Survey: Do You Give to Charity?
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 12.18.06
In the New York Times on Sunday, Peter Singer, philosopher and author of "The Way We Eat" discussed philanthropy. He looks at the Millenium Development Goalswhich include reducing poverty, child and maternal mortality, and improving access to safe drinking water. Economists estimated that the world should be donating $ 121 Billion this year. Singer goes on to do the math: Americans in the top 10% of the population, earning about $132K,, should donate 10%, or $13.2 K. Those in the top .1% should give 25% and those in the top .01% about 40%. If this happened, the millenium goals could be easily reached and everyone would still have lots of money to live on. Read the article here.
I budget a fixed amount for charities, about $1500 per year. It's not "as much as I can," but it's more than nothing... which of the above options should I choose?
Hey guys, I couldn't fill out the poll, because our charitable contributions are to groups of faith and social service orgs. I think it's easy to dismiss either, but there is so much that these people do to impact our community. For me, being a steward begins with caring about my community. It is precisely those who care about what tomorrow will look like, that understand the importance of caring for Mother Earth.
Your survey could have included more choices to capture people who give as much as they can to charities that don't necessarily deal with poverty or the environment (i.e., education, health, religious, arts, etc.). This is very interesting though - I wonder why so many people who have access to the internet and your blog don't feel like they have enough money to give to charity...
I would have liked to see an option for giving to both MDG supporters and environmental causes, as I split my donations between the two.
I'm lucky because although I'm not rolling in money, I've got enough to make significant donations at the moment. I figure it's up to me to contribute as I know that there's plenty of people who would like to but can't afford to.
I feel obliged to give to charity. It’s nothing to do with karma, guilt, tax allowances, keeping up with the Joneses, or even common morality. It’s entirely because ‘I’ feel I have to. My book, ‘What if...?’, addresses many of the world’s social and environmental issues, including poverty and disease, exploitation, and basic human rights. While my book is a thriller, a recurring theme through it is the suffering of the poorer section of the world – if I didn’t give something back I’d be exploiting these people just as surely as the corrupt/apathetic governments that allow it to continue, and the western corporations that leach the life out of these people and their resources in the name of a quick buck.
The only real way to look at charity is not to look at a specific problem and ask if it needs addressing and if you yourself should help address it, but to simply imagine you are the person in need – would you want someone to help you? It really is that simple.
Steve N. Lee
Author of eco/religious thriller 'What if…?'.
www.steve-n-lee.com