HuffPost Charity Chain: Needs-Generated Philanthropy at DonorsChoose

Are you tired of writing a check to a worthy non-profit without knowing if you money is going for some paper-shuffler or fancy lunch? Fortunately, we are entering the era of "New Philanthropy," where you know exactly where your money is going. At DonorsChoose.org, public school teachers all over the United States post what they need for their classrooms and donors scan the site and decide which projects to fund, in whole or in part. So a teacher might want, say, a video camera to bring the teaching of Shakespeare alive for her inner city students. Or 30 copies of a novel for a special project. Or a microscope. This is needs-generated philanthropy, and as everyone from Bill Clinton to Pierre Omidyar (founder of eBay) have attested, the DonorsChoose model is transformative.

I'm on the board, so not a neutral journalist on this one. But it's not too late to buy some DonorsChoose gift certificates for the holiday season or make a contribution yourself. Once you start scanning the teachers' proposals it's highly addictive.

Previously: Nora Ephron's First Annual HuffPost Charity Chain

Comments

[wrabbitt]

How about one organization that is taxpayer funded, has a record of being the most wasteful, answering to no one,spends money on pet projects, get pay raises without having to do anything,has the worlds best health care, best retirement plan,and can work till they die, and hire any and all family members,for large amounts of money,and say one thing and, do what ever they please, It's Congress, of course. And,you want some charity to be more open? When congress is a role model, how can we judge a charity for being ineffective, and wasteful? A charity we can choose to fund, congress we have no choice,or control.

[maryo]

That is a wonderful site and is what is needed in this country to help share the wealth. My regret is that you need to be a schoolteacher to post on that site. So much money is wasted on charity and other programs; and of all that money spent so little of it gets to the people who really need it. I know because I live in poverty and I know how hard it is, I have stood in the food lines and have known what it is like to be hungry and I know what it is like to be homeless and cold in the winter. In many way's poverty was a gift to me I went from riches to rags but I also know how hard it is to climb out. Getting a hand up is almost impossible. I say it was a gift because it taught me about greed and if there is one thing I see all around me it is how greed pervades this society. In addition, before you judge me I will tell you I am a college graduate, I do work and have for most of my life, I am raising a grandchild with disabilities, and I am 70 years old. My income for me and my teenage grandson is $1200
a month and it is impossible to live on that.

[3reddogs]

A nice twist on the KIVA model.

[littleblackcat]

It is truly sad to see the level to which our beautiful nation has sunk. With the money wasted on this war and the killing of innocents, we could have educated probably 90% of the deserving people, adults and students alike, in all of North America. That we have homeless and those in need of food pantries is disgusting and needs to be brought totally out of the corners of life and plastered over the headlines of the world's newspapers. If there are enough left that are not under the control of rupert murdoch. The truth won't get published there, only the blather about the "strong economy", etc. and other misrepresentations about conditions in this country. Anyone with a nickel's worth of brains knows when bushie needs to drum-pound about how strong the economy is doing, he and daddy bush get their ultra-rich pals to buy and sell stock to each other so it looks like a lot of activity on the stock market. When I was a child no one needed to buy their own supplies for school. Lunch was twenty-five cents a day, milk cost three cents. I fear the next step will be having to pay for school workbooks, which will be the next step in killing public education. An uneducated public is a controllable public and that is what the "permanent republican base" wants. They have already put the skids under the American people.

[jeanniebee]

I received an e-mail from Virginia governor Tim Kaine about this option of holiday giving.

Frankly, as one who comes from a family of teachers, I am outraged that in America educators must go begging for classroom supplies. I am outraged that in America we have not just foodbanks here and there, to stave off temporary, isolated food needs, but permanent networks of foodbanks across the country. I am outraged that in America there are at least 200,000 homeless vets, hundreds of thousands of vets from the Iraq war alone who are not receiving the mental and physical health care they deserve, millions more Americans of all ages who go hungry, and countless Americans who suffer needlessly, and sometimes die, for lack of health care.

These are all public responsibilities that our government since Reagan has chosen to ignore, while increasingly rigging the system to reward corporate CEOS and Wall Street high flyers. To obscene levels.

Do something really useful with your money:

Support John Edwards for president
https://johnedwards.com/action/contribute/form
http://johnedwards.com/splash/

and Dave Shreve for Congress http://www.actblue.com/page/jeannieb4dave

[Barbwire]

This year my middle daughter suggested that we all donate to charity instead of exchanging adult gifts. She gave us 4 from which to choose. We all contributed, but to charities of our own choice. We supported Heifers, The Carter Foundation, Conservati­on/Ecology­, Inner City Arts, etc. We all felt great about it.

[Aurelius]

I am giving all my extra money to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. http://www.unhcr.org/donate/donate_sin.htm
You can earmark your contribution for Iraqi refugees. Americans have more than the usual obligation to help others here, since the distress of these people is caused by our government.

[PrairieSunshine]

Thanks for sharing the DonorsChoose.org site, Jonathan. Today I recommended recycling Christmas gift bags by filling them with our no longer needed, gently used items for charity-supporting thrift stores.

Caring people can find school needs right in our own communities, too. What a wonderful opportunity to give a special welcome-back from the Christmas holidays to school children.

Synergy of information sharing enriches all of us. And synergy of generosity opportunity sharing enriches our communities.
--Prairie, prairiesun­rising.blo­gspot.com

[tchristin]

While the organization mentioned is most likely worthy of support, I resent the implication that nonprofit organizations are awash with extra funds that they are probably wasting. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Government funds are shrinking and most charities are struggling and working harder than ever with increasing needs, most staff work for lower than average wages and go without health insurance and other benefits that the for profit sector takes for granted.

It is different for churches who do not have to answer for much of what they do. But a public nonprofit, is highly accountable and managed by a volunteer board of directors that assumes responsibility for the fiscal oversight. They get nothing for what they do except the satisfaction of knowing they are helping to improve their own community and extend a hand to neighbors who are sick or in trouble.

For the record, if you really want to know where donations are being spent there are many resources available to check them out. One very well known is Guidestar: http://www.guidestar.org

You can look up a charitable organization's 990 tax form detailing sources of income and expenses. You can support your local United Way, most now require their partner agencies to keep administrative costs below a reasonable percentage of operating budgets and demand to see outcomes. You can ask for an annual report, most charities are more than happy to provide anyone with this information.

I know so many wonderfully generous people working to provide basic assistance for children and people in need in our communities. Better yet, do more than write a check... volunteer and see for yourself.

[Mauimom]

Thanks, Jonathan. I've been contributing to DonorsChoose for several years. [In DC it used to be called "Means for Dreams."]

My donations funded sports books to encourage young boys to read; a set of librettos for a scaled-down version of Aladdin; a set of "hands on" math materials; etc.

While I'm not a DC resident, I'm glad to support teachers there with good ideas but inadequate funds to carry them out.

[mustkilltreemake2x4]

I just wanted to say I respect very few intelligent media personalities these days. So many have taken sides of politicians to get more viewers that it hard to get the facts straight anymore. I think Jonathan Alter has remained relatively neutral in this political season and I appreciate that. He is a dieing breed in journalism.

[desmirl]

At a more basic level... If you have a shelter or food bank in your city or town, go to the nearest grocery store, buy canned food by the case (some groceries will give a discount) and take it to the shelter. I have yet to hear of any shelter that's selling donated food and competing with the local grocery. BTW, the reason I started going direct to the charity with food was when I read my church's budget and found that 92% of the money donated was going to the operation of the business...er, I mean church.