Supporting Charities
Global Warming. Wildlife Conservation. Breast Cancer Research. Human Rights. Women’s Rights. Global Poverty. Corporate Accountability. Lack of Basics Such As Water and Food. Human Slavery. Animal Rights. The list goes on and on. How does one decide which causes to support, and how much support to give them?
Let’s back up a bit. A few years ago, I remember remarking to my children that the best way to figure out one’s priorities in life, was to draw up a list of charities that would receive one’s assets upon death. This was assuming that one would leave ANY assets upon death! Now-a-days, I don’t feel that I am a very wealthy man; in fact, I feel that there may not be ANYTHING LEFT upon my death, to leave to ANY charities! So, I began trying to put a little bit here and a little bit there while I’m still alive! One charity gets $ 5.00 a month; another one gets $ 16.00 every two weeks, and so forth. I find myself supporting my church, a local food bank, the local Animal Shelter, and a few others with my checkbook. With my heart, I can support most of the causes listed at the very top of this blog, but I don’t have the money to support them otherwise! I find that my time is limited, also, as I’ve taken on the task of raising weenie-dogs!
That’s another story, totally unrelated to the “charity” field; but I find myself often wondering what would happen to my little brood upon my sudden departure (death). I don’t want them sent to a “shelter,” I don’t want the unneutered ones neutered, and I don’t want them “parceled out” to just anyone who comes along wanting a dog for their home! I’ve discussed this at great length with my family, and I feel that they will respect my wishes; in fact, they may even take one or two weenie-dogs themselves!
When I get a little time, I find myself researching various charities on the web. About 9 years ago, I became interested in the Grameen Fund, since they seem to have found an answer to a problem that I have often run into myself: how to get some initial funding for a business project (especially while living in Arkansas all my life, what with it’s extreme limits on usury, and it’s generally unfavorable attitude toward change of any kind). Now, I love Arkansas, but, like one of our former governors once said: “It’s kind of like being in a third world country!” He later made a public apology about that remark, to save himself politically, but I have often thought “how right he was!” When starting on various business projects in the past, it would have been “handy” to have a local Grameen Fund to tap into, if for no more than $ 50.00 ! I always had to “boot-strap” my ventures, often by taking money out of the fund that should have gone to pay ordinary expenses like groceries, food, and utilities. I borrowed on any available insurance policies, took money out of any savings accounts, and so forth. I usually wound up starting a kind of business that could be started with little or no capital investment, usually operating out of the trunk of my car and the dining room table! Sound familiar? You’ve been there, too, have you?
In reading up on the Grameen Fund, I found other similar non-profits that would pay me some or all of the interest they collected (where the Grameen Fund does not). Since most of these kind of non-profits claim a repayment rate in the high 90 percent range, it looks like a pretty safe investment, to me (but so did some Options I bought, shortly before the Great Crash of 2007-2008) ! Anyway, there are many other advantages to supporting these kinds of non-profits, not the least of which is the opportunity to reinvest the money that comes in from repayments of loans, plus the opportunity to earn more interest than the local banks are willing to pay (mine right now is DOING ME A BIG FAVOR by paying me .001 percent, yet they were perfectly willing, like most of the other banks, to take BILLIONS of our TAXPAYER DOLLARS from the Federal Government at 0% interest rates) ! Sickening, isn’t it? None of those fellows have gone to prison yet, I don’t believe, for the shenanigans they pulled, which almost brought our economy DOWN) ! If you or I did some of these deeds, they would probably put us under the jail and forget where they put the key!
Many non-profits are EXTREMELY GOOD at getting people involved! Where I happen to live, which is in a Resort and Retirement Community, there seem to be HUNDREDS of opportunities to take up either one’s time or one’s money, or both! They think we all have plenty of time and plenty of money! So, why not get involved, so they get some FREE LABOR!
I thought about setting up a non-profit organization, but first I think I would like to help raise funds and promote some of my favorite charities. This would get things started quicker, as I could put some of my own funds into the project, and I could go through the legal, registration, and financial requirements that come with setting up a non-profit organization, on a part-time basis. In the meantime, my money (and that of other contributors) could be working to help people who really need help !
Copyright 2011 by Preston Smith, Walker Enterprises/Silver Dollar Press. All Rights Reserved.
Here’s a good website to check out: “Studio Quality Portraits For Less” - http://studio-quality-portraits-for-less.weblodge.net
Here’s another good website to check out: “Green Cleaning Products” - http://green-cleaning-products.weblodge.net
Here’s another good website to check out: “How To Adjust & Repair Your Sewing Machine” - http://www.silver-dollar.zoomshare.com
Here’s a good Forum to check out: http://dachshund-forum.forumotion.com
Let’s back up a bit. A few years ago, I remember remarking to my children that the best way to figure out one’s priorities in life, was to draw up a list of charities that would receive one’s assets upon death. This was assuming that one would leave ANY assets upon death! Now-a-days, I don’t feel that I am a very wealthy man; in fact, I feel that there may not be ANYTHING LEFT upon my death, to leave to ANY charities! So, I began trying to put a little bit here and a little bit there while I’m still alive! One charity gets $ 5.00 a month; another one gets $ 16.00 every two weeks, and so forth. I find myself supporting my church, a local food bank, the local Animal Shelter, and a few others with my checkbook. With my heart, I can support most of the causes listed at the very top of this blog, but I don’t have the money to support them otherwise! I find that my time is limited, also, as I’ve taken on the task of raising weenie-dogs!
That’s another story, totally unrelated to the “charity” field; but I find myself often wondering what would happen to my little brood upon my sudden departure (death). I don’t want them sent to a “shelter,” I don’t want the unneutered ones neutered, and I don’t want them “parceled out” to just anyone who comes along wanting a dog for their home! I’ve discussed this at great length with my family, and I feel that they will respect my wishes; in fact, they may even take one or two weenie-dogs themselves!
When I get a little time, I find myself researching various charities on the web. About 9 years ago, I became interested in the Grameen Fund, since they seem to have found an answer to a problem that I have often run into myself: how to get some initial funding for a business project (especially while living in Arkansas all my life, what with it’s extreme limits on usury, and it’s generally unfavorable attitude toward change of any kind). Now, I love Arkansas, but, like one of our former governors once said: “It’s kind of like being in a third world country!” He later made a public apology about that remark, to save himself politically, but I have often thought “how right he was!” When starting on various business projects in the past, it would have been “handy” to have a local Grameen Fund to tap into, if for no more than $ 50.00 ! I always had to “boot-strap” my ventures, often by taking money out of the fund that should have gone to pay ordinary expenses like groceries, food, and utilities. I borrowed on any available insurance policies, took money out of any savings accounts, and so forth. I usually wound up starting a kind of business that could be started with little or no capital investment, usually operating out of the trunk of my car and the dining room table! Sound familiar? You’ve been there, too, have you?
In reading up on the Grameen Fund, I found other similar non-profits that would pay me some or all of the interest they collected (where the Grameen Fund does not). Since most of these kind of non-profits claim a repayment rate in the high 90 percent range, it looks like a pretty safe investment, to me (but so did some Options I bought, shortly before the Great Crash of 2007-2008) ! Anyway, there are many other advantages to supporting these kinds of non-profits, not the least of which is the opportunity to reinvest the money that comes in from repayments of loans, plus the opportunity to earn more interest than the local banks are willing to pay (mine right now is DOING ME A BIG FAVOR by paying me .001 percent, yet they were perfectly willing, like most of the other banks, to take BILLIONS of our TAXPAYER DOLLARS from the Federal Government at 0% interest rates) ! Sickening, isn’t it? None of those fellows have gone to prison yet, I don’t believe, for the shenanigans they pulled, which almost brought our economy DOWN) ! If you or I did some of these deeds, they would probably put us under the jail and forget where they put the key!
Many non-profits are EXTREMELY GOOD at getting people involved! Where I happen to live, which is in a Resort and Retirement Community, there seem to be HUNDREDS of opportunities to take up either one’s time or one’s money, or both! They think we all have plenty of time and plenty of money! So, why not get involved, so they get some FREE LABOR!
I thought about setting up a non-profit organization, but first I think I would like to help raise funds and promote some of my favorite charities. This would get things started quicker, as I could put some of my own funds into the project, and I could go through the legal, registration, and financial requirements that come with setting up a non-profit organization, on a part-time basis. In the meantime, my money (and that of other contributors) could be working to help people who really need help !
Copyright 2011 by Preston Smith, Walker Enterprises/Silver Dollar Press. All Rights Reserved.
Here’s a good website to check out: “Studio Quality Portraits For Less” - http://studio-quality-portraits-for-less.weblodge.net
Here’s another good website to check out: “Green Cleaning Products” - http://green-cleaning-products.weblodge.net
Here’s another good website to check out: “How To Adjust & Repair Your Sewing Machine” - http://www.silver-dollar.zoomshare.com
Here’s a good Forum to check out: http://dachshund-forum.forumotion.com
Labels: Supporting Charities
posted by PRESTON at 6:55 PM
