Miriam's giving year in review

So yes, I am showing some of my Gen Y ADD by promising a post about video blogging and getting distracted by other topics, but I was reviewing my documents today for taxes (yes, I get started early), and it occurred to me that it might be fun to review my "giving" from the past year as a case study of a Gen Yers giving habits. The Gen Yers in the wild if you will. So, in chronological order (and by the way I know this bc I get email receipts since I only give via the web, so I can just save them all in a little folder in my email and refer to them whenever I feel like it)

Before we get started, I should also probably share that my personal "goal" is to give to one organization every single month. I also like to give to all kinds of different organizations, to "spread" my giving as widely as possible, following the theory that everyone could use a little help.

1) Apparently, my first contribution of the year, a whopping $25, was to a political candidate. I really am not sure what this says about it me. I would note, that this was the first campaign season when I was compelled to give. This was also not my first contribution to a politician during the FY 09 election, just the first one of 2008. And no, it was not who you're thinking.

2) Next, just a few weeks later and breaking my once a month rule was a donation to the Avon Foundation for the Avon Walk For Breast Cancer. My friend's team was called "Simply the Breast." And when a friend creates a personalized fundraising page, and knows if you've given or not, it doesn't matter much if this was not an organization on my "in line to give to list." Oh well.

3) I then broke my own rule again, but giving yet another donation in the same month to the Wildlife Friends of Thailand. I had actually stumbled on them by accident on Facebook Causes while looked for the Wildlife Animal Sanctuary, and after looking at the pictures of the poor animals, well, I just couldn't help myself. But I would note that my donation was apparently made on a leap day. So really, we could pretend it was in the next month.

4) Ah, now here is something exciting! In April, I gave a donation online, but in response to a piece I had received in the mail. At first, I had opened it out of curiosity as a marketer-it was once of those pieces from a celebrity on behalf of an organization. But, I found their mission and story very compelling. So online I went, and gave a gift.

5) The next month, my gift went to Mercy Corps. This was in response to the double-header of the earthquake in China and the cyclone in Myanmar. My company was having a matching drive. So I gave. Through Network For Good.

Apparently, I decided to take the entire summer off from giving, because I have no records of donations until September when I gave to:

6) The American Heart Association Walk. A colleague had set up a personalized fundraising page and again, she would know if I didn't give :).

7) My next donation was a very personal one. I gave in memory of my best friend of 13 years to the Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network.

8) Next, still in mourning, I guilted myself into donating part of the proceeds of some used shoes I sold on Ebay to the Humane Society.

And apparently, this was all the giving I had in my for 2008. I did not reach my goal of giving once a month, nor did I give as much as I had hoped, and I was absolutely convinced I gave to the USO this year but apparently, it was really last year.

If you would like to share your giving year in review, hit me up! Or feel free to post in the comments section.