Engineering Job Future

Giving Back

Staff Article, written by Don Wilde

Even in economic distress, Americans live better than most of the world's population. Our 'poor' have refrigerators, television sets, cellphones and cars. Hospitals are clean and well-stocked with medicine and knowledgable doctors and nurses, and supermarkets are well-stocked with food that is safe to eat.

The rest of the world is not so fortunate. For example, in India, only 15% - 20% of households (statistic varies depending upon definition of 'household') have a refrigerator to store food. Most of the people in less-industrialized countries of the world do not even approach that percentage of households wired for power, much less having appliances.

With that in mind, here are some suggestions for inexpensive ways to make a huge difference in lives. Even as we struggle to pay our bills and feed our families, giving to those who are less fortunate reminds us of how much we have to be grateful for, and gives us a perspective that helps us keep our head high and our minds focused on success. The global impact is almost as huge as the impact on our own personal growth.

Kiva -- Micro-Lending Made Personal

The phenomenon of micro-lending --- capital transfer to entrepreneurs in poor nations -- is a well documented success. Kiva is a not-for-profit entity that gives lenders a direct connection with a specific entrepreneur that their money is going to. They do not pay interest on the investment, so the lender's ROI comes from seeing the entrepreneur succeed. Although Kiva claims a 98% repayment rate, Kiva lenders also get a much more personal look at the hardships people in developing countries face as disease, crop failures and economic shifts can wipe them out.

With the current economc crisis in America, Kiva now also makes micro-loans to American entrepreneurs in inner cities. They are still working out a business model that works, because conditions here are vastly different, but now lenders can choose to help American entrepreneurs get started.

Microplace -- Micro-Lending as Easy as eBay

Microplace.com, an eBay company, does offer a financial return as well as a feel-good return. Though not aspersonally rewarding as Kiva's model of building a personal connection between an entrepreneur and a lender, Microplace loans do pay a return of anywhere between zero and six percent and are guaranteed by wealthy backers of the corporation.

Missions of Hope -- Dr. RIck Barrett

Dr. Rick Barrett, author (with Joe Vitale) of "Give to Live" travels to Mexico several times a year and selflessly helps hundreds of people with back problems. His Missions of Hope site offers opportunities to donate to support his missions and also to help native Mexicans build stoves so they can cook food.

Heifer -- Investments that Multiply

A different form of investment, Heifer.org gives poor families gifts of livestock that keep giving and which reproduce themselves many times over. Heifer's first shipment of young milk cows was sent overseas in 1944, and the organization now ships thousands of cows, goats, chickens and other livestock around the world every year. Recipients in turn donate the female offspring of their gift to other nearby families, eventually bringing the standard of living up for whole villages.

Charity: Water -- The Most Basic Gift

Much of the world subsists on less than a dollar a day. Thousands of children die each month from polluted drinking water. Over a billion people on the planet have no access to clean water to drink. CharityWater.org uses donations to build safe, efficient, clean water wells around the world.

Your Time

Your most precious resource is your time, and my personal experience has been that my spiritual return on investment from donating my time has been hundreds of times the cost. If you don't personally know of a school or charity that needs your support, VolunteerMatch can help.

Why?

Besides mundane benefits like tax writeoffs and ego gratification, helping others brings home a truer perspective on how wealthy we really are. The endeavors I have listed above are only a few of the thousands of available organizations that will put donations to good use. I've highlighted a few of my personal favorites, but there are opportunities for everyone. Some charities provide similar programs to thiose listed above that benefit U.S. families in need. In any case, make sure you verify your chosen charity's financial health befor donating with a service like CharityNavigator or CharityWatch.