Sunday, February 20, 2011

Tax my neighbors please !

.... because I can't bring myself to give to causes I vociferously support and believe in.

The NYTimes publishes in the wealthiest and most liberal area in the country.

Liberals support higher taxes for government programs that help people down on their luck.

While taxes are forced and mandated for everyone unless you can find the right loophole, charitable contributions are voluntary and open to anyone with a liberal view.

$6million from all it's readers after 3 months of daily articles highlighting the plight of individuals down on their luck !?

This isn't enough to run a small social service agency for more than a couple months.

When it comes to pocketbook action, it appears that liberals want others to pay for their programs, via the government,through forced taxes.


February 19, 2011

A Season of Giving Motivates Donors in Greater Numbers

The 99th New York Times Neediest Cases Fund campaign began Nov. 7 and ended Jan. 30. Daily articles in the newspaper and online offered a window into the lives of New Yorkers coping with poverty and spotlighted how the fund helped ease some of their struggles.

Thanks to money given to the fund, Mary Spencer, who at 102 had outlived her savings, was able to replace worn-out clothing. Patricia Walsh, formerly homeless and barely getting by collecting cans and bottles, bought a bed and a dresser — the first time in her life she had a new bed, she said. Mirna B. López, a Guatemalan refugee who cleans houses for a living, fell behind on her rent after a kidney transplant, but was able to avoid eviction.

As the worst economic slowdown since the Great Depression dragged on, increasing the need for help, there was concern that donations would dry up. But readers responded in greater numbers than the year before. A total of 10,457 donors gave $6,061,024 in the course of the campaign, according to the fund’s accountants. Last year, 10,428 donors contributed $6,280,243.

“We are extremely pleased and honored that our readers have remained so generous,” said Desiree Dancy, the vice president of the New York Times Company Foundation, which administers the fund. “While the dollar amount we received in donations this year was down, the number of online donations increased.”

This year’s total contributions were about 3 percent short of last year’s. Online, 4,689 donations came in, a 13 percent increase from last year’s.

“The percentage of online gifts has climbed to 23 percent of the total, which is remarkable given that many donors have contributed for years by writing a check,” said Cristine Cronin, president of NYCharities.org, which manages online donations for the fund. “Donors clearly feel increasingly confident with the security and ease of Internet giving.”

Readers were particularly moved by an article about Thakane Masondo, an 18-year-old who was living in a homeless shelter while attending high school. Many wrote in, offering not only money but a room in their homes and help applying to college. A filmmaker expressed interest in making a documentary about her.

Alice Kenny, spokeswoman for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, one of the seven agencies supported by the Neediest Cases Fund, said that thanks to the outpouring of support, Ms. Masondo had found a home in the Riverdale section of the Bronx with a family that rents out rooms in its home to international college students; the family offered her a free room.

Two investment banks, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, continued a tradition of conducting company drives organized by first- and second-year associates. On Feb. 3, the people who led the fund-raising efforts — Matthew Perlman and Caroline McKim Woodworth of Citigroup, and Nat Wells, Matthew T. Healey and Azer Songnaba of Goldman Sachs — presented a total of $286,289 to Ms. Dancy.

The amount was an 81 percent increase from last year’s and the largest sum raised by the banks in any year since the start of their involvement with the Neediest Cases Fund, in 1991. Ms. Dancy thanked the bank representatives and their colleagues for their efforts.

“There was a feeling that everyone was contributing, and that everyone should,” Ms. Woodworth said.

Donations ranged from a few dollars to thousands. An executive at Citigroup matched every dollar raised over $50,000 — excluding his own $25,000 donation. At Goldman Sachs, the company matched employee contributions.

“The articles are the most compelling way to get people to donate,” Mr. Healey said.

Mr. Perlman agreed, saying, “The articles show that you can make a big difference at the margin, with a little bit of money.”

During the campaign, some donors explained what inspired them, including brief notes with their checks or online forms.

Florence Glazer wrote: “Enclosed is a check for $77, $1 for every year of my age. My dad started this with $1, and I am continuing the tradition.”

On NYCharities.org, Susan Glenn, inspired by Luke 12:48, wrote, “To those whom much is given, much is required.”

Larry Mark found an envelope on the street, he said: “I picked it up in curiosity, and it contained a couple hundred dollars in new bills. I contacted two local police precincts, but no one reported the missing money.”

So Mr. Mark gave it to the Neediest Cases Fund.

This year, Alquena Reed was a donor, but in the past, she had been a recipient of Neediest Cases aid. She wrote: “Things were really bad for me. I was told about the charity. They said they could help me. They did.”

Every dollar sent to the fund during the 2010-11 campaign will be divided among seven of New York’s largest charities to provide continued emergency assistance. Profiles of some of those people helped will appear in the 100th campaign.

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