August 1, 2001

A worthy cause is like a melody!

Not long ago, I started keeping a computerized record I call "requests for donations." Few came from charitable groups, the kind which feed the hungry or clothe and house those in need. Most are concerned with politics, environment and "causes." Some are gun control organizations. I include magazine sales pitches, since so many of these particular publications appeal to my personal biases and concerns. They've got me pegged. They know me better, in some cases, than I know myself.

Once I even got a request from the National Rifle Association. They stand as much chance of getting money from me as the Republican National Committee, which has also asked for a contribution once or twice. One of these days, when I can afford it, I'll send a substantial contribution to the Brady Center for Handgun Control in honor of Charleton Heston or Wayne La Pierre.

The first month and a half I kept records, minimum requests averaged $20 a day, or $7300 a year. That's actually an underestimate. Then I started keeping track of the maximum asked for as well. Of course, these folks would happily accept any vast and fabulous sum I should choose to give them, but just the specific maximum amounts asked for so far averages $52,000 a year, or $1000 a week.

Since I'm retired, it's not likely I'll send most of them enough money to pay the postage. Nevertheless, the Save the Redwoods League, the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, KCSM, The Wilderness Society, the Brady Center for Handgun Control, and the Southern Poverty Law Center, all fine organizations, would like my generous contribution. Public Citizen and the Marine Mammal Rescue Network each asked for money twice in fewer than 30 days.

An organization called Tiger Haven asked my wife for money to feed big cats. If she can give $1482, it will feed some large caged creature for a month or so, or is it a year? They're willing to accept as little as $28.50, if we can't come up with a larger chunk of zebra haunch to please the palate of some hungry tiger or leopard.

It's possible I'm unique, and am being asked for more money than most. However, my guess is that thousands of families in Pacifica are being hit up for large quantities of cash, and that I am not that unusual. I do know I'll have to budget my donations more carefully, and set up careful priorities that take note of what we can afford to give and whom we prefer to give it to. My family's resources are limited. Even postage, at 34 cents a day, would come to about $125 a year.

Interestingly, none of the requests so far have been from organizations headquartered in Pacifica. The nearest have come from San Francisco, San Mateo or Marin County. Fine organizations like Pacificans Care, the Resource Center, Channel 26 and local religious charities didn't ask me during the period for which I kept track. Pacifica Historical Society and the County Historical Association are not represented on my list. Pacifica Friends of the Library also was not part of the equation. With such fine groups whom I know so well, I could easily justify giving my entire donations budget without sending any cash out of town, and certainly not out of the county. But the big question becomes: what is the maximum realistic amount we should budget for donations, who should get it, and how do I allocate it? Bill Gates and I have the same kind of problem, but I can't afford to hire experts to help me deal with it.

Paul Azevedo's e-mail address is thereactor@earthlink.net