Giving away 100k in 2020

[jinkies]

Jan 7, 2020 15:22:06 GMT -5 minzy said:

But I wrestle with the idea that chucking them one by one is not truly the most efficient use of time or resources. And for the stuff I tend to do, it’s probably not. I read a book a couple years ago, written by a physician who was practicing medicine in a third world country on a short term basis. They made what seemed like the tough call to focus on prevention, where they could impact and save perhaps thousands of lives, rather than helping to fix time intensive one off medical cases. The approach seemed callous to me at the time, but I’ve thought of it often since. It makes me wonder if I should act on “bigger” issues when I spend time volunteering. So lately I have been trying to have more of a say in some of the higher level conversations, based on what I see at the ground level.

Do you remember the name of the book by any chance? I think I'd be interested in it. 

My last job was specifically looking at hepatitis B prevention worldwide, which in turn would prevent the majority of liver cancer. 

There is, unfortunatey, insufficient vaccination in many parts of the world (and a lot of misinformation in this part of the world). It is not a "sexy" cause at all, but timely vaccination and access to the vaccine would save so many lives. Through that lens, I could definitely understand someone wanting to focus more on prevention.

[minzy]

jinkies it was Admissions: Life As a Brain Surgeon by Henry Marsh
www.goodreads.com/book/show/33574189-admissions

[rachelgreen]

This is so amazing! I’d love to follow along. I love the paying off lunches idea mentioned upthread and there are already so many amazing suggestions. I have a couple IF ideas but I’d probably have to share IRL name for you to verify info so I will have to PM you later.

[tcu2003]

I love this and would love to follow along on your journey.

Similar to other posters, I’m drawn to many kid-related things. Our school district’s foundation has a fund-a-need section, so we’ve been able to donate to some needs at a couple of low income schools (these are school or classroom requests from teachers, counselors, etc, not individual student needs). They also have Student Care and Student Health Emergency Funds to help bridge gaps and help families in need, so that would get more of money.

[konapoppy]

Jan 8, 2020 15:46:35 GMT -5 rachelgreen said:

This is so amazing! I’d love to follow along. I love the paying off lunches idea mentioned upthread and there are already so many amazing suggestions. I have a couple IF ideas but I’d probably have to share IRL name for you to verify info so I will have to PM you later.

Yes, please do!

[konapoppy]

Thanks for the great ideas, everyone!

I have started a google doc to track all of my ideas and folks I want to reach out to. I will work on getting a website up and social accounts and share when they are ready!

[dochas]

You're wonderful.

I have a family member that works for a non-profit, and I think it's an exciting program. If higher education opportunities for low income kids is something you're interested in maybe this would be a good one. I've not heard of a program like this before, and I think it has promise. 

NYC Kids Rise

[turboteal]

Another suggestion: look at the National Network of Abortion Funds for a local to you abortion fund. These groups provide direct grants to people who need help covering the cost of their abortion or travel/accommodation costs required to get that medical care. Depending on your location there may be higher levels of obstacles that increase the costs for patients (e.g. here in Tx the mandatory 24 hr wait between ultrasound and procedure, or living in an area with no clinic within a 9 hour drive). This is another area where one time funds can have a huge impact on a person's life/future or ability to stay or move out of poverty.

[brooke77]

I would love to follow along. I also think that what you’re doing is amazing. Are you planning on continuing similar contributions in 2021, or is this a one year thing?

I would donate to the Ronald McDonald House and Sierra Club.

[konapoppy]

turboteal - they have been on my donations list historically

brooke77, it may not be the exact same dollar amount, but yes, I expect to still redistribute more money on top of our charitable giving.

[melmel48]

This is incredible! I am very interested in hearing about your journey and your ideas; who you decide to give to.

[Deleted]

Before my mom retired, she worked in administration at a community college. She banked up a ton of vacation days, and when she retired and sold them back, it was a sizeable chunk of money. So she started a fund at the CC gives grants to help students with things that pop up that prevent them from attending class — like emergency car repairs, emergency childcare, etc. I have diverted a lot of my charitable giving to this fund, because I think it does a huge service toward keeping people in school. The fund is named after my mom, so it’s pretty special. She has requested that instead of giving her gifts for birthday, Mother’s Day, etc, we donate to this fund.

I imagine that many Community Colleges or technical schools have similar grant funds.

[statgirl]

Jan 12, 2020 20:31:58 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Before my mom retired, she worked in administration at a community college. She banked up a ton of vacation days, and when she retired and sold them back, it was a sizeable chunk of money. So she started a fund at the CC gives grants to help students with things that pop up that prevent them from attending class — like emergency car repairs, emergency childcare, etc. I have diverted a lot of my charitable giving to this fund, because I think it does a huge service toward keeping people in school. The fund is named after my mom, so it’s pretty special. She has requested that instead of giving her gifts for birthday, Mother’s Day, etc, we donate to this fund.

I imagine that many Community Colleges or technical schools have similar grant funds.

Most schools do. I am faculty at a community/state college and it isn’t academics that hold back our students—it is life. I lose more students to “life” than I do to unpreparedness. Our school was devastated by a natural disaster last year (we estimated about 1/3 of our students became essentially homeless and another 1/3 had damaged homes—same as staff) and small grants/food pantry/free meals were a great help in getting our students through. We are recovering now but it will be a long road for some our students. While most schools don’t have such an experience, it really made clear how many of our students were one issue away from chaos.

[audry80]

This is awesome! I would love to follow along.