I just spent the last 20 minutes typing up a post on an initiative about giving to children around the world that caught my attention. Who isn’t attracted to that, right? It sounded like a fun thing to get my own kids involved in.
While I was typing the post, I was navigating their website, finding links that would be helpful to you, and getting more background information. Some things jumped out at me that bothered me – like was the collection drive considering culturally relevant items? Hmmm…I wasn’t sure because I needed to find out more about who the ‘target’ populations were. And then I read further – and between the lines – and realized that my values were not aligned with the ones of this organization.
This group is well-meaning and I’m sure for many, their philosophies are appropriate. But not for me.
So, now I’m writing a post to ask YOU to do some research into the charitable endeavours that catch YOUR eye; take an additional step or two and make sure you are putting your energy and resources into initiatives that propogate what YOU value.
Be authentic in everything you do. After all, giving to charity is like putting a piece of yourself out there. It’s furthering your legacy, it’s leaving your mark.
Make sure that mark is really who you are.
Love this topic. For grad school, my final capstone was a millennial marketing strategy for Doctors Without Borders. The organization truly goes where other organizations do not go to provide aid for people who need it most.
Hi Kamana – yes, I’ve heard a lot about Doctors Without Borders. I’m always curious about an organization’s ‘agenda’. Sometimes there’s fine print or a ‘read between the lines’ type thing going on…it’s up to each of us to do our due diligence, and make choices based on our personal value systems. Thanks for stopping by!
That hasn’t happened to me yet but I completely agree that it is so important to do your research, for reasons exactly like yours!
Thanks, Salma! Yup, gotta also go with gut feelings. Sometimes it’s nothing explicitly stated, but if you feel like, hmmmm…that tone of voice or the way they’re talking about the people they want to help doesn’t jive with me, then go with that!
So true Taslim, there are thousands of charities out there, so not so legitimate and some spend most of their funds on admin & marketing…hardly anything actually goes to the CAUSE!!!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hey Tazeem – great to see you here! It’s such a tricky thing with funding allocation, for sure. Having worked with a non-profit for the last 4.5 years as a fund developer, I see how much person-power it takes to run an organization…and all those people have expenses to pay for and families to provide for. So, I don’t usually get too worked up about paying the people who are doing the work, but proper project selection (hopefully) ensures that more of the funds go to the actual cause rather than putting the project together. Thanks for sharing!
This is really terrific advice.
During this time of year it is really easy to just toss some money at an organization and think you are doing the world a favour, but it isn’t always so cut and dried.
It’s so important to know about your chosen charities. Get a LOT of info, then decide.
But do give when you find one that suits you and your values best. Do give.
Happy Holidays!
Hi! Thanks for stopping by 🙂 Yes, I definitely want to encourage people to give – and all year round, too, not just at Christmas…but doing the research will ensure your hard earned resources go exactly where you want them to! P.S. I love the name of your blog!