Charity

Started: 2010-12-30 13:50:24

Submitted: 2010-12-30 14:07:50

Visibility: World-readable

With two days left in my fiscal 2010, time is running out for me to give away my charity budget and count it on my 2010 tax return. Kiesa and I budget a modest percentage of our incomes for 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations as a sort of tithe. (I didn't increase the amount I've budgeted for charity as my income increased, so at the moment it's closer to 5% of my gross income rather than a proper 10% tithe.) This means I have what feels like a sizable chunk of money I can divvy up at the end of the year; I can drop hundreds of dollars without really putting as much thought into the donation as I would think about making an equivalent purchase of real goods.

My current favorite charities, in no particular order, include:

• Water for People
• Doctors Without Borders
• American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
• Planned Parenthood
• Electronic Frontier Foundation

New for 2010 is Community Cycles, which supports bicycling in the Boulder area with a variety of programs including letting people who need transportation earn bikes (and learn how to maintain them) by working in the bike shop. I gave them my twenty-year-old old mountain bike earlier this year.

My question to my loyal readers is, what charities do you support (or would support if you could)?