Technology streamlines charitable giving

Who wouldn’t walk a 10k race for a good cause? Well, thanks to the availability of fast online money transfers you can be charitable and still save your feet. And the numbers don’t lie. According to Forbs, individual giving accounted for about $220 billion last year, nearly $7 billion of that was from online giving. The average person who donates doesn’t do it for the recognition; they would happily donate if they had to do it anonymously. And thanks to reoccurring payments they can continue to give without any effort. Non profits still resemble a business in many ways, so it’s best to understand where you are giving your money. The safest best is the Red Cross; they have offices probably near you. Another great place mentioned in the Forbes article is Firstgiving.com, which helped this little girl:

“Abby was diagnosed with a brain tumor on March 3. Three days later, she underwent surgery to remove the tumor. At that point, she could no longer walk. Abby suffered through 12 exhausting months of chemotherapy and six weeks of daily radiation. Abby’s final radiation treatment took place on May 28, 2007. The summer passed and she gradually regained some strength. By this fall, she was even well enough to start preschool. But in September, an MRI exam revealed that Abby had three more tumors. These were on her spine and inoperable. The only option was more chemotherapy and radiation sessions. Abby has had multiple blood transfusions, and in November, she spent more time at the hospital than at home.”

They helped setup a website for the girl’s mother, which helped connect her with charitable givers. I’ve mentioned a few other good places to do research on charities previously. One.org does great humanitarian work, and was featured in the media. GuideStar.org and NetworkforGood.org provide database searches of charitable organizations. And finally you can check if your employer does charitable matching. This leads to the area of organizational giving. Companies like individuals donate to good causes. Even some websites donate portions of revenue to charity. Good will furthers more good will. Even after the holidays the season of giving continues year long. source doc: forbes

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