I have always told myself that when I had more money than
sense that I would become a philanthropist. The allure of being able to fund organizations that I care about in a substantial way is something I've always wanted to do.
One day at
work, one of my co-workers told me about the mega-million jackpot and that she had bought a ticket. She made a pact
with God, saying that if she won, she would take care of her family and do nothing but
good with that money.
That immediately got me thinking. What is preventing me from
donating from causes that I believe in right now? Why should I to wait until
I had large amounts of money if I wasn’t doing good with the money that I
already had? Would I really donate when I was rich if I didn’t have the practice with the money I had now?
There are so many opportunities to donate to causes that are
close to my heart and that impact my local community. Right now, I can make a positive impact with just a few dollars. To my surprise, there was a company who made it really easy.
I found an organization that generates money for your charity through their
search engine. Good Search
is a company I found on a fluke, and is AWESOME. It’s very easy to join.
The charity I chose is SW Washington American Red Cross. They save so many
lives every day with their humanitarian aid efforts and obviously with the blood that they
collect.
All I have to do is use www.goodsearch.com
as my search engine. I’m pretty loyal to Google, but this is an easy, FREE way
to earn money for causes that I love. There is a Firefox add-on listed on their website. And Yahoo! does a pretty good job as a search
engine, even if it's so 2000 and late.
There are many causes to choose from.
Evergreen SD 114 was listed, SW Washington Humane Society, Boys and Girls Club,
ARC, among the MANY others. Pick the organization you’re passionate about and
start earning them money for FREE.
The other company that is partners with Good Search is Good
Dining! This concept made me very excited. You sign up your credit card/debit card with
the company. Then restaurants that you’d already be eating at will kick up
to 6% of your bill to the charity of your choice! If this makes you
a bit hesitant, they do have an A+ rating with the BBB. The privacy policy is
on their website along with more specific details of how their program works.
There are 145 restaurants participating within a 10 mile
radius of the zip code 98684. Lots of bars, family restaurants, fast food, etc. I’m sure you can
find one that sponsors Good Dining!
Here are two organizations that require little effort to join, and benefit causes that you care about while you go about doing your normal activities. Which is something I totally can get on board with.
You can always donate directly to the website of your
specific cause. Like I said before, I LOVE the American Red Cross.
Another cause that I’m really supportive of is one that
my friend Kit coordinates for TransActive called In a Bind.
Quoted from the TransActive
website: "In a Bind" is a project
of TransActive's Community Education program. We collect pre-owned chest binders from guys who don't
need them anymore and donate them to trans-masculine youth in need.
The queer community has a special place in my heart because
of the wonderful LGBTQ friends I have. They have allowed me into their world that in turn has
brightened my life and brought me such joy. And because of that, I am naturally inclined to support programs that give the queer community what they need to have
a happy life too.
If you have more questions about this amazing program, you
can check out the FAQ here, or their website or their Facebook page. I’ll post
the links at the end of the post.
This is just a jumping off point. There are
thousands of organizations that you can choose to donate your hard earned money/time
to. ESPECIALLY TO LOCAL CAUSES, RIGHT HERE IN VANCOUVER. And it doesn’t have to
be hundreds of dollars. If it is added to your budget, it's a nice expenditure
every month that will go toward something that you believe in. Even if you can only
give a small amount, it can be a game changer for an organization that you care
about. And it feels good to give.
I have so much to be thankful for. As I look around, I am overwhelmed with the things in my life that I've acquired that make me happy. The older I get, I'm finding that it's experiences that enhance life, not belongings. Creating experiences that benefit me and other people is fantastic in my book.
If there are any organizations you’d like to add to my list,
I would appreciate it. Community LOVE!
Mahalo for reading!
Good Search
www.goodsearch.com
Good Dining
www.gooddining.com
American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org/support
TransActive
http://www.transactiveonline.org/index.php
https://www.facebook.com/transactiveinabind?ref=ts&fref=ts
