What would you do if givin $500 to Give away

[Nofussruss]

What would you do if you where given $500.00 and your job was to give
it away? Any ideas on leveraging it to do more good? I would love to
hear your ideas.

[lynn]

I'd pick 5 of my favorite really cool organizations, and donate $100 each...or,

I could 'sponsor' 'disadvantaged' children to take classes in whatever science, sports, or arts they were interested in...and sponsor them to go to theatre shows they wouldn't otherwise get to go to...

And they would go on at least one good local farm trip...to help them not forget how good food is grown and/or processed, and gets to their table...And take 'em to Safari West...

(If I were the education dictator, I would require all children to have at least one month of wilderness school experience, and one month of working on a farm, before being able to graduate)...


What would you do if you where given $500.00 and your job was to give
it away? Any ideas on leveraging it to do more good? I would love to
hear your ideas.

[Geni Houston]

I like Lynn's idea, but I might go in a different direction and interview candidates who have ideas to launch non-profit's such as Lynn described and use the money for a computer and internet service to launch and develop the programs themselves.

[Zeno Swijtink]

Great question, but also a bit tricky since we all must have some money we can give ourselves to give away .... :):

I would look around for a school Science Fair or two in the region, visit it and talk to the kids who are showing their projects.

Then I would select a handful of students who show a high daring/social background ratio and give them a carefully selected gift that they can use to push their envelope further.

It could be a book, a piece of equipment, a course at the JC, a visit with an inspirational person, a field trip, or whatever may be that special nudge for them.

[Photoguy]

I would use the money as "seed" money for a community Victory Garden. A project like Bayer Farm run by Landpaths in Santa Rosa is a good example. A person savvy in internet marketing and public relations could take this committed $500 and use it as leverage to find a landowner to donate a plot of land. Once the land has been found seeds, farming implements and the like could be purchased with part of the money. Local schools and or homeless shelters and interested individuals could be allowed sections of this garden/farm. In the coming economic catastrophe growing food locally and educating people on how to grow it sustainably will be critical to our very survival. With work and a little luck that $500 could litterally grow into much more than just feeding people a few meals or providing schoolbooks 1 time for a few children. A small project like this provides lessons in science, agriculture and community cohesiveness to name just a few of its positive aspects.

[Photoguy]

Just an add on to my previous thoughts, the land must be in a severely economically stressed area so those in the most need could be best serviced, on or near the grounds of an elementary school could also work (I think every public school should have a garden). There are also quite a few seniors out there who may not be healthy enough to do physical work in the garden, but have the ability to teach in and monitor the operations of the garden.

[Sara S]

A letter to the editor in today's Press Democrat:

At this time of the year. the pleas for donations are many, and I feel it is our moral obligation to help those less fortunate than ourselves. Having said that, I feel obliged to offer my finding from the Web site Charity Navigator.

Do you find it shocking, as I do, that the CEO of the American Red Cross was paid $565,000 plus expenses for the year 2003? How about the fetchingly named Feed The Children? The CEO, his wife and daughter suck $545,000 annually from monies donated to this charity. How many children would $545,000 feed? Then we have the head of the United Way, who scrapes by on $257,000 a year. Billy Graham and son get $407,000 a year. The list goes on.

Should these people work for nothing? Of course not. Charity Navigator says the national average CEO salary for all charities is about $165,000 a year, which I find a trifle high.

So my suggestion is this. Avoid national charities with inflated expenses. Investigat before you give. Better yet, give locally-- the homeless nearby, the needy family down the street, the local food distribution center. or ayour church's food pantry, if it has one.

Johnny Carney, Kelseyville


What would you do if you where given $500.00 and your job was to give
it away? Any ideas on leveraging it to do more good? I would love to
hear your ideas.

[lynn]

Wow!...Maybe those qualified someone's who need a job should start writing these charities and tell them they would love to do the job...For less!!...

Yes, I'm a bit surprised by some...Not, by Billy Graham though...I thought he might have even given himself more...: )...

I never 'give' to these 'charities'...Most of the organizations I like are a bit more obscure...and I much admire the people who operate them...

Here's one y'all might like...And fit's right in with this thread...There's a local Seb. chapter too...

https://www.breadforthejourney.org/

===================================================

Do you find it shocking, as I do, that the CEO of the American Red Cross was paid $565,000 plus expenses for the year 2003? How about the fetchingly named Feed The Children? The CEO, his wife and daughter suck $545,000 annually from monies donated to this charity. How many children would $545,000 feed? Then we have the head of the United Way, who scrapes by on $257,000 a year. Billy Graham and son get $407,000 a year. The list goes on.

Should these people work for nothing? Of course not. Charity Navigator says the national average CEO salary for all charities is about $165,000 a year, which I find a trifle high.

So my suggestion is this. Avoid national charities with inflated expenses. Investigat before you give. Better yet, give locally-- the homeless nearby, the needy family down the street, the local food distribution center. or ayour church's food pantry, if it has one.

[shanfsa]

I support making contributions in the local community. Since there are so many good causes, and $500 is a relatively small amount of money, it may go further in a smaller organization or to support a specific project.

It might be helpful to ask yourself some clarifying questions in order to make a choice between all the options:

Possible questions might be:
What matters most to me?
Is there a cause or need that is being met in the community that I want to connect to?
How could making this contribution serve to connect or engage me to my community in a meaningful way?
Do I want this contribution to serve as an entryway to a longer term connection to a cause or a group of people in the community?

Thanks for being thoughtful and wise about how to connect resources to needs.

In Peace,

[babaruss]

I support making contributions in the local community. Since there are so many good causes, and $500 is a relatively small amount of money, it may go further in a smaller organization or to support a specific project.

It might be helpful to ask yourself some clarifying questions in order to make a choice between all the options:

Possible questions might be:
What matters most to me?
Is there a cause or need that is being met in the community that I want to connect to?
How could making this contribution serve to connect or engage me to my community in a meaningful way?
Do I want this contribution to serve as an entryway to a longer term connection to a cause or a group of people in the community?

Thanks for being thoughtful and wise about how to connect resources to needs.

In Peace,

I'm not sure 'giving away' $500.00 is worth talking about at least in terms of doing much real good. It's definitely has potential for a bit of feel good for the giver, but beyond that in my opinion it has zip value in the greater scheme of things.
Perhaps that money could become seed money...the giver can start his/her own mini loan project... so that $500.00 can keep on giving.
They do that sort of thing in third world countries why not here.
Coming up with the initial worthwhile loan would be the challenge.
What in the world can $500.00 worth of today's dollars buy ? Buy a license for running a local zap cab, door to door organic doughnut sales...o.k. that one was ridiculous (but I did survival a year doing just that with the non organic kind decades ago).
I'm wondering how many talented, creative, (artist ?) people are willing to matchg the $500.00 with their expertise to make first project (loan ?) fruitful.
Just an idea.
Russ

[mediatorguy]

I would give it to an agency that maximizes its resources to help its constituents. For example, the California Homemakers Association in Santa Rosa provides food, medical services and public representation for domestic workers - a segment of the population that is usually overlooked and disregarded in our culture. They do an excellent job and serve a lot of families stretching the resources they receive from their sponsors.


What would you do if you where given $500.00 and your job was to give
it away? Any ideas on leveraging it to do more good? I would love to
hear your ideas.

[hales]

Have you heard of microloans? You can lend small amounts of money to people who have few resources, to start small businesses. Check out this website, for instance:

https://kiva.org/app.php?gclid=CKrFg9m505cCFRg6awodjBJWCw

Apparently, the repayment rate is pretty consistent, and you can help lift enterprising people out of poverty.

Closer to home, I also feel that school teachers have to give a lot more than they are reimbursed for, in our culture. They often pay for materials and other expenses out of their own modest resources.. you could donate materials to teachers for projects or particular subjects. If you help kids to learn, I think there is a ripple effect of benefits.

I have given away or lent money with good intentions. In retrospect, I think it's best to try to help people help themselves. When people do something for themselves, they have more of a sense of achievement and ownership for what they have achieved.

Scott.


I would give it to an agency that maximizes its resources to help its constituents. For example, the California Homemakers Association in Santa Rosa provides food, medical services and public representation for domestic workers - a segment of the population that is usually overlooked and disregarded in our culture. They do an excellent job and serve a lot of families stretching the resources they receive from their sponsors.

[nicofrog]

I'd Give It To Everybody!! Listed below, and above,like Earth Camp Collective at Laguna Farm, or any of the skazillian other GREAT local projects, heck you could just take it to the farmers market and give it to a nice transitional farmer!!
NO........
, but ,ya know .. actually I think to be honest I'd give it to a rich guy!
and nobody would even notice, because I'dd just be paying my rent..

But you see my land lord is not just any rich guy, nor does he have a non-profit just yet that understands his dreams, but he's a great guy cause he provides a huge place for people to experiment with their dreams of a better world, I keep all my tools and Materials at his place for 500 a month!

Where do I get off giving this money to myself????? well , It's too big for this posting but E MAIL ME and I'll send you a document that explains
my as yet unfunded proposal for an amazing transformational Environmental
arts center here in Sebastopol that can and WILL make a difference for
children, adults, grand children and great grandchildren(even if I die tomorrow)oh ,also for parents,grandparents, and elders in general.
Productive arts Training Center
at green valley village, in Sebastopol
imagine a cross between Occidental Arts and Ecology, and Disneyland
and you get the general idea.Nico Morris 707 684 0341
This center will be dedicated to the Pomo
Miwok people who inhabited this valley before
the loggers took it from them.
currently, I work in schools doing environmental education through the arts, If you know of local schools interested in projects, let us know!!


What would you do if you where given $500.00 and your job was to give
it away? Any ideas on leveraging it to do more good? I would love to
hear your ideas.

["Mad" Miles]

... the California Homemakers Association in Santa Rosa provides food, medical services and public representation for domestic workers - a segment of the population that is usually overlooked and disregarded in our culture. They do an excellent job and serve a lot of families stretching the resources they receive from their sponsors.


Dear Waccies,

The CHA has been discussed previously on this waccobb thread:

https://www.waccobb.net/forums/showthread.php?t=16388&highlight=california+homemakers+association

(After posting this I checked, and the above link is not working. Barry? But now it is! Thanks Barry et al, for all you do.)

Here's what you get when you google it:

"California Homemakers Association" - Google Search (https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22California+Homemakers+Association%22&btnG=Google+Search)

Caveat Emptor,

"Mad" Miles

:burngrnbounce:


P.S. Regarding the American Red Cross, I worked for the Sonoma County Chapter from '98-'01, I was the Administrative Assistant for Administrative Services, in actuality the Executive Assistant to the CEO with duties comprising that of Office Manager and Facilities Manager, without the title and pay of course.

The ARC has its warts. There's a thread on waccobb where I went into more detail, but right now the system is not letting me look for it. (Well, I wasted a bunch of time looking through my old posts to wacco, after the system started letting me, and guess what? My piece on the ARC was from before this website existed! I tried posting it as an attachment to this but I've exceeded my limit and am not allowed unless I become a "supporting member". If you're interested in reading it, email me privately and I'll send it as an attachment to that reply. If I get a bunch of requests I'll send it as a reply to this thread. Or a new one if people think it's "off topic" here.)

But ask yourself this, before making easy judgments about the excessive pay of non-profit CEO's, what is the annual budget of the national American Red Cross, how much would a CEO in private industry make running a corporation with a similar budget, how much does that compare to what the ARC CEO (National) makes?

I think you'll find it's much, much less.

When I worked for the ARC Sonoma County Chapter (which is now the Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake County Chapter due to the financial failure of the latter two County Chapters) the local CEO made around $54K a year. I make more than that as a correctional educator and I have nowhere near the same kind of burdensome job duties.

It's a market system folks, something I'll be glad to rail against another time, as a student of Marx and his theoretical inheritors I've plenty to say on the subject, but as long as things are organized in a competitive market, you're not going to find qualified people doing the job for less.

I do want to note that the new CEO of our local does his own administrative support work, no gofer like I was between him and the public. I give him props for that one. And there are volunteers doing other aspects of what was my job.

By the way, I started out at $18K and in three years had gotten up to the magnificent sum of $22K. Part of the reason I quit was that I couldn't get by on that.

When your house or apartment burns down because you left the Christmas tree next to the fireplace, or some other idiocy like I read about in today's paper, who's going to put you up in a motel for a week and give you vouchers for food, clothing, etc.?

When the Russian River floods again, who's going to open and run the shelters?

It's the ARC, that's who.

"M"M

[Barry]

While each of us may not have $500 to five away, as a community I'm sure we can raise that much. I think there is value in focusing our philanthropy to one cause so we can really have an impact.

So I started a community fund raising initiative where we all get to decide where the funds we will go.

I hope you'll you all will participate and kick in some bucks in our first WaccoBB.net Community Fundraiser (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/showthread.php?p=78114#top)! :newangel:

[Sara S]

Just heard of a website which rates nonprofits:
https://www.greatnonprofits.org (https://www.greatnonprofits.org/)

[typewriter]

With the conversation about inflated overhead (which I have similar opinions about having worked in grassroots nonprofit development) I wanted to mention guidestar.org so you can see the breakdown of nonprofit spending.

Also, here are a few small business grants that give away $500-$1000 (some are larger) with this idea in mind (some are closed right now):

Ideacafe.com $1000
cheaptherpay.net (pay it forward grant) $500
Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund AVON HELLO TOMORROW FUND (https://shop.avon.com/HelloTomorrowFund/) $5000
Ideablob $10,000
webmomz.com $500
Amber Grant The Amber Grants For Women In Business | Grants for Women | Amber Grants (https://www.womensnet.net/Amber-Grants/terms.php) $500
Women 2.0 Business Plan Competition Women 2.0 » Women 2.0 Business Plan Competition 2008 (https://www.women2.org/deadline-to-submit-is-april-1st-2008/)

I will mention here that I spent a lot of time researching these for my own business.

[Badger]

We're regular small-scale (<$500) supporters of a woman in Las Vegas who has set up a nonprofit dedicated to the in rescue and placement of ex-racing greyhounds. Without going into details, this piddling amount of money makes a tremendous difference in the good work she's able to do. 100% goes to the dogs.

Steven and Ondrea Levine are having troubles right now; she has leukemia, he's unable to work and they're living in New Mexico. If any of their work has touched your life, you can make a tax-deductible contribution through Bread For The Journey in Mill Valley.

Locally, Food For Thought is a great bet for making sure your donation goes to those in need rather than totally eaten up by overhead.

After getting deluged with fundraising mail from any number of nonprofits after making a small contribution to a local charity, I've asked that my name not be included in any fundraising mailing lists. Charities routinely compile and sell their lists of proven contributors, and the deluge of mail annoys me.