Where will you donate in 2009?

With the start of each new year, I try to take a few moments to step back and plan out where and how my family and I can donate. Time we don’t have a ton of right now, but even in these tough times we can spare some dollars to help out. I like to focus on a few which touch on issues I care most about and which I trust to spend resources wisely.

Read on for why we give to each one.

So where are you donating your time or resources this year?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation

I liken them to the ACLU of new media – you may not agree with everything they fight for, or every court case they weigh in on, but the EFF is critical for defending online freedoms in this day and age. They have also done great work in raising awareness about and fighting for the online free speech rights of bloggers, and provide excellent online resources in case you find yourself in some legal trouble.

Creative Commons

Copyright law has basically evolved to the point where all practical sense and reason is gone, and it’s just not looking all that positive in the near future for any kind of real, sensible change. Creative Commons is one alternative to traditional copyright that has gained nice traction – many blogs use it (including this one), a vast community on Flickr publishes photos under it (including the one above), and it’s spreading into other useful areas of content creation and sharing. Certainly worth a few bucks to help them keep going.

Fisher House

All too often we hear stories on the news about soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen who are wounded in combat. We occasionally hear about the hardships they face when they return, via scandals about substandard care and such splashed across the evening news. What we don’t often hear about are those who are receiving good care, but have to get it in special military medical facilities far from home and family. Fisher House, in my view, is akin to the Ronald McDonald Houses for families of wounded servicemen and women – they provide places to stay to help keep families together and make life at least a bit better for those who have given so much.

Doctors Without Borders

They provide health care in the war torn, devastated places that everyone else is trying to flee. Not much more to say about Médecins Sans Frontières except I am constantly amazed at the stories of outright heroism and dedication exhibited by their doctors and staff.

Room to Read

Go read “Leaving Microsoft to Change the World” by Room to Read founder John Wood, and you’ll be banging down the web site trying to donate as fast as you can. This book sat on my nightstand for months until I set aside the time to read it during a couple recent business trips. It is easily one of the most inspiring books of change, finding your true purpose in life, and discovering the impact even small gestures can make.

Beyond the book, and John’s personal journey, what do I like about the charity? It focuses on childhood literacy through the provision of libraries, books, and training of local staff; it requires matching investment by the local community to ensure longevity of the results; it runs a program tackling primary education for girls in countries where they may never otherwise have had a chance (as a father of three girls, this one has a personal angle for me); it can draw a starkly clear line between your donation and specific impact.

I give a bit each month, but also plan later this year on creating a fun way for my 3 year old daughter to help save up – by foregoing a toy or treat, that sort of thing – for a $250 donation which will fund a young girl’s education for one year. My goal is to make this a tradition that each of my daughters in turn adopts and begins to “own” as they get older.

Photo by diP via CC on Flickr.