The Giving Season

At this time of the year, those of us who have a little change rattling in our pockets (or savings accounts) may turn our thoughts to charity, end of the year giving and, of course, tax benefits.

I read with interest this little article (also heard something on NPR about the topic) about those who try to tease out which charity is doing the best with the least amount of money.

Don't get me wrong, I check into the charities before I give. Rather, I do now after realizing that some of my favorite charities weren't living up to the hype.

Listening to a conversation on the radio, though, about this, I came to the conclusion, as did the guests, that the best you can really do is be involved with the organizations. Get a bird's eye view. So, it is hard to do with national organizations, but really possible with local organizations.

At the moment, I am down to only two charities, though in more flush times, there was at least one more that I routinely supported. (The little donations to support friends and colleagues with a particular fundraiser don't count for me. I am supporting the person running or walking not so much the organization.) My two are NPR (my local station KQED) and Family Builders.

I feel as though I really do owe NPR/KQED lots of cash. I am a news junkie and would have the news programs delivered directly into my ears if I could. Oh yeah, I kind of do. Sometimes I stream the local radio station. Love The NEWS Hour at 3pm. But, I also use NPR's media player where I can add in all the stories I want to hear and if I don't get to it or the browser crashes, well, it remembers what I wanted to hear. The small amount of money I set aside for these services, well, it just doesn't compare to the hours of listening pleasure. That is not even mentioning the many, wonderful shows I catch on the PBS TV station (also KQED). As soon as I have more money, I will be augmenting my gift. Except for during the pledge times (where I have been a volunteer, what fun!), where there is an incessant stream of musical offerings (not MY cup of tea), I love to watch PBS. Free, no cable needed, and usually a good picture with my antenna.

I sit on the board of Family Builders, so I see first hand the incredible work they do. This is a case where quantity is not the issue. You could spend a tiny bit of money on a lot of people with so so results and call it a success (I have worked at these such organizations). Creating lasting families and relationship bonds between people is simply not a low cost proposition. Family Builders makes a lifetime commitment to the families it brings together, modeling the behavior it would most like to see its clients emulate. When I chose to sit on Family Builders and not some other adoption agency/foster care organization the biggest selling point was the after care.

No other agency that I investigated took the time to both train the families (preplacement) AND support those families for life (postadoption). In the intervening years, the organization has continued to show foresight and compassion for the children in foster care. Long committed to finding homes for the "hard to place" child, read over 4 years old or physically/mentally disabled or just not whte, Family Builders has led the way in helping those youth who are still in foster care in their teens and facing the possibility of "aging out" of the system. For those not in the know, that means getting put on the street to take care of yourself at the age of 18, often with no money in your pocket and all of your belongings in a garbage bag. Family Builders has crafted programs and advocacy campaigns around this issue. You can and should read more about it on the website, though it is in process of being updated so bear with it if it's light on content at the moment.

All this to say, it is good to worry about where your money goes, but getting the most out of a dollar is not always the BEST you can do. And the best way to find out about an organization is to spend some time with its constituents and its employees.

Find the one you love and trust and give what you can.