"God doesn't want a trust fund"

This isn't a direct answer to your question, but I read the above line in a book once and it has stuck with me.

Basically it answers the question of whether we ought to save up our money all our life and then give it away when we're old or dead, or if we should give our tithes regularly.

On the charity continuum, I think on the most immediate end there is the office collection, the Salvation Army bell ringer, the firemen standing at the stoplight. These play on our charitable instincts and our desire to do something immediate (or our desire not to look like we don't care). Slightly less immediate but still in this category is the mail you get, you know after you send a check to one charity and they sell your name and address to sixty others. Those usually have pictures of sad kids or "gifts" like address labels, and they want you to feel obligated to give something in return for whatever trinket they gave you. Another tactic I have seen used by my favorite think-tank is sending envelopes with actual stamps affixed to them, presumably so you'll feel compelled to send them a check since they already gave you a stamp.

The next category up is planned giving- something you have thought about and for which you've set up a pay alottment or bank draft. I think these are the best option because there's no surface emotion involved. From a religious standpoint, disciplined, regular giving is right in line with God's commandments (although handing a five to the bum on the street is also good, even if he's "just going to buy liquor with it"). From a secular standpoint, it's also good to put charity first. This is what I do. Of course, the 9/11 and Katrina telethons got to me and I sent money, and then in both cases the government and Red Cross wasted millions and many "victims" are now millionaires. Next time a big disaster happens I'll give to Wal-Mart and let their efficient practices use more of my dollars to actually help people.

I don't know much about the R&D charities. I guess the American Heart Association would fall in that category. It seems to me the drug companies that everyone likes to bogeyman for "ripping off consumers" are the manifestation of "let the market take care of it," which I believe, and besides which the heart/cancer/AIDS foundations are not going broke. Most of their funding comes from the government anyway.

It should be noted, that whatever cause you give to, the US government dwarfs anything we individuals give. Check your charity's year-end statement if you don't believe me. Cancer charities, religious charities, political causes, you name it, double-digit percentages of their funding comes from Uncle Sam. So even if you don't give a dime at Christmas or any other time, you're giving every paychceck through your taxes. Pat yourself on the back.

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