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ACLU, AIDS, Barack Obama, cancer, charity, Christine Brimley, Cycling, donations, KUER, Public Radio, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, taxes, zen
I’ve got a lot of causes that I support … perhaps too many, because I find I’m always getting solicitations in the mail (and email) asking for more and more of my money.
To some extent, it’s hard for me to even remember everything I’ve given money too, until I go back through my finances every spring to file my taxes.
In the past year, I’ve given money to:
- the Salt Lake City Bike Collective (ongoing monthly donations)
- the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (one-off donation)
- the Marin County Bicycle Coalition (one-off donation)
- KUER (ongoing monthly donations)
- KRCL (ongoing monthly donations)
- the San Francisco Zen Center (ongoing quarterly donations)
- the San Francisco AIDS Foundation
- the American Civil Liberties Union (one-off membership, not tax-deductible)
- the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (one-off donation)
- Barack Obama’s presidential campaign (not tax-deductible)
- Christine’s Fountain (to honor Fastgrrrl’s best training pal, as far as I know, not tax-deductible)
- Susan Nelson’s WIN Fund (Fatty’s wife, who has been battling cancer for years now, not tax-deductible)
There are doubtless other organizations to whom I’ve written a check that I can’t think of right off hand. Altogether, I think I’m going to give away about $2,000 this year. I know it’s going to be well over $1,000.00.
Now lest anyone think I’m bragging, let me get to the point. All I give of myself is my money … I can’t think of the last time I volunteered my time to work with an organization because it was the right thing to do, and it was a cause I believed in.
I find it quite ironic that I’m generous with my money (which I don’t have nearly enough of), yet stingy with my time (which I have more than enough of).
So with that in mind, one of my goals for the summer is to find a suitable organization to which I can donate at least 4 hours of my time, and hopefully I’ll find something inspiring enough to give even more my time and myself to.
For time is truly the most valuable commodity which you can give to any organization.
2 comments
8 June 2008 at 01:40:40
Oh, the age old issue of time and money. This year I can count Joe Biden, Chris Dodd and Hillary Clinton donations (all dropping out of the race), MS society, brest cancer, Leguage of Conservation Voters, Denver Public Schools and probably a few others. All my volunteer time is to education (Denver Public Schools) or environmental causes.
We each need to make choices, the honest answer is most non-profits have plenty of people to give time and not enough money so giving money is huge.
13 June 2008 at 22:27:20
Two more to add to the list.
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Lance Armstrong Foundation – in support of Susan Nelson