Do you give to charity?

[Tiger Brown]

Fellow Reefers,
Consumer Reports says most charitable giving is done during the month of December. I learned this because I am sitting in my home office writing checks to my church, library, and a few others I care about and was curious. I also realized that although I don't blink on spending 150 dollars on a piece of elegance coral, I have never given a penny to a charity that works to save our oceans.

That will change this year. I'm far from rich, and I know many are working paycheck to paycheck during this difficult time. But reefing ain't cheap, and I have noticed in this forum many that seem to be like me; established adults with some means to indulge in the hobby they love. Now I know that just because you own a dog doesn't mean you need to give to the ASPCA, but I have never seen a topic on here related to charitable giving and I thought it important.

Any way, I have picked the charity I will give a little money to this year. If you have an inkling to do the same, or, you know of a good charity that relates to this hobby of ours please consider posting the name of it here (if this is allowed). I used Charity Navigator to make sure the one I selected gave a high percentage of resources directly to the sanctity of the ocean life I love, not to the CEO.

Happy Holidays everyone!

 

[Scorpius]

Not all, but a lot of charities waste money on running costs and paying their CEO. I prefer to help people personally when given the opportunity.

 

[Jeeperz]

Only to local vets/rescues that use the money to directly help animals or cover vet costs for those that can't afford it. One specifically that takes in injured wildlife and works directly with the audubon society.

 

[andrewkw]

I gave a small amount to the pet industry joint advisory council. The sad reality is there are people spending millions of dollars to stop people like us from owning fish. https://pijac.org/aquatic

 

[Jeeperz]

I gave a small amount to the pet industry joint advisory council. The sad reality is there are people spending millions of dollars to stop people like us from owning fish. https://pijac.org/aquatic

That goes along with Peta thinking nobody should have pets and unwanted animals are better off euthanized yet they claim to be for animal rights?

 

[Tiger Brown]

I gave a small amount to the pet industry joint advisory council. The sad reality is there are people spending millions of dollars to stop people like us from owning fish. https://pijac.org/aquatic

Very interesting thanks for sharing that.

 

[reefer024]

Id be interested in donating to a charity as long as most of it goes to actually helping replace depleting coral reefs. Ive heard about groups going and actually putting frags to help start regrowth. Haven't read much into it. Thank you for bringing up the topic.

 

[Mikedawg]

Might want to research Coral Restoration Foundation - do good work helping restore reefs in Keys using many volunteers TO GROW AND TRANSPLANT FRAGS. Keeps costs down while educating about reef protection.

 

[CanuckReefer]

We do....I am involved with Newfoundland Dog Rescue as a volunteer foster, and also donate yearly, as I see exactly where our $ goes. Also Robstewartsharkwater foundation. Rob was a hero for sharks and the oceans, his work continues on. As well Canadian Feed The Children, their overhead (which I continually research) has been for years of the lowest in the 'business'.... beyond those 3 ,I generally don't unless it's to support a friend in a fundraising drive for their particular cause. When asked at the checkout which is all the rage now 'would you like to donate to....' I abstain. Put away a buck for every ask literally (keep track) in a bowl, towards our chosen charities...

 

[LegendaryCG]

I’ve donated quite a bit to the Ocean Conservancy.

 

[Sailingeric]

The wife and I give directly to a local dog rescue where we got our Millie. I gave once ($25) to the local PBS because the guy would not leave as we were leaving for the airport. Made me mad but figured it was still for a good cause. They have spent more on mailers to me over the last couple years than I gave them. I hate it when a group just uses the money for more begging than for the cause

 

[seitzjh]

I donate every year to them. And now they are on R2R. They are awesome at what they do.

Introduction to R2R

Hello R2R community, We would love to introduce ourselves to this wonderful community. We are the Reef Institute and our mission is coral conservation through education, research and restoration. We are a small organization on a large mission to save the ocean. A Little About Our Mission...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

I usually donate around giving Tuesday when donations are often matched, for ocean conservation I donate to Sealegacy and I also donate to a wildlife rehab place I’ve brought white a few animals on Sanibel island FL called Crow. I remove the easy hooks and line from what wildlife I can but I’m not a vet and if its not rather superficial then I take it to them, they’re great people!

A lot of stores around here also offer to make a donation to our local children's hospital (I spent a lot of my childhood in there so I know that money goes to an awesome cause).

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

We do....I am involved with Newfoundland Dog Rescue as a volunteer foster, and also donate yearly, as I see exactly where our $ goes. Also Robstewartsharkwater foundation. Rob was a hero for sharks and the oceans, his work continues on. As well Canadian Feed The Children, their overhead (which I continually research) has been for years of the lowest in the 'business'.... beyond those 3 ,I generally don't unless it's to support a friend in a fundraising drive for their particular cause. When asked at the checkout which is all the rage now 'would you like to donate to....' I abstain. Put away a buck for every ask literally (keep track) in a bowl, towards our chosen charities...

I miss Rob so much, he turned my fear into a fascination and now I try and find these beautiful creatures everywhere I go as well as share my love for them with others. Last year in hawaii I finally got a photograph of one I was happy with. Whenever I swim with then it feels like he’s there with me.

Hoping to get in the water with local blues when its safe to do so, if you in Newfoundland then they’re you local ones as well

 

[esther]

Giving back to charity (not only monetarily, but with volunteering) is such a wonderful thing to do. Here are a couple of charities that I give to as well as volunteer with:

- The Trevor Project - Saving Young LGBTQ Lives - www.thetrevorproject.org
- Center for Black Equity - https://centerforblackequity.org
- OutRight Action International - https://outrightinternational.org
- Trans Lifeline - https://www.translifeline.org
- The Marsha P. Johnson Institute - https://marshap.org
- Sylvia Rivera Law Project - http://srlp.org

 

[RC Corals]

Fellow Reefers,
Consumer Reports says most charitable giving is done during the month of December. I learned this because I am sitting in my home office writing checks to my church, library, and a few others I care about and was curious. I also realized that although I don't blink on spending 150 dollars on a piece of elegance coral, I have never given a penny to a charity that works to save our oceans.

That will change this year. I'm far from rich, and I know many are working paycheck to paycheck during this difficult time. But reefing ain't cheap, and I have noticed in this forum many that seem to be like me; established adults with some means to indulge in the hobby they love. Now I know that just because you own a dog doesn't mean you need to give to the ASPCA, but I have never seen a topic on here related to charitable giving and I thought it important.

Any way, I have picked the charity I will give a little money to this year. If you have an inkling to do the same, or, you know of a good charity that relates to this hobby of ours please consider posting the name of it here (if this is allowed). I used Charity Navigator to make sure the one I selected gave a high percentage of resources directly to the sanctity of the ocean life I love, not to the CEO.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Time and Talent.
Charities and Non-Profits have way WAY more needs than just donated money. For the past 6 years i've been donating over 200+ hours a year of photography, videography, and design work to various Nashville area Non-Profit organizations helping elevate their visual presence. Most non-profits constantly have ongoing needs for "bodies" to do even the most basic things. Find something you like and enjoy and then find a non-profit that needs what you can provide. Trust me... they'll appreciate your volunteered time as much as donated money. And the volunteered time will be much MUCH more rewarding than just tossing some money their way and walking away thinking "wow, I helped", and you'll have an active part is actually contributing and seeing the effect of your involvement.

BTW, the main non-profit I work with is A Soldier's Child Foundation that supports over 4000 children of fallen U.S. military members in all 50 states through yearly birthday gifts, Camps, Scholarships, Mentoring, etc.
I was just doing the numbers yesterday on my involvement last year, and in total I had over 635 hours involved producing creative work for non-profits. I do not donate a single dollar, but my creative work is priceless to everything else they do every week, and month of the year.

Also keep in mind, a true legal 501c3 non-profit MUST publish their financials. You can ask for and receive what their percentage donated vs spent actually is. With A Soldier's Child Foundation for example, 87%+ of every dollar donated goes to the children and only the rest goes to staffing, etc.

 

[Tiger Brown]

Thanks for posting everyone, there is some outstanding information here, I appreciate learning about giving opportunities especially as I age and feel the need to give back.

My family ended up donating to Ocean Conservancy in 2020 and we also have donated hundreds of hours over the years volunteering at our county SPCA. Now I have some more leads to look into.

 

[kenchilada]

Yeah, every paycheck they take out a huge chunk and send it to these helpless incompetent fools in Washington DC. I guess they need all the help they can get. I wish I could choose a different charity.

 

[samnaz]

Sea Shepherd - taking action against countless ocean injustices, these guys truly do whatever it takes (sinking illegal fishing ships, saving endangered species, exposing illegal trade ie shark fins, and so so much more) https://seashepherd.org/

Stand Up For Pits - a pit bull rescue, rehab, free spay/neuter programs, comedy show fundraisers. https://standupforpits.us/

The Whale Museum and Center for Whale Research - education and research specially for the resident orcas around Washington which are close to extinction and in desperate need of help (only 74 left in the wild). I’ve “adopted” an orca every year since I was 4 ;-) whalemuseum.org/ and https://www.whaleresearch.com/

Sylvia Earle’s organization, Mission Blue, I think it’s called. Create marine protected areas so ecosystems can fully recover and stay healthy and thriving. The areas are called Hope Spots and they’ve successfully created a ton of them!
Documentary about them on Netflix, highly recommend.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

TBH my favorite charities are my kids, my gf and then myself, in that order lol.