First, I would really like to thank everyone for their support. The donations have been pouring in the last few days. I’ve gotten some emails from people starting their own matching drives which makes me unbelievably happy. It a very cost and time efficient way to make a huge difference 🙂 I’m always available to answer any questions or give advice if anyone would like to use this format.
DFS superstar Martin Crowley has jumped on board. He loved the idea of the matching challenge, and decided to match and additional $200,000, raising the overall drive to $1,000,000!!!. He enjoyed the idea of giving people choices, but wanted to focus on Givewell’s Top Charities
Pending a discussion between Martin and the anonymous donor, the $600k is officially filled. The additional $250,000 is planned to go to AMF.
Here is a breakdown of the 90 donations that came in to my fill the original $175,000
| 350.org | 8,482 |
| Against Malaria Foundation | 42,780 |
| Give Directly | 64,115 |
| Just City | 8,250 |
| Liberation Prison Yoga | 12,048 |
| MAPS | 30,600 |
| Zendo | 0 |
| Massachussets Bail Fund | 8,725 |
| Total | 175,000 |
His 3 Charities will be
The first two charities have been apart of the drive since the beginning. The third is new, but is currently the number 2 charity according to GiveWell. “For those seeking our recommended allocation, we recommend giving 75% to the Against Malaria Foundation and 25% to the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, which we believe to have the most valuable unfilled funding gaps.”
What does SCI do?
These paragraphs are mostly stolen from SCI’s Website where you can find some really eye opening and shocking statistics
In poor countries, parasitic and bacterial infections run rampant. They are referred to as Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD’s), because these diseases only exist in the poorest countries. Due to first world amenities such as health care and clean water, these no longer are concerns in wealthy nations. But over ONE BILLION people suffer from an NTD with a majority suffering from multiple. The costs of treatment for these diseases is cheap, under $1.20 per person.
NTDs cause human misery due to the stigma, deformities, chronic and debilitating pain they cause. NTDs permanently curtail human potential, cause an enormous economic burden for endemic countries. In children they impair growth and cognitive development and significantly reduce the economic productivity of the adult population thereby anchoring millions of people in poverty.
NTDs are often neglected due to a low mortality rate compared to HIV/Aids, but the suffering is very severe.
How to Participate
Just like before, you donate to one of the selected charities (Against Malaria Foundation, Give Directly, Schistosomiasis Control Initiative), and email a copy of your receipt to ReceiptsForCharity@gmail.com. We will match it.
I know there are a lot of great causes out there, but unfortunately We cannot match donations to any other causes due to limited time and resources. I am very sorry.
Feel free to email any questions or ideas you might have. If you have issues donating via conventional ways, feel free to email me and I will try to sort it out.
Thanks all for your support and Happy Holidays!!!
I Believe it is a Particularly Efficient Time for Americans to Donate to Charity
Disclaimer: I am not a tax professional and don’t actually know what I’m talking about. I did call two tax experts who said that this might actually get passed in 2017.
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/tax-plan
1) If tax rates were to drop, it would mean you get less of a write off in future years.
2)Trump might cap itemized deductions at $100,000 per year.
In addition, the Trump Plan will cap itemized deductions at $200,000 for Married-Joint filers or $100,000 for Single filers.
This is a hard cap on the amount you can donate and write off. This could be relevant in a lot of cases, most obviously to me if you live in a state with state taxes, are an amateur gambler writing off gambling losses, or are paying off your mortgage.
Martin also sent me this great link, debunking many myths about charity.
Dan