What are people's favourite micro charities?

[anne]

lots of us have made incredible money on the stock market this financial year. That means we're up for a big contribution to the compulsory government-run charity unless we can find our own charity to donate to.

The best charities to give to are those that actually do good rather than just do a lot of activity and use our donation efficiently -i.e. where our dollar of contribution turns into close to a dollar spent on the actual project.

My favourite tax-deductible good cause is St Jude's, a school set up by Gemma Sisia in Arusha in Tanzania. Already gemma has 850 of the poorest and smartest Arushan children enrolled in her school.

Even though her school has been operating for just about four years, her school came third out of 204 schools in Tanzania and 5 of her students scored in the top ten of the country.

Her web site is www.schoolofstjude.co.tz.

Gemma has recently published a book called St Jude's. It was after reading that book that I decided to make my first ever substantial donation to a charity.

I received a lovely letter of gratitude from Gemma afterwards, which just reinforced to me that I had done the right thing.

What are other people's favourite charities? I am particularly interested in the smaller, lesser-known ones that have an established track record of doing good.

Cheers Anne

 

[yogi-in-oz]

Hi Anne,

While it is great to be supportive of charities working overseas,
we should also be mindful of the dire need for supporting Aussies
at home, in their time of need, as well .....

St John of God's North Metro Community Drug Service Team (NMCDST)
in Perth ..... is manned mostly by volunteer counsellors, social workers,
psychologists and nurses, this not-for-profit team seeks to educate
your children and the wider community, about the misuse of drugs
and alcohol and also provides support for the families of drug and
alcohol users .....

... they also provide direct services for in-home detox, rehabilitation
and free ongoing counselling for those people, who are making a real
effort to overcome their addiction(s) and have a burning desire to
lead the "normal lives", that most of us already enjoy.

.... just send your donations, to:

North Metro Community Drug Service Team
St John of God House
175 Cambridge Street
Subiaco WA 6008

many thanks

paul

P.S. ..... for Perth traders, be sure to enter the quiz, at our displays
in Clarkson, Karrinyup, Floreat and Mirrabooka libraries for
"Drug Action Week 18-22 June 2007" ..... you could win a
nice hamper for your efforts ..... !~!



-----

 

[anne]

thanks yogi - Paul

It sounds like a good cause. Do you have any evidence to show that the programme is getting good results?

This is the most important factor to consider I think. Lots of good causes look good but are they getting results?

The government efforts are a good example of this: mountains of money poured into just about everything and it hurts to see what little good comes out of it all.

i do agree that drug addiction is really hurting our whole community - right down to the level that you can't even park your car at the beach without risking having your central locking busted just so some druggie can steal a few dollars.

Cheers Anne

 

[Broadside]

I like Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders), I know it's not a micro charity as such but they get fast aid into warzones such as the Sudan etc where others often fear to tread. I am sure even a small contribution can save lives.

www.msf.org.au/

 

[ghotib]

Not sure what you mean by micro charities? Micro organisations or organisations that focus on micro issues or areas?

I came across this one through an interview in Alan Kohler's "Eureka Report". It's a micro-finance organisation, which in my view makes it an embodiment of the "teach a man to fish" concept except that if it's like the more famous Grameen Bank it's found that teaching women is even more effective

Sexist language aside, this style of charity might make sense to a lot of ASF members.

http://www.opportunity.org.au/home.asp

Opportunity International is a global leader of microfinance and enterprise development, and in 2006 we celebrated our 35th anniversary. The pioneering work of David Bussau and the late Al Whittaker began in the 1970's during the earliest days of the microfinance revolution. Opportunity International continues today through the commitment and shared vision of five support partners and 44 implementing partners throughout Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Together we want to see clients, their families and their communities transformed with dignity, empowerment and hope. Opportunity International is motivated by Jesus Christ’s call to serve the poor without regard to ethnicity, gender or religious affiliation.

Opportunity International continues to distinguish itself with a culture of innovation, partnership and an unwavering commitment to serve the working poor. At the end of 2006, Opportunity had over 960,000 active clients globally and a loan portfolio of $590.41 million.

Opportunity International Australia is part of the global Opportunity International Network. As a support partner in the Network, we raise and invest funds to establish and grow our implementing partners, who are locally based microfinance institutions. We are also taking a leading role in the provision of enterprise development programs, which are non-financial services that play a vital role in helping clients on their journey out of poverty. In Australia, we have an experienced team of professionals specialising in development, financial services and microfinance investment. Our objective is to build a community of passionate supporters partnering to end poverty.

Opportunity Australia needs to invest $120 million over three years (net of fund raising costs) to build our programs and have a significant impact on poverty in India, Africa and East Asia.

Microfinance is the provision of microcredit as well as a broader range of financial services and products such as savings, insurance and money transfers designed to assist poor entrepreneurs who lack access to financial services in the traditional banking sector to develop their small businesses.

Traditionally microfinance focused on providing a standardised credit product. The poor, just like anyone else, need a diverse range of financial services to be able to build assets, stabilise consumption and protect themselves against risks. Now the concept of microfinance is broadening and our current challenge is to find efficient and reliable ways of providing a more diverse range of microfinance products.

DISCLAIMER: I hadn't heard of this organisation before this week so I'm not recommending it. Do your own research. And if anyone knows more, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Ghoti