Contributions

I make charitable contributions to organizations or causes I support once a year - in December. Rarely do I respond to the special, urgent, one-time, emergency requests that come in the mail or on the phone.  Actually, I usually hang up on the phone calls.  I hate getting them.

I like the process of deciding what I'm going to do.  It gives me a chance to see what calls to me. I notice I have been consistent over the years and therefore have supported some groups for a very long time.  I did make some significant changes last year.  Aside from local institutions I was contributing to more than 20 organizations.  I decided to drop about half of them and double my contribution to the others.  I'm staying with the same approach this year.

When I look at what I'm contributing to I think it says something about me and my priorities. Here's my 2008 list.  See what you think.

American Himalayan Foundation

Ashoka (Supporting Social Entrepreneurs Around the World)

San Francisco Asian Art Museum

California Academy of Sciences

Doctors Without Borders

San Francisco Fine Arts Museums

Freedom From Religion Foundation

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy

Himalayan Cataract Project

KCSM (Public Jazz Station)

KQED (Public Television)

Obama Campaign

Pachamama Alliance (Indigenous People in Ecuador)

San Francisco Museum & Historical Society

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

San Francisco Parks Trust

Search for Common Ground (Brokering People-to-People Relationships)

Yosemite Fund

When I analyze this list I see I'm committed to:

International Development, especially in South Asia

Local Art Institutions

Local Open Space Organizations

A few single purpose causes

That sounds about right.