticipantI agree JoB. Bummer is the lowest amount is $25. I wanted to do it as stocking stuffers for my family, but $25 is too much.
December 19, 2012 at 10:38 pm #779224
DBPMemberGood karma to Jan.
Good karma to everyone else who’s posted here so far.
And to the spirit of posters yet to come.
Now I want to put in another plug – yes, ANOTHER one – for two local pet-related charities that we’re already familiar with. Then I want to add another one that maybe we are not so familiar with.
The first two are . . . can you guess?
Furry Faces and FCAT
Q: Why? Don’t FCAT and F3 get enough airtime on the Blog already?
A: Oh yeah. They do. So? The heck? What?
In spite of all the hoopla, I still love F3 and FCAT because:
–they’re local
–they serve animals AND people
–they get others in on the act
. . . and . . .. very important for a tightwad like me . . .
–they have low overhead
Correction:
–they have zero overhead
Correction-correction:
–they have NEGATIVE overhead
What? Unheard of! How can a charity have NEGATIVE overhead?
E-Z-P-Z! See, rather than taking a portion of each donation off the top for expenses, the people who run these groups actually spend money out their own of pockets to distribute the money you give to them. In other words, they don’t make even a little money off you. They actually lose it.
Negative overhead.
Don’t believe me? Go hang with them and see for yourself. Helping animals is not what they do for a living; it’s what they do in their after-work hours, when the rest of us are partying it up or chilling in front of the tube. Or sleeping.
And the same goes for their little army of volunteers.
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OK, so that’s that.
One other charity: The Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project in Lynnwood
FCAT works with these folks; don’t know about F3.
Anyway . . . each year they provide thousands (!) of free and low-cost s/n services to low-income pet owners and feral cat trappers.
They have some overhead, but I feel confident that it’s low, because if it wasn’t, they couldn’t keep doing what they’re doing. I believe you can make a personal visit if you wanted to see what they do with the money.
And they don’t just provide s/n services. Like FCAT and F3, they give additional medical care to any cat that comes their way, so that’s quite cool.
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There are lots of people needing help right now, too. I know that. Not sayin’ animals are more important than peoples, but if you’ve already decided to devote at least some of your charity money to helping animals, please consider one of these three great groups (not in order of importance):
FCAT
Furry Faces
Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project
Thanks!!!!!
December 20, 2012 at 1:01 am #779225
singularnameParticipantThis is a great thread. How much fancy soap and how many coffee mugs can two people give each other over a lifetime of birthdays and other? Gift certificates are just meh, unless of course it’s someone like my sister and her family, who really do need help with Target-like purchases.
My mom and I have been rolling with Oxfam the last few years. It’s special to us because (a) we can focus on helping women and (b) we can support small endeavors involving textiles, which she and I are both so fond of.
Didn’t know what to get her boyfriend (manfriend?) but he became very intrigued with Nicklesville when he was here this summer, so I made a donation there in his name. As an animal lover, he would have also appreciated a donation to FF had I thought of it first.
I’ve found folks really appreciate getting these gifts of giving.
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