The Charity Vote. Read read!
As I mentioned a few days ago, I wanted to do something to thank all of you for putting up with this whole vote-for-me-vote-for-me time in my life. So I decided to give something to a charity in honor of all of you. ....with the added incentive that I'll bump up what I give if you manage to help me get voted into the top 20 in the contest.
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So here is my short-list of charities.
I cross referenced suggestions, my own idea, and some online resources to pick charities that are international in scope, with a very low overhead, so that the funding they get mainly goes to the cause. I've tried to stick with organizations that are broad in scope, rather than narrowly focused on a cause special only to me.
I gotta say it's a bit of an eye opener how many of the organizations we've all heard of and donated to are really inefficiently run. So if it seems like some suggestions you threw at me, or some really obvious organizations aren't on the list, that's why.
:
UNICEF - UN Children's Fund - 92% of funding goes to the program. Unicef focuses on protection and resources for children, primarily in impoverished areas. We're talking clean water, vaccines, nutrition, and AIDS care. (Years ago I actually wrote a musical as a UNICEF benefit...but the producing organization went under and the project never came to fruition.)
ACLU - the least efficient on my list, with 79% of funding going to the program itself. American Civil Liberties Union is a litigious organization that acts as a lawyer when people's rights have been trampled on. More pointedly these days, they're often the loud voice protecting the gay community. It's an American organization, but the results that they get can have international resonance, and really change the face of the modern world.
The Rainforest Foundation - 89% of funding to the program. This foundation works with indigenous peoples to utilize their resources in sustainable ways, which can preserve the land and the cultures. I know from my own visit to the Daintree Rainforest in Australia how beautiful the rainforests are. They are also the source of most of the world's oxygen, and most of the modern pharmaceutical drugs.....and yet we're cutting them down.
Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation - 83% of funding to the program. The organization funds medical research grants for childhood cancers. I have had a handful of friends affected by childhood cancers over the years, so this inclusion, I guess, is personal.
Environmental Defense Fund - 80% of funding goes to the program - scientific research to determine viable solutions to clashes between the modern world and the needs of the environment.
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Like I said a few days ago, I'm going to be giving $75 to whatever you guys pick, no matter what. If (it'd be a miracle now, I think) I make it to the top 20, I'll put in $150. I might actually put in more either way, but I need to do some money counting.