FMF $5k Red Kettle Challenge

Update #3: The challenge is now over. We raised a total of $13,636 as noted here. THANK YOU!!!!

Update #2: Due to the kindness and generosity of FMF readers, we reached the $5,000 mark in less than a week. I've made the first match and we're now over $10,000 as a group. Now I'm adding another $5k match to make this the "FMF $20k Red Kettle Challenge". So once FMF readers give another $5k, I'll match it. This will give us a total of $10,000 given by readers and $10k matched by me. In other words, I'll make another $5k match gift when we get to $15k total raised. So please keep giving! ;-)

Update: If you are looking for the link to donate (and don't want/need to read the info below), you can find my donation page here.

A few events have conspired over the past several months to lead me to this point. They are:

• I write often about giving, believe it is a key part of personal finances, and personally give myself. And giving has been part of FMF from day 1 (in fact, all profits from FMF are given away to charity.)


• I have become increasingly aware that more and more people are hurting financially. And I don't mean hurting in the sense that they have to cut down from premium cable to "only" 200 channels. I mean people are hurting in the sense that they can't afford food, clothing, and shelter. They can't afford to pay their utilities. They can't find a job even though they've been looking for several years. And it's bad, really bad. And seems to be getting worse. Especially here in Michigan.


• At the same time, giving is down for many organizations. So demand for help is up and giving down -- which makes an already bad situation even worse.


• I have also wanted to do something on FMF to encourage all of us to give collectively. For the most part the readers here are much better off than the average Joe. For the most part all of us can afford to give something to help those less fortunate. And I want to do something to encourage others who can give to give, like I did with Hurricane Katrina and the 24 Hours of FMF.


• Through several experiences over the past two years I've gotten to know one specific charity that has really impressed me (more on this later) in how they help the needy.


• My faith calls me to help the poor. My favorite verse on the subject is Proverbs 19:17 (New International Version) which says, "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done." I like the way it contains both an admonition and a promise.

So given all these, in the early fall I started thinking about how to put my desires into action. I wanted to do something meaningful and that would have an impact, but didn't know what. I even emailed several big-time bloggers to see if they wanted to do something with me (I'd provide the money if they would help get the word out.) But there were no takers.

So I've decided to launch out on my own. Here's what I'm doing:

• I'm launching the "FMF $5k Red Kettle Challenge."


• Between now and December 26 I'm issuing you a challenge. You give $1 and I'll give $1. You give $25 and I'll give $25. You give $1,000, and I'll give $1,000. I'll match donations you make dollar for dollar up to a cumulative total of $5,000 (you all give a combined $5k and I'll match it with $5k of my own.)


• The charity I've selected is the Salvation Army (more on why I picked them in a minute.) To make me give money, simply go to the FMF Red Kettle page and donate. Whatever the balance is on December 26 (up to $5k), I'll match.

I'm not going to tell you why you should give or try to guilt you into anything, but I do want to challenge you. There are needy, hurting people out there and you can make a difference. Please consider making a gift.

Now some of you already have charities you support, and that's great. I hope you give to them more than you ever have. If you have any left over after that, please consider donating something here too. But if you're giving generously in other places, don't feel like you need to participate.

Many will wonder why I picked the Salvation Army as my charity of choice. It's a long story, but I'll try and make it brief:

• Growing up as a kid all I knew about the Salvation Army was that they had red kettles at Christmas time. If we had some spare change after a shopping trip, we'd drop it in the kettle. That was it. Nothing else.


• Several years ago, I felt like I wanted more of my giving dollars to go to helping the poor. At that time I didn't know many charities that helped the poor, but I did know the Salvation Army. So I gave a bit to them each year. The amount grew over the years but was nothing I would call large.


• Then a couple years ago my employer was doing a charitable promotion and we needed to pick an organization to receive what we raised. Through a series of events we decided we wanted donations to help the needy and selected the Salvation Army to be the organization. As a result I've worked with and gotten to know Salvation Army people and organizations all across America. I've talked to the people who are part of the organization and the people they are helping (and I'm talking about real-life "needy" people on the streets of Grand Rapids, Atlanta, Detroit, and so on). So I know they are making a HUGE difference. Because I've seen their work first-hand, the Salvation Army is an organization I know I can fully support.

Now some of you will object to the fact that the Salvation Army is a Christian-based organization. If your personal convictions make you want to not give for those reasons, I respect that and I hope you give generously to the charity of your choice. But if you've read FMF for more than two seconds I think it's pretty apparent that I have no problem giving to a charity that's Christian-based. Plus the fact that I've seen their work in person makes the Salvation Army a no-brainer choice for me.

Others may be concerned that the Salvation Army spends the bulk (or even a large part) of their money on proselytizing people or only on those of their faith. I can say with 100% certainty that this is not the case. Yes, it's because of their faith that they help others, but they do not push their beliefs or force recipients to become Christians to get aid. They simply want to "do the most good" (their slogan) and that in and of itself is their reward. And as I've said, I've talked to many people they've helped and know they are doing good, selfless work to those who need the help most.

Others may wonder about the Salvation Army's impact as an organization. Charity Watch gives them an "A-", a pretty good grade (FYI, St. Jude's and the Susan G. Komen Search for the Cure get B+, MDA and Livestrong get an A-). Again, I have no problems giving to them based on this measure either.

So that's it. Over the next few weeks I'll be reminding readers of the challenge and giving updates as appropriate. I'd appreciate it if you'd at least consider this as a giving opportunity as a favor to me.

Thank you for reading this far and happy holidays!!!!

Update: If you read this post and decide to give later but have trouble finding the details, you can always find this post by clicking on the Salvation Army "ad" in the top right-hand side bar.

Comments

[Ron_Travel]

It is soo important to give at these times. With food stamp usage at all time highs it can be so easy to think that it is only a statistic, but the reality is something else.

[Will Chen]

What a wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing this with us on the Wise1000 forums. Donated and looking forward to seeing you meet your goal!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for doing this. I found some exta money in my budget to donate :-)

[FMF]

Will and Anon --

Thanks so much!!! I'm hoping you all make me give the whole $5k!! ;-)

[Anonymous2]

Donated $500. In college, I had to get food from a local Christian food bank. Last year I decided I needed to pay it back plus "interest". This is part of that commitment I made to my self.

[Afford Anything]

What a great idea!! That's awesome. I can't wait to see how much you give away.

[Crystal]

I just pushed it over the $1000 mark - I cannot wait to see us double that before the end of the day tomorrow!!! Great idea FMF!

[08graduate]

I chipped in. FMF, thanks for the blog, and thanks for the generous pledge to a good cause. I suspect you will be on the hook for the whole $5k in the end!

---

One thing about Charity Watch and Charity Navigator is that they judge charities purely by financial overhead. This is useful for weeding out scam and incompetent charities. It's not so helpful for distinguishing "good" organizations from "great" ones. They're all spending your money on actual programs, but which programs deliver the most bang for the buck?

givewell.org has done a lot of serious research on this subject, and I find their answers persuasive. Every $50 donated to VillageReach vaccinates a child in Mozambique; without those shots, 1 in 13 would die. That's truly great. Very few charities of any kind, and none that work primarily in the USA, can save lives for less than $1000 each. Something to consider.

[FMF]

Anon2, Crystal, and 08grad (and others) --

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! This money will help so many people and your kindness and generosity are certainly appreciated!

[FMF]

By the way, someone just gave $2,000. Whoever that was, thank you too! I certainly appreciate your gift and your caring for the less fortunate.

To others, keep giving if you feel led to do so. If we get to $5k, I just may have to come up with more money to keep you all challenged. ;-)

[Kris @ Everyday Tips]

Wow it just goes to show the power of your blog. You are over 3200 now. What a wonderful and generous idea. I think the Salvation Army does a great job, so was happy to donate. Thank you for matching.

[FMF]

Kris --

THANK YOU!!!!!

[Peter]

Have to say I respect you for donating all proceeds to charity from the site. I haven't been able to do that, but it has enabled me to give more to causes I love - like this one! Just donated!

[FMF]

Peter --

Thanks so much!!! I appreciate it!

[Jo]

This is awesome...I will have to see if we have some extra moola in our charity budget.

[Tim]

Hi FMF. Just curious, if we donate through your site, will it qualify for the Chase Freedom 5% back on Charity donations?

[Anonymous]

I used my Chase Freedom Card to donate. I figure it should count just like any other charitable donation. In fact, I actually upped my donation by a few bucks to account for the fact that I'd be getting the 5% back.

[FMF]

Tim --

The donation is through the SA site, not mine, so I would guess it would qualify.

Anon --

Thanks! Smart way to give!!! ;-)

[Georgia]

I, too, like to help the Salvation Army. I am glad to help.

[Khaleef @ KNS Financial]

FMF, this is a marvelous idea! I love the fact that you have such a huge heart, and you use your blog as a platform to help those in need.

As a Christian, and a PF blogger, you definitely inspire me to do a lot more!

I am making a donation now - thanks again for the opportunity and the challenge.

[Doug@CheapScholar.org]

Glad to help! Thanks for jump starting the holiday season with it's true purpose: unselfish kindness, caring, giving and charity for others that are less fortunate.

[Anonomous2]

Decided to make another donation today to help.

[FMF]

Anon2 --

THANK YOU!!!!!

[BD]

I'm poor, and most of my friends are even worse off than I am, and some of them can barely afford food. So I cut out the middle man, and just give directly to them, when I can afford to give at all.

[Kevin]

Hey. Thanks for the Amer Ex tip about small business Saturday--it worked and I received a $25 credit. As a token of my appreciation and all your hard work with the website, I donated $25 to your Salvation Army campaign. Keep up the great work!

[FMF]

Thanks, Kevin! I appreciate that!!!

BTW, it worked well for me too. We got an email confirming our credit a couple hours after we made the charge. (Kind of scary in a way too.) ;-)

[Anonymous2]

FMF, Wanted to let you know that we are submitting the two donations we made to my wife's company to see if they would be willing to match the donation. They have a foundation that does this kind of thing.

[FMF]

Anonymous2 --

Thanks! I appreciate you trying to add even more to your kind contribution.

[Alex @ GLC Blog]

This is a great and worthy cause.

Like you rightly say, too many people think of hard times as having to cut down their cable channels or something ridiculous like that.

Loving the amount of money you've raised from this in such a short space of time and the fact you're matching the donations is great.

It's made me think that if every blog did something like this, it would make a massive difference.