Every year I want to give to charities, and every year I sort of screw it up. It gets away from me, or I don't budget right, or I have doubts about where to give, you name it, it's a wide assortment of excuses. So that's why in 2007 I not only set a goal, but a bi-weekly goal... part of the reason the funds were hard to budget is that I looked at it like this big monthly thing, like rent. If I got to the end of the month and didn't have money in my checking account, I'd just assumed I'd catch up next month, and of course that would make me want to give more to make up for the previous one and I couldn't and the vicious cycle continues. So this year I'm doing two things: first, I have a plan to make 20 donations, one every two weeks. If I must miss a week, I have time at the end of the year to catch up. The checks will correspond to payday, so it'll be easier to see the money as "being there". I've gotten pretty good with my credit cards... I pay the balance off most months, and if I don't, I quit using them, hang out at home more and avoid the mall, and I'm okay... I want the money to always be there for charities, not always for the other stuff I want, and I think that'll work out well.

Second thing I'm doing is that I'm going to divide up my donations to kind of stay enthused. There are a lot of charities that I've always wanted to support, but I haven't gotten around to it. I mean, I go to church every week so that's where most of my donations go, and then I feel like I'm leaving other organizations out. So this time since I'm making 20 donations, 10 will go to church, 10 to a different organization every month. I sort of got this idea from my sister, who donates to someplace different every month also, I've been meaning to get her list.

So THIS month I chose Doctors Without Borders, from the category I like to call, "WTF?" As in... "We still have to keep people from dying of YELLOW FEVER? WTF?" I've always wanted to support them and never have, so I think this is awesome. Incidently one of my favorite charities ever, Amnesty International, kind of falls into that category too... as in, "There are governments who think it's perfectly okay to detain & torture someone without trial for YEARS? There are countries where women are stoned to death for adultry, regardless of whether they were raped? WTF?" They'll have their month later in the year. They might get two.

Anyway, I'm sort of vaguely taking suggestions for other non-profits. Researching them has been fun. So far I'm thinking of doing theme months... in March, I'll donate to the YWCA or some other anti-domestic violence group. In July, to celebrate the fun I had two years ago at defcon, I'll make it computer month and pick the EFF or the gnome foundation. September is the anniversary of me moving to Wichita so I'll pick a local charity.

Part of me feels wrong writing in here about charities because, you know, you're supposed to be humble and give without anyone knowing and all that, but seriously I'm not here saying I'm a fabulously generous person, I'm here saying I'm a screwed up person who's trying a new system and I'm excited about the new system and I'll need encouragement.

Okay, so one of my friends has been contemplating the costs and benefits of religion. A lot of people look at organized religion, see things like the crusades and the holocaust, and figure it's probably a bad idea. I think stupid people will find a way to come together and wage wars no matter what God is up to... if it weren't for religion we'd have, like, militant knitting circles. But then again, I'm religious, so I'm biased.

ANYWAY in the course of this discussion I was about to explain to him that without religion, a lot of soup kitchens and homeless shelters would cease to exist, because most people who give a significant amount of their income to charities do this for religious reasons. But I have nothing to back this lovely theory of mine up. Speaking personally, it's a pretty safe bet that if I wasn't a christian, I would not be writing monthly checks to, well, my church. But there are other charities I support, mainly for human rights, that I probably would still support. But I don't give as much to those. But I don't know why. And I might be weird. I will say this: my goal is to donate 10% of my income to my church and other charities, and that 10% figure comes directly from my religion. If it wasn't for that, I'd be giving a lot less, because 10% is a LOT of money. I'm not there yet. But at least I'm trying... I have a goal, and it was set by God for ancient Jews, and I'm not a Jew but I still think it's a noble goal so that's why I'm working on it.

So the only scientific way to figure out how the world really works is with a livejournal poll. If it happens in a livejournal poll, it must be true. My theory: lots of people give, but the people who give a lot are religious. I'd be lying if I said I'd never met a generous atheist... when it comes to political causes, they're often MUCH more generous. But when it comes to sacrificing hundreds of dollars on a regular basis, I think people need a little prompting from God

Poll #641778 charitable giving
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: None, participants: 96

When it comes to charities... (check all that apply)

What causes do you support the most with your time/money?

If you donate a significant amount (more than 5%) of your income, what's the biggest reason for that?

What is it about the post-holiday period that just makes you feel like a zombie? I laid in bed reading, not wanting to do anything yesterday, until I decided that it was Kansas City doing it to me and I needed to go home. So I got up and went home. Now today I'm laying around here not doing anything but watching TV and reading e-mail on the G4 soulmate.

E-mail can be inspirational though, that's why I'm making this livejournal entry. I got a note from this very cool guy I knew in high school, Kale, who's been doing mission work all over the world like a crazy person for the last 3-4 years or so. He sends some very reflective, interesting material. I think he's in India now, and although he wasn't personally effected by the tsunami he's been to a lot of the places that were. He's sure that shop owners he talked to a year ago are gone now, streets where he walked are ruined.

So I'm looking for ways to help and figured I'd put up a short list of places I'd found that need some cash. Now that Christmas is over, i've already established credit card debt, so I figure adding to it is no big deal.

JustGive.Org is a charity review site. They've set up a special page for tsunami relief with a list of the different organizations and what they do.

Charity Watch has an even bigger list.

CARE USA does a lot in that region. They've got a big red banner at the top of their main page so you can donate to help with their efforts in Asia right now, and even a first-hand account by their director in Japan.

Oxfam has sent 27 tons of emergency equipment and is working quickly with the UN and other international communities to coordinate efforts.

Doctors Without Borders is providing much-needed medical aid - they're fairly high-profile so I went to their website it was down, but they had news of what they were doing in Asia and links to donate.

United Methodist Committee on Relief I'm a Methodist, so I've gotta give mad propz to my church for working with other organizations to restore infrastructures and provide food and housing.

So there you go! When a disaster like this hits, it can be tempting for us to push it out of our heads. I can't even start to wrap my brain around the situation, but there are organizations who can. They've been through earthquakes and tsunamis before and know where to go to action and how to get started, and they need our help.