So many of us are worried about the economy, both because of what it might mean for the nonprofits we support and for ourselves personally.
Individual giving to nonprofits has started to drop off at the same time as there has been an increase in demand for their services.
And while it’s a natural enough instinct for people to want to reduce their donations during tough times, I have to wonder how necessary it really is.
Coming across the website Global Rich List helped to galvanize my thinking around the Blog Action Day 2008 theme of poverty. When you visit Global Rich List, you can enter in your annual income, and it will tell you your wealth ranking compared against all the people in the world.
It’s quite eye opening, and helps you to realize what you can do with the money you have:
$8 could buy you 15 organic apples OR 25 fruit trees for farmers in
$30 could buy you an ER DVD Boxset OR a First Aid kit for a village in
$73 could buy you a new mobile phone OR a new mobile health clinic to care for AIDS orphans in
$2400 could buy you a second generation High Definition TV OR schooling for an entire generation of school children in an Angolan village.
Amy quoted Kim Klein to me recently, saying, “It's true that money doesn't buy you happiness. But poverty doesn't buy you anything.”
So, I hope this day of reflection in the blogoshpere helps all of us consider what wealthy really means, and how we can challenge ourselves to keep giving to the causes we support.
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8 comments:
Thanks for participating in blog action day! Your post brings to light how fortunate many of us are and aren't. Small amounts of money, such as 100 dollars can lift an entire family out of poverty. Check out Grameenfoundation.org to learn about the power of your money and microfinance!
Great post! The Global Rich List is a great site. It make you realize how much you might take for granted. Thanks for particapting in Blog Action Day, I think its great to see all the so many people taking part and it's interesting how unique the posts are.
Yes, thank you so much for helping to put the poverty of millions in perspective and for participating in this Blog Action Day!
It's truly amazing how far foreign aid can go when it's smartly invested. I work for an organization called Millennium Promise, co-founded by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, that seeks to combine the best scientific and local knowledge, Millennium Villages address all the major problems of extreme poverty simultaneously to assist communities on their way to self-sustainable development. Essentially we’re working to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – eight globally endorsed objectives that address the many aspects of extreme poverty - in Africa by 2015. The project implements community-led interventions in agriculture, health, education and infrastructure to help communities lift themselves out of extreme poverty. The project currently reaches 80 villages in 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and is producing remarkable results. You can learn more about the Millennium Villages Project, Millennium Promise and the MDGs at www.millenniumpromise.org
Thanks again for writing! Keep up the good work!
Great perspective. Found you off the Blog Action Day home page.
Great way to put in into perspective. Thanks for this post.
indeed.
for my part, i turn to sites like freerice (rice donation), kiva (microfinance), and goodsearch (donation per search), as ways to help alleviate poverty online. i also put up their banners on my blog. :)
saw this post via the front page of blog action day. it's great that you're participating. :)
HI all.
KivaB4B is contributing $10,000 to support Blog Action Day. KivaB4B is a new partnership between Kiva and Advanta Bank that lets you double the loans you make through Kiva, up to $200/month. It's a very cool program. Check it out at KivaB4B.org. There's also a very unique affiliate program they offer to blogs and other sites. There's a description on the blog, http://b4bcommunity.org/2008/08/the-kiva-affiliate-program-hel.html
KivaB4B Team
Great post, I myself wrote one at: http://www.guruofsales.com/general/427/fight-poverty-its-blog-action-day-today and the action has not stopped. Would you share your thoughts by a comment there as well?
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