November
2003
Animal
Charity: Give, Give, Give
By Jack Rosenberger
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As I write these words a large raven and 16 mourning
doves are around or eating at the bird feeder in our backyard. A garden
of birds. I treasure the sight and sound—watching them peck at
seeds on the ground beneath the feeder or waiting on the nearby tree
branches for a vacant spot on the feeder’s two ledges—and
I feel good about myself for helping the birds (and squirrels) survive
in this increasingly developed suburban pocket of Westchester County.
Yet, I know my daily feedings help only a small, particular group of
nonhuman animals.
Besides being a vegan or vegetarian, one of the most practical, lasting
ways to help nonhuman animals is by donating your time and money to
pro-animal organizations. Like other movements for social justice, the
animal rights community needs plenty of financial and creative help
if it will continue to grow and prosper. Without it, animal groups cannot
create lasting societal change, let alone survive.
Which means animal advocates like you and me need to be generous with
our time and money. “Money is like manure,” former New York
Congresswoman Bella Abzug liked to say. “If you keep it, it makes
a stinking mess of your life. But if you get it out there and spread
it around, it makes things grow.”
In 2000, Americans who claimed charitable contributions on their federal
income taxes gave an average of $3,636 per tax return, according to
the AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy. Approximately 70 percent of households
give to charity each year. The largest recipients of the public’s
generosity are institutions in the fields of religion, health, arts,
and education. Very, very little of the money donated from the public,
bequests, foundations, or corporations goes to pro-animal organizations.
This is a good time of year to think about your personal animal philanthropy.
For those of you who are interested in increasing the ante, here are
some modest suggestions:
Plan regular contributions. One of the best ways to help animal organizations
is to make monthly or quarterly contributions to one or more groups—bill
a set amount to a credit card or send a check on a regular basis.
Be enterprising—find other ways to donate. You can sell unwanted
belongings via eBay or hold a yard sale and donate the earnings; participate
in a group’s annual walkathon (which is also a great way to meet
other activists); or when your birthday rolls around, ask family and
friends to make a contribution to one of your favorite charities. During
the holiday season, one way to show love is to make a financial contribution
to a charity in someone’s name. To make the animal connection
even more personal, adopt a rescued farm animal for a loved one and
give the precious gift of time: spend the weekend together at the sanctuary
visiting the new family member. If you think they are willing and capable
of guardianship, adopt a homeless companion animal from a local shelter,
giving a cat or dog another chance at love and life.
Donate bonds, stocks, and real estate—with most non profit organizations,
the gift will be tax deductible; or make a bequest. While few people
are as rich as McDonald’s heiress Joan Kroc who recently left
$200 million to National Public Radio, everyone’s will can include
a bequest.
Amuse your friends, surprise your enemies. When Sally Baron, a 71 year-old
Wisconsin woman, died in August, her death notice included the request
that “Memorials in her honor can be made to any organization working
for the removal of President Bush.” Baron wasn’t particularly
fond of President Bush, whom she nicknamed “Whistle Ass,”
and her unusual death notice has raised money for several Democratic
and Independent presidential candidates—and nationally embarrassed
Georgie Porgie.
Be creative with your time. If you can’t give money, donate your
time and energy. One inspiring example is George Ginsberg, a commercial
photographer in Springfield, New Jersey, who was known as “the
penny philanthropist” for his modest but steady contributions
to numerous charities. What Ginsberg lacked in financial ability, he
made up for in effort. One day in 1956, for example, Ginsberg attended
a B’nai B’rith meeting at a lodge in Newark. Few people
were in attendance, and when Ginsberg asked about the whereabouts of
the other members, he was told everyone was present. Ginsberg volunteered
to sponsor a membership drive for the lodge; he mailed postcards to
virtually every Jewish resident in the area, urging them to join. The
lodge enjoyed such a dramatic increase in new members that a neighboring
B’nai B’rith lodge enlisted Ginsberg’s help for a
duplicate membership drive.
One of my goals this past summer was to always keep our bird feeder
full. The task, I quickly discovered, was difficult, tiring, and somewhat
expensive. The birds often consumed all of the feeder’s seeds
within one or two hours. Now, I fill the bird feeder once in the morning
and once in the late afternoon. Without food, of course, the feeder
is worthless. The same is true with many animal groups—when given
our help, they can do their best work.
