You may or may not think that the stimulus checks
the government is sending out this month make good economic sense, but
either way, you've got to decide what to do with the extra 300 to 600
bucks. You could buy yourself a bottle of 1980 Dom Perignon, for
instance, or take yourself and 29 friends to see Speed Racer. But in
case you want to put some of your windfall to work for a good cause,
here are 10 specific, action-ready ideas:
1. Feed the grassroots.
Send your money directly to the people
who need it by using the online system at GlobalGiving.com, which pairs
"average Joe" donors with grassroots charity projects around the world.
It's eBay meets foreign aid, with projects searchable by topic,
country, and a host of other criteria. GlobalGiving has just launched a
resource page and a relief fund to help victims of the Myanmar/Burma
cyclone, which has left up to 1.9 million people homeless, injured, or
vulnerable to disease and hunger. www.globalgiving.com
2. Offset yourself.
Worried about climate change? Whether you're
reducing your own carbon footprint, you can use the cash to buy carbon
offsets, which fund projects designed to counteract atmospheric
pollution and global warming. Carbon Catalog provides a long list of
providers and information about transparency and verification. www.carboncatalog.org
3. Help the troops phone home.
Think "support the troops" has
become a platitude? Do something real to help servicemembers serving
abroad by paying for their calling cards so they can keep in touch with
their families back home. If you don't have a person in mind, look at
the bottom of this page for ideas: thor.aafes.com/scs
4. Fight poverty.
While the government has decided to give most
people a tax rebate, families of few means will receive smaller checks,
and sometimes nothing at all. You can make sure resources go to the
people who need it most by making a donation to the Low Income
Investment Fund, which helps low-income communities develop in a
sensible way and avoid the poverty trap. www.liifund.org
5. Fight racism.
Want to do something concrete about racial
injustice in the United States? The Applied Research Center advances
racial equality through research, advocacy, and journalism. Their work
helps to change both policies and minds. www.arc.org
6. Fight homophobia.
If you think that human rights should
include the right to love, consider donating to the Astraea Lesbian
Foundation for Justice. Astraea supports social justice in the United
States, and organizations that benefit LGBTI communities worldwide. www.astraea.org
7. Don't donate it ... loan it.
Microcredit is a burgeoning
field that fights poverty by making small, targeted loans in order to
foster entrepreneurship in developing countries. Two organizations (one
for-profit and one non) offer you the chance to personally finance some
of those loans. Your investment may even make a little money at the
same time. www.kiva.org / www.microplace.org
8. Do more than talk about Tibet.
Speaking out against China's
record on human rights is a good start. But why not put your stimulus
check where your mouth is? A donation to The Tibet Fund will deliver
needed resources to the educational, cultural, health, and
socio-economic institutions inside Tibet and the refugee settlements in
India, Nepal, and Bhutan. www.tibetfund.org
9. Nurture young minds.
Support the arts as a way to empower
young people by giving your tax rebate to Girls Write Now, a creative
writing and mentoring organization for high school girls in New York. www.girlswritenow.org
10. Support independent media.
We're not too proud to suggest it: Donate to your friendly neighborhood nonprofit online magazine! www.inthefray.org
Update: Another worthwhile use of your tax rebates would be donating
them to help victims of the recent earthquake in China, which has left
tens of thousands of people dead or missing. Consider donating to the
International Response Fund of the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org), Mercy Corps (www.mercycorps.org), or World Vision (www.worldvision.org).
This is a great idea. What about helping the hungry? A hunger crisis had already began when the terrible events in China and Myanmar occurred. Then of course those events made matters even worse.
