Category Archives: Philanthropy

In addition to a quick blurb as @DavidGorsline, I want to praise the online publication of the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington. Selection as one of 70 top small-budget (under $3 million) DC nonprofits involves a six-month vetting process to find organizations with “rock-solid financial and organizational structures.” Washington City Paper, in its introduction to the list of 70 worthy charities, writes,

Traditionally, the Catalogue has bound its list into a book and distributed thousands of copies to “high net worth individuals” in the area. This year, we’ve worked with the organization to highlight its list in our pages, with the idea that you don’t have to be rich to want to give a little.

Recent disasters, natural and man-made, in Japan, Haiti, the Gulf of Mexico call out to us: we want to give time and money to alleviate suffering and mitigate environmental damage. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

But several columnists have pointed out that the need for charitable giving is a 24/7/365 thing (among them Holden Karnofsky at GiveWell). The earthquake victims are still under duress even after their tour through the news cycle. Often, what’s needed most at a disaster scene isn’t what’s easiest to fit in an envelope. Donated funds that are earmarked for relief of a particular calamity hamper organizations’ ability to deploy resources where they are most needed.

The best way to help is to establish a long-term relationship with a few select organizations, and to make unrestricted gifts. There is a handful of groups that I have helped for ten years or more, through thick and mostly through thin: there’s been maybe a year following a layoff when I wasn’t able to give. But when times are flush, I try to give more, and to more organizations.

To the extent that a particular sharp event cracks open your wallet, keep the relationship going. I made my first contribution to the American Red Cross in the aftermath of 9/11, and I’ve been giving slowly but steadily since.

Via DCist: DC’s new fee on disposable grocery bags means an additional hardship for poor residents. Bread for the City is organizing efforts to collect donations of reusable bags and distribute them to the people who need them most.

Ariel Kaminer realty-checks volunteering at a soup kitchen for the holidays:

So though [Joel] Berg [executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger] appreciates the thought, he says the best way to contribute is to lend your specialized abilities, such as legal or computer skills.

“The truth is, spending a few hours at a food pantry or soup kitchen helping people apply for food stamps will do a lot more to end hunger than months serving soup or moving cans around,” he said.