Here at ETBD, we enjoy putting on a fundraiser each Christmas. I always feel like there are gimmicky “buy this, and we’ll give hungry people a can of food” initiatives that are really marketing ploys that do little serious awareness- or fund-raising. So I like to try to inspire well-meaning businesses to do something a little gutsier.
I also like to help people stretch their charitable imaginations in the process. This year, my hope is to raise money to empower Bread for the World (a Christian lobby group in Washington DC that works with Christians and non-Christians of all stripes to speak up for hungry people), and at the same time: 1) help people learn the difference between charity and advocacy, and 2) point out that much American foreign aid is still a tool of our military and determined by Cold War-era priorities and needs.
This year I offered our three European Christmas products (the DVD of the show, the CD, and the book) for free including shipping to anyone willing to give Bread for the World $100.
We sent this offer to 200,000 people on our e-list. About 500 responded, sending Bread about $60,000. I don’t know if 1/400th is a good ratio. But that’s both a lot of people supporting Bread, and a lot of money for their work.
The night we sent out the offer (a week ago), we had a huge response, but there was a glitch in the electronic order form. Hundreds of people donated, and their orders were lost. I was really sad about what to do. While we hate to pester people needlessly with our e-list, we decided we had to re-send the offer to explain the problem, apologize, and ask people to re-submit their order. I don’t know how many people we lost, but nearly 300 logged back on to re-do their orders. We were relieved.
Anyway, today we are mailing out nearly 600 packages. This is my Christmas present to myself this year. If you’d like to learn about the initiative, click here.
Rick Great job for needy people. I also appreciate your support of the women’s shelter in your city. Don’t let the negative posts about pot in the previous blog get you down. Merry Christmas. Thanks to you and all your staff for all your great travel information. Loved the Pelopenese DVD.
Rick, What do you mean by Cold-War era priorities? Can you give an example off a nation that gets aid v. one that doesn’t based on this? as your politics tend to run pretty left of center it would be helpful to know details so it doesn’t come off as just an anti-war comment.
Rick didn’t you one year donate a whole tours fees to the charity- somewhere around 70K? That would probably match what your contributors have already sent. Why not do that match dollar for dollar what we send?
This is a VERY noble project and ETBD deserves credit. Charity and advocacy is personal. Here in South Carolina, a relatively poor state, we have a significant percentage of people out of work – who never had much to begin with. So it has always been our practice to selectively target the needy in our own backyard. This doesn’t denigrate the efforts of national organizations which act as middlemen to distribute funds. But we feel we know the nuances and needs of our community and geographical neighbors better than umbrella charity and advocacy groups. That said, if you live in an affluent community and are casting about for a worthy cause, the RS project seems like a good one. Incidentally, a good metric for deciding whether a charity is “efficient” in terms of its use of your money, is to learn how much out of every $100 donated is used for SERVICES. Anything over $75 is good but some causes use up to $95 for services (only $5 for overhead, salaries, fundraising etc.) Check it out on charity watch.org and Merry Christmas Bill Kester South Carolina
You are right-on with your comment “that much American foreign aid is still a tool of our military and determined by Cold War-era priorities and needs”. The problem is you almost never speak out against an organization like NATO, an organization that is constantly clamoring for American funds to guarantee economic (read: $100 billion of American taxpayer money to the IMF to bail out Eastern Europe) and military security for its ever-expanding (why?) membership. Furthermore you are a huge supporter of the German Marshall Fund, a big-time cheerleader of NATO in particular and for American largesse in Europe in general. Could you address these contradictions someday? Frank P.S. Otherwise, I really enjoy the way you mix politics and travel (I do the same but come to very different conclusions most of the time – but agree with you on Iran and your wonderful insights on that issue).
Rick, your message that “much American foreign aid is still a tool of our military†is rather misleading. Foreign aid distribution is determined by the Dept of State based on the National Security Strategy (NSS) developed by the current administration in power. The NSS includes national objectives like combating terrorism, promoting democracy, improving economic global conditions, etc. The military has nothing to do with the development of the NSS or how foreign aid is divvied out. I think Bread for the World is an extremely worthwhile effort and I don’t want you to lose credibility with the people who know the process via pushing an inaccurate message.
Someone asked specifically what I meant by “Cold War era priorities.” Someone else commented the BFTW is doing a great job and I should be careful not to damage their credibility by pushing an inaccurate message. These is a good point and (in my frustration with BFTW’s caution in stating their case gently in a way that doesn’t alienate people) I probably overstated the problem they are attempting to address. Thanks for your interest in this important issue. Below is a clarification from BFTW: Most U.S. assistance goes to countries that are important to the U.S. strategically, rather than to countries that are very poor or to countries that are using resources well to reduce poverty and solve other social problems. Right now, the top priority of U.S. assistance is Afghanistan/Pakistan. U.S. assistance to agriculture, schools, and roads in those countries may help people there, but the main point is to contribute to U.S. military objectives. We are trying to get more money focused single-mindedly on development and the reduction of poverty.
Only 500 out of 200,000? Wow! I guess because I had listened to the podcast on this topic, it was a no-brainer for me. Keep it up, Rick. Good stuff.
As a Christian I celebrate Christ’s Mass by giving 90% of my presents to those Jesus would have me gift, like the orphaned, poor, imprisoned, etc; and work full time raising money for chairty. I already have a payroll deduction to BFTW, this year Rick gave me a gift for my giving. Thank you. I don’t agree with everything Rick says, but I appreciate him making me question what I think and do.