For several years now, my family has decided to donate to charity in lieu of gifts to each other. We have given to Unicef, Heifer, CharityWater, to name a few. Helping someone on the other side of the world to become
self-reliant feels better to me than receiving a bunch of things I
really don't need. (And it saves on standing in the exchange line on
December 26th.) It's much more consistent with the Christmas spirit.
Last year, I chose OxFam and I was able to donate a cow, which is, admit it, just fun. If you donate to them today, they are matching donations until midnight (for Cyber Monday). You can donate a well for $175 or a duck for $30. I think I'm going to give a school meal program for one child. If I donate today, that's two kids
I never donate to charity without checking with Charitynavigator.org. I will likely give the bulk of my donation to CharityWater, which is scoring higher this year. Program expenses get 84% of their budget and the CEO makes $192,000. (I can't stand charity
CEOs who make millions.) I recommend checking out your charity here
before donating. You can even look at their list of top-rated charities
if you need ideas.
Great practice! People are important. Stuff is just stuff and it takes up space. Ducks and wells and cows and meals are good and useful. Another fancy jacket isn't necessarily. For a long time, I think, many families have used the "a thing they want, need, wear, read" as a holiday guide to shop for their kids. My wife and have adopted this approach, but as our kids grow up and recognize what makes people happy, we're moving more to a "things others want, need, wear, and read." If we do it right, eventually our kids and their kids and all their peers will give more and more.
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