Charity Begins at Homo

[William769]

So, it’s that time of year again. Your mailbox is flooded with direct mail asking you for money. The reason you get so much mail between Thanksgiving and Christmas: It works. People are in a giving mood. They already are spending lots of money to buy presents, so what about a few more bucks for a good cause?

But what constitutes a good cause these days? Is it GLBT political organizations like the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, or the statewide organization where you live? Is it an organization like Rainbow World Fund, which bundles queer philanthropic dollars for relief efforts such as Hurricane Katrina, or a group like Truth Wins Out, which specifically exposes the lies and deceit of the radical Christian right? Is it local GLBT community centers? Our GLBT choruses, youth programs, AIDS organizations, or houses of worship?

I could go on and on.

What constitutes a good cause is a deeply personal decision based on what you think is important. And what I think is important is supporting the GLBT community. I always have said that if we don’t do it, no one else ever will. Unfortunately, the facts are bearing me out.

http://www.lavendermagazine.com/artman/publish/article_3498.php

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

1. Soulforce is a good organization to donate to.

www.soulforce.org

I'm a big fan of them and the co-directors are very nice, impassioned leaders.

[Christian30]

2. Here's a good one.

www.inthelifetv.org. The LGBT newsmagazine on public television.

[Tyo]

3. Used to do a monthly contribution to HRC

But I stopped that recently because personally I think that they are a little too cozy with
the DLC types. Would be grateful for input from others on alternative organizations that they have supported and are happy with.

[cboy4]

4. You can argue the same thing about the Democratic party

being a little too cozy with the anti-gay equal rights types, can't you?

If you ask me, the Democrats (as a whole) don't do much of a damn thing for us, yet I still support them because they're the best we've got in that regard.

I'm not trying to get you to contribute to HRC.

However the way I look at it, this organization is one the best we've got.

If you nitpicked every single gay equal rights charity, you'd probably end up giving money to nobody.

One group I like where I live is:

Equality California
http://www.eqca.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?c=9oINKWMCF&b=40337

[Cornus]

5. Check Charity Navigator

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/6229.htm

I also stopped donating to HRC, mainly because I started using Charity Navigator as a guide. HRC got only one star from this group. I created three criteria for myself before donating...one is that the organization must get at least a three or four star rating. If the charity doesn't meet my criteria (and also provide a postage paid envelope), I return their request along with my reason(s) for not donating to their cause.

[Cornus]

6. SAGE

Gets a pretty good rating (three stars) from Charity Navigator:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/9936.htm