Charity
Focusing on charities
It is all quite simple, actually. I have removed all ads on my web site, and instead replaced them with an opportunity to give money to people in need. I feel that if that the biggest problem we have in our lives is to make something work in a web browser, we’re so well off that the very least we can do is to give something back to people who are less fortunate.
There’s no trickery, and don’t worry, not a single cent will go to me. And I’m not under the impression that I’m Mother Teresa either, it’s just that a majority of us lead such good lives that the good thing, no, the only correct and sound thing is to do whatever we can to help out. There’s so much misery, pain and horrible things happening in this world, constantly, so a contribution, no matter how small, that helps to address that can be worth so much.
I know people have different values, so what I’ve tried to do here is to offer a number of different charities, hoping that at least one will suit your preferences. You also get the opportunity to display your or your company name in the donation list. The four offered are:
Reaching a goal
For each of the four charities mentioned above, I’ve set up a goal: to reach £100 for each of them within a year. Personally, I think (read: hope) that this will be a small feat. Given the number of readers I have, if you just look to yourself and just share something like £2 (the minimum donation amount), we will be there in no time.
Co-operating with Justgiving.com
First I contacted the major charity organizations to see what kind of donation account I could set up, and what information I could get about the donations (i.e. how much money has been given, how many donations has occurred for each cause etc). Unfortunately, none of them could offer this to me, which I find somewhat surprising.
Therefore, I searched high and low, asked around and eventually it led to Justgiving.com. I tested their service, and must say what I was, and still am, quite impressed. It’s very easy to set up donation pages, to follow-up the success of it, and, last but not least, very easy for anyone to donate money.
Donation fees
Let me be straight up front about this. Justgiving charges a 5% fee for their service and making sure the donation goes well. In my book, it’s a small percentage to pay for a great service, and it’s just a tad more than any regular credit card fee is.
An upside of it, too, is that if you’re a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you, meaning that for a £10 donation, the charity will receive about £12! All thanks to Gift Aid.
A call to bloggers
This will probably be received as somewhat provocative, but seeing all the blogs in the world, littered with ads, PayPal buttons and its likes, I can’t help but wonder just about how much any of them could contribute. If you contribute otherwise, that’s just fine. If you’re poor and the ad income just goes to paying your web host and ISP, kudos for sharing.
But, if you’re like me, and I know for a fact, a lot of other bloggers, you do make a decent amount in your day job. And if you make ends meet, can care for your families and have a balanced environment, please just consider giving money to a charity. I mean, after all, we don’t really need a third iPod, another flat screen or that classy but oh-so-expensive couch. If I can forsake my ad incomes, I’m sure you can too (or hey, at least cut down on them).
Would you please consider contributing?
As long as out living standards are decent, let us instead try and help people who are starving, being abused, raped, abandoned. Let us focus on preserving nature before we just become extinct, just out of our ignorance.
Let’s be generous. Humble. Kind. Caring.
Thank you!