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I am always interested in the amount/or supposed lack of charity of the non-religious. I work on the basis that if you're for something then you really need to put your money where your mouth is;

Care about human rights? Then support Amnesty International £24 per year
Want to help challenge the progress of religion? Support BHA/NSS £35/£29
Don't like the idea of kids/babies getting beaten as witches;
http://www.steppingstonesnigeria.org/supportus

MY QUESTION is how much do you donate/support to organisations that mirror your views? Be as vage or specific as you'd like, personally (after tax and as a student) I donate 1% but one guy is looking to donate a third;
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/blog/2009/nov/19/charity-third-salary-toby-ord

edited Mar 23 at 14:51

asked Mar 18 at 19:21

Richard Craig♦
294●8

Lady Crafthole · Answer 1 · 2010-03-18 21:52:57Z UTC

1

I've never thought about it in terms of percentages before. I earn £1000 a month (I'm a student so don't pay tax). I give per month:

£3 Amnesty International £8 NSPCC £20 WWF £2 Cancer Research

£33 = 3.3%

I am really unsure whether to be proud or ashamed of that.

answered Mar 18 at 21:52

Lady Crafthole
31●1

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I think you should be very proud! As a students we're charity cases ourselves :-) I forgot to mention that I've been re-donating the same £100 over again to different people thanks to kiva.org/lender/richardcraig – Richard Craig♦ Mar 23 at 15:30

Agree with Richard, although I personally felt more flexibility to give away money when I was a poor student, when I had no one who would suffer from my shortfall but me, then as a married person with young kids. Also great idea with the microloans Richard. – Skrivener Mar 25 at 19:16

Hayley Stevens · Answer 2 · 2010-03-19 10:45:25Z UTC

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I'm unemployed at the moment :( but I give £3 to Amnesty international.

answered Mar 19 at 10:45

Hayley Stevens♦
290●1●5

That really is charity! – Richard Craig♦ Mar 30 at 16:04

Skrivener · Answer 3 · 2010-03-20 05:32:53Z UTC

I don't really donate regularly, and I never have as a rule. I used to hand out 'bus money' a lot to people begging the streets back in Adelaide, but I drive everywhere here in the US so I don't really get the chance. What I tend to do is impulse-donate - see something worthy and just give $20 or whatever as a one off.

As a godless social-democratic liberal I have always tended to see the need for charity as an indication of a problem with society. If churches are fulfilling a charitable need and requesting money for it, then why aren't we paying that money through taxation so that it comes from those who can afford it in proportion to that ability, and fund a fair, rational, secular program in place to do that job? (Yes, government doesn't automatically mean fair, rational, or secular, but that's just another problem I see as needing correction.)

I suppose there will always be causes we will support that are not going to fall into the bucket of "social justice" (and a quick "fuck you" to Glenn Beck there) or at least won't until a sufficient recognition of the import of the need is raised.

Anyway, I'm with Hayley as being unemployed for the moment, trying to get freelancing going, but I did drop some towards a secular charity for Haiti recently. All in all I don't put a lot towards charity at the moment, but I feel justified in rationalizing that by my family's recent travails.

thursdaysgeek · Answer 4 · 2010-03-21 03:49:22Z UTC

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Compare with someone religious (and no-one checks on me, it's entirely voluntary): 15-25% a year, much to my church, but also to friends in need, and $50 to a couple hundred each to Habitat for Humanity, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), Paralyzed Veterans of America, American Cancer Society, SIGN (Surgical Implant Generation Network), World Vision, St Jude's Childrens Hospital, Audubon Society, and more.

answered Mar 21 at 3:49

thursdaysgeek
67●6

	As a matter of curiosity, exactly how much is the "much" of that 15-25% goes to your church? Oddly enough, I have helped friends out, but never thought of mentioning that in the context of donations, but I suppose it is in a way. You say that no-one checks on you, but as a religious person do you feel that god checks on you? – Skrivener Mar 21 at 4:45
	Probably about 12-15% to my church. And, just giving money to friends I don't consider donations per se, but when friends are in need, when the gift is $500 to $1000 at a time, it seems like that should count. – thursdaysgeek Mar 21 at 22:38
	Thanks, I hope my tone wasn't too antagonistic - I was sincerely curious. I am also sincerely curious as to the question of whether you feel that god (I'm making assumptions about your religion, so please correct if I'm off-base) is watching and critiquing you depending on your charitability? Do you feel as though any potential to be judged affects how you might choose to give? Does your church encourage particular charitable endeavors, or in any sense a general charitable leaning? It's self-reporting and anecdotal, but I'm interested in hearing if you are interested in responding. – Skrivener Mar 22 at 0:08

How much do you donate?

4 Answers