Breaking down their mission explains why some of the reasons I like them.

• Indigenous: they empower local people to help other local people, which is both more practical and more effective than “shipping in” people from other regions, meaning that money I give goes a long way
• Christian: the mission is more than just physical health, but is also concerned with eternity (because what’s the point of being healthy now only to miss out on eternal life and health for, you know, infinity?)
• health professionals: their ministry is more than just words, however powerful they may be—they also help relieve suffering in the here and now

One of the other things I like about the Luke Society is that they seem to genuinely value prayer, and not just cash. I originally started working with them when I saw they were looking for people to pray. They have a monthly newsletter that talks about answers to prayer and prayer requests. I’ve received the newsletter for a couple of years, and it’s neat how I’ve gradually “gotten to know” the various doctors.

The prayer aspect is important to me, because while many Christian organizations encourage prayer, it’s rare that they seem to truly believe it’s more important than money. Being on the Luke Society mailing list has shown me over and over that when they are facing a crisis (for instance, the current persecution in Pakistan), they look for prayer first.

Further evidence of their belief in prayer is found in the current ministry of Dr. Peter Boelens, the former Executive Director. He and his wife now spend their time researching, reporting, and applying healing prayer to hurting people.

One of the other strong points, which I’ve already alluded to, is they are excellent communicators. Many organizations mean well but forget to ask for help and, probably more importantly, to follow up after they are given help.

The Luke Society sends regular updates in a variety of appropriate formats (a PDF or print newsletter for the monthly news, with occasional emails with urgent prayer requests relayed from their doctors). They don’t waste my time (or money!) with gimmicky “gifts,” either, which I consider a big plus.

Even if you’re not a Christian, I believe the Luke Society offers a great ROI thanks to their willingness to serve people who really need it in places very few others will venture. If you’re so inclined, you can sign up for their mailing list or donate online.

Compassion is a Christian organization that takes a holistic approach to helping children. They operate in 25 countries and are currently helping over 1 million kids. They work with local churches (I’m a big fan of working with local folks who already have a burden to help) to provide the kids in the program with food, education, and an introduction to the Gospel. They also help parents with everything from parenting skills to vocational training.

Uwitonze Sarah

I first started sponsoring Sarah in the summer of 2005 in response to an invitation by Caedmon’s Call, one of my favorite bands. Their Share the Well album is very focused on social justice, so it wasn’t a surprise that they support Compassion’s mission of “[r]eleasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name”.

I picked Sarah because we share our given name and because she was one of the kids who had been waiting a long time for a sponsor. Compassion strongly encourages sponsors to write to their sponsored children, and it’s been very cool to see, even from such a great distance, how she is growing up. She used to just color the pictures that were pre-printed on the stationary, and now she’s writing her own letters in cursive.

A couple of years ago, a local Christian radio station did something unprecidented and asked their listeners to sponsor a whole Compassion project in Honduras (usually when a radio station does this kind of sponsorship drive, the kids come from all over the world, but KTSY wanted one project where they can go visit—they’ve been down there twice and have a third trip planned for next spring).

Lauren Yohana Monje Tróchez

At the time, I wasn’t in a position to sponsor another kid, and when they were all sponsored, I was a little sad that I wasn’t able to be involved. The following year, though, some of the younger kids who had previously been too young joined the program, and the radio station sought sponsors for them. That’s when I started sponsoring Yohana.

I haven’t had a chance to go visit my kids yet, but hearing the stories from my friends at the radio station is both awesome and heartbreaking. The incredible poverty that these kids suffer through only emphasizes the incredible love and hope that they have.

Now that I have a son of my own, I want to start contributing to the Child Survival Program to help babies his age. I can’t imagine the universal challenge of childrearing with the added stress of poverty, illiteracy, unsanitary birthing and living conditions, and a lack of knowledge about parenting. Becoming a parent has made me more empathetic in general, but I’m especially moved by the plight of other, less fortunate mothers.

When Benjamin is a little older, we will sponsor a boy his age. My hope is that, in addition to helping someone who desperately needs it, sponsorship will also help develop empathy, compassion, and an awareness of the world in Benjamin.

I’m planning on featuring a child who needs sponsorship as part of this site in the near future, but don’t wait for me! If you want to share the blessings, you can sponsor a child today.

The statement does make me think, though. I give little bits to a lot of causes, but only a few consistently receive my dollars (and my love). Clearly, I have some kind of criteria, even if they’re mostly subconscious.

First, the easy one: I give because of who’s asking. This isn’t a strong enough factor for me to commit to ongoing or long-term giving, but when one of my friends asks me to sponsor their charity walk or tells me about organization they care deeply about that needs a one-time gift, I’ll usually bite.

For bigger or longer commitments, I weigh a few more factors:

• Is the organization effective? This goes a lot further than just having low administrative overhead. I want to see great results.
• What kind of impact do they have for eternity? There are so many needs in the world that many charities can all work to meet them without overlap, but my money isn’t unlimited so I give preference to those that address spiritual needs as well as physical, mental, social, and emotional needs.
• Am I needed (and do I know it)? There are charities who may be doing great things, but if they feel impersonal or don’t seem like they need my gift, I don’t give again. I’m not looking for a big public awards ceremony or anything—just a sense that my contribution matters.
• How far does my money go? Thanks to radically different costs-of-living around the world, the same dollar amount can go much further in other countries. I do give money domestically (for instance, to my local church), but I like how much my money can accomplish when given strategically. I especially like projects that are self-sustaining—projects where today’s successes set up tomorrow’s victories.
• How urgent and important is the need? Again, there are so many real, important needs in the world that I have to prioritize. I usually go for concrete projects rather than abstract ones as a result.

These are just guidelines, obviously, but they help narrow down the vast field of good charities doing good work in areas that need good solutions.

I’m going to write about some of my favorite charities over the next few days, but in the meantime, I’m curious: what makes you give to one charity over another?

I want to be a philanthropist.

I’ve been reading Bill Clinton’s excellent new book, Giving. It’s stuffed full of inspiring stories about people who are making a real difference in the world—everyone from kids to celebrities—and it’s reminded me of just how much one person can do. (I also think I’m going to have to get my own copy so I can dog-ear all the pages of organizations I want to learn more about…)

I’m an enthusiastic subscriber to GOOD Magazine (where your subscription price is entirely donated to a charity you choose from their list). While occasionally they publish a piece that has a strong political slant, it’s the only magazine where I feel compelled every page to tell Daniel about something incredible I’ve read. They are believers in using capitalism to improve the world, not just the checking account.

Tim Ferriss launched LitLiberation this week in an attempt to to raise $1 million in the month of October for education, domestically and internationally. This caused me to dig into the DonorsChoose.org site and start a challenge of my own (go donate right now, people! ).

Here’s what gets me. The dollar, devalued or otherwise, can do a tremendous amount of good in places where it’s scarce. Realistically, it’s pretty easy for me to earn money. I have skills which are in demand and which people will pay me for. Just a small amount of the money I earn could change the education and standard of living for literally thousands of people. With just $75, I’ve been a part of the success of six entrepreneurs in the developing world, and that will continue indefinitely on that initial $75 investment. That amazes me.

When I think about what motivates me, and the conflicts I’ve had about making money, this seems like the obvious solution: make money to give it away in ways that really matter. How can work be worship? When the result is doing exactly what Jesus asked me to do.

At least that’s my thinking this week.

A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;
a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.

Proverbs 11:28 (The Message)

We’re doing the 40 Days of Purpose (going through The Purpose Driven Life in groups and in the sermons) again at The Experience.

Even though I’ve been through it twice already, I’m looking forward to it. It’s always a different experience because 1) I’m an ever-changing person and 2) I’ll be going through it with a different group of people.

The timing is also good. Lately I’ve been struggling with the question of how to put my whole life together. On the one hand, I have my work life, which consumes most of my waking hours. I like my work pretty well, but my constant goal in that part of my life is to make enough money (both by saving it and by creating passive income) to not have to work. I have that goal in common with many folks, I think, and it’s generally considered reasonable.

But on the other hand, I go to sites like Kiva and hear how such a small amount of money is changing lives so drastically, and then I want to throw myself into doing “things that really matter.” I have a hard time reconciling the pursuit of money for my own comfort with the state of the world and the Great Commission.

The optimistically pragmatic among you are probably thinking, “Well, easy. Take the money you make with your business and put it into Kiva or other things that matter.” If I was a less-disjointed person, I’d do just that. But I want my money for that new touring bike I’ve been eying, or to afford more cycling vacations, or just to have Daniel around more. There might be some “mattering” side effects (like doing more work on the church website or contributing to open source software if we didn’t have “jobs”), but really, I’m in it for my own personal comfort.

Something has to shift. I think God’s going to have to help me shuffle my priorities or I’m going to go nuts. (Only I hope He’ll wait until after I get the touring bike… and sadly, I’m only half-joking about that…) Maybe He’ll show me how to use my resources better, and give me the desire. I’m really hoping I don’t have to learn by losing everything, though if I continue to be selfish, that may be what it comes to! Definitely prefer to avoid that.

So maybe this 40 Days of Purpose will give me both tools and inspiration to get my priorities straightened out. That’s what I’m hoping for.

As far as blogging it, I’ve learned my lesson… I’m not going to promise to blog every day, but I will blog whenever it makes sense and I have time.

Cool things to note about the “Nothing But Nets” campaign: it’s the work of “the United Nations Foundation, in partnership with Sports Illustrated, the NBA, and the People of the United Methodist Church.” I love the diversity of participation in this. It also worth noting that 100% of donations go directly to the nets, since the U.N. Foundation was specifically set up to cover admin costs, without dipping into donations.

So, c’mon, go spend your $10 on a net already.

(Hat tip to The Thinklings)

I heard about Tackle It Tuesday last week from Jessica Duquette and immediately liked the idea. Anyone who knows me well knows I like short-attention-span projects, and certainly that my house (and probably whole life) could use a little focused energy.

My first week’s project, though, isn’t specifically related to physical housekeeping. This is about mental housekeeping. I’ll start with a confession: I’m thoroughly embarrassed to write this post at all, let alone admit that I’m actually at the point where I need to write it. But that’s the point! I clearly need to move through my procrastination and move on already!

Last summer, I signed up to sponsor a kid through Compassion International. I picked a girl named Sarah from Rwanda, and have faithfully paid my $32/month. What I have not done faithfully (or at all!) is actually write to Sarah. I have her picture on my bulletin board. I have letters from her, I printed out pictures of myself and my cats to send to her, I even bought some stickers to include, but I haven’t written. In a year. I feel awful about this, but I still put anything and everything ahead of actually sitting down and writing.

That’s ending today. I’m going to write a letter.

…

Okay. Letter written, stickers inserted, envelope sealed, stamped, and ready for the mailman. Ahhhhhhhhhh.

Amusingly, none of the people in the “word of mouth chain” had actually seen the site, so I thought I’d better investigate. Sure enough, GoodSearch does actually pay a penny per search to charities. When I looked at what they are doing, that number didn’t seem so outrageous: they’re using Yahoo’s search API to provide genuine Yahoo! results (at no cost to GoodSearch), tacking on some ads, and basically splitting the ad revenue with charities.

All fine and good, but what if they didn’t have the charity I wanted to get “my” money (in my case, The Experience)? Well, that was easy enough! I submitted an “Add a charity” request, and a few days later, I was good to go.

If you’re serious about earning money by searching, you’ll appreciate that they have a search toolbar for Internet Explorer, and a Firefox Search Bar tool. That way, once you install the tool, you don’t have to remember (or go out of your way) to go to a certain website for searching.

Like I said, it’s been less than a month, and I’ve earned $3.43 for my church. That’s not going to make or break anything, but I’m planning (as the church webmaster) to create a page with information and step-by-step instructions, and put a teaser in the bulletin. Hopefully, with more than one person contributing, we could grow it up to a sizable annual contribution.

My only gripe is that I’d rather have Google search results (because I prefer the format), but that’s a small gripe and one I’ve obviously managed to get over. Rumor has it that Yahoo! is actually faster at picking up new results, so I might even see better searching as a result.

Whatever your charity of choice, I really do recommend this tool!