Donations & Charities

Every year I review my income, and work out a percentage that I'm going to give to Charity. I wish I could donate my time as much as money, but time seems to be in shorter & shorter supply.

I do a lot of research on Charities, to insure a majority of the funds go the the charity and NOT the 3rd party handling the transaction. I also try to stay clear of Charities which are religion based, as I'm not a proponent of pushing religion (let alone anything else). As well I stay away from Charities which have recently received large donations (those in excess of $10 million). I primarily give to education for the poor & projects which help people help themselves, and a small amount to public radio stations for Jazz & new artists.

The Charities I tend to give to every year:

• AfriCare (African Well Fund) - which builds and maintains clean water wells in Sub-Saharan Africa [93% goes to Africa] {learned about at a Christmas Cocktail party 2 years ago}
• Ambler Theater - which is a local arts theater in Ambler, Pennsylvania [100% goes to theater] {learned about from friends}
• Cancer Research - these are scattered sponsorships of friends who run/bike/walk in Cancer Research fund raising events. [100%] {learn about via social networks}
  
• DonorsChoose - which is a 3rd party that buys supplies for Schools and gives them to teachers/projects in need. [85% goes to the Schools] {found about from Fred Wilson}
• The Reading Team - which helps people (kids & adults) in New York read. [100% goes to charity] {friend works there}
• WBGO - which is a radio station in Newark, New Jersey that champions jazz and presents news to a worldwide audience through radio, other technologies and events. [100% goes to station] {listen to the station when around New York or via the Internet}
• WXPN - which is a radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the nationally recognized leader in Triple A music and the premier guide for discovering new and significant artists in rock, blues, roots, and folk. [100% goes to station] {listen to the station when at home or via the Internet}

As I do normally get a letter of thanks from the head of development for any charity, this year I received a letter from a teacher which benefited from DonorsChoose which was quite heart warming.

Caveat: Though it would be nice to dismiss the cost of taxes, I do donate to reduce my annual tax payment. Regardless, even if I was tax free, I would still donate time or money to these organizations.

I'm forever looking for a good organization to donate to, so if you have any suggestions?