Clicktivism/Slacktivism

Yesterday I was writing specifically about my sponsored children through Plan, and my regrets about not writing more. I know that donating the money has value, but I believe there is an added value in making it personal.

It’s something that I think about at times, like when I am at the store and asked to round up my change for some cause, or to give a dollar and buy a shamrock. It’s something quick and cheap, and it does matter to someone, so it isn’t meaningless. At the same time, it isn’t always exactly meaningful, or perhaps not in the best way.

Often the emotions it triggers are guilt, and fatigue. It does add up, and constantly being asked, and feeling like only a bad person would say “no”, can eventually build up the kind of resentment that comes from well-meaning “awareness” posts that 99% of people won’t care about, but are you one of those good people who will repost?

There are a few possible issues there. One of the first that I have read was actually about those pages where you would click and advertisers would give a small donation, though it brought in the rounding up change part also. People feel like they are making a contribution, without actually doing anything.

I get that concern, and it is the least important one to me. If you can get people to do good in a pain-free manner, then by all means go for it. The amount of good that they are doing is probably small, but still, it could be helping someone, and if someone feels more self-satisfied than they deserve, it happens for worse reasons all the time. I can’t get excited over that.

There are other things that concern me more. One is reading that people contribute about the same amount to charity regardless of the context. I believe the figure was about 2%. If people give more in response to an appeal in one place, they will give less somewhere else, and it seems to be self-correcting. This is a concern, because it seems possible that if one cause is better situated than another, it could take away from other charities with less advantages, and all based on marketing rather than on the merits of the charity.

Okay, obviously this is going to happen all the time anyway, but my point is that it can be even more insidious than we realize. It’s more insidious because there is less thinking. I can’t even remember who got the extra change. Were the sneakers for Muscular Dystrophy or March of Dimes? I don’t know. I do have limited resources; I should be a little more careful with them.

A greater level of involvement does make a difference. I remember clearly that every read-a-thon that I did in grade school was for multiple sclerosis, working in the fireworks booth and washing cars was for girls camp, the Valentine’s Day walk was for Fanconi Anemia, and that time I worked on the float it was for New Avenues for Youth. I remember those causes, and things about them, and how they affect people. Those times, it was personal—not because I had a previous interest, but I became connected to the cause.

This leads to another concern with how giving is done, that seems to go in the opposite direction, in that money is almost always more useful than in-kind donations. Last I knew, the Oregon Food Bank can purchase about 6 pounds of food for $1, so collecting money is far more effective than collecting food.  And yet they still do have food drives, and perhaps a reason for that is that people feel a sense of connection in purchasing food, or in going through their cupboards that they don’t feel with writing a check.

There is weird psychology to us. One thing they have seen with certain fundraising appeals is that people give more to one specific recipient than many. So if you focus on one victim of a tsunami, rather than the tens of thousands affected, you get better results. This is good for fundraisers to know, but it is also clearly impractical, in that the general tendency is not to be practical and effective in giving.

I think there will actually be a lot more to write on this, and I will probably keep on learning more, but as is so typical with me, the answers seem to be kindness and thinking. Love people, and want to help them, but also use your brain.

I have a small amount deducted from each paycheck that goes to the Oregon Food Bank. This is cash, it comes on a regular basis so can be depended on, and my employer matches my contribution. This is all very practical, and I pretty much never think about it.

However, I also volunteer for Blues Fest every year, which benefits them, and I also usually end up doing one volunteer shift per year there. In conjunction with those, I get more information, and I do keep it personal, at least I try, just like I will try to keep up those letters.

We are imperfect creatures, but we are always capable of more.