Welcome to the second part of my story on making a difference with dividends. If you haven’t already, you may want to start by reading Making a Difference with Dividends, Part 1. If you prefer to watch a video, rather than read this article, you can see my part 2 video here. The content is essentially the same.
Last year I opened a new trust account with TD Ameritrade. I previously wrote about Using an ETF Screener for Investments with TD Ameritrade and My Process For Selecting Steady Dividend ETFs I wanted to invest in for this account. I made my choices and set up some limit orders and before the end of last summer I had set up my investments, as detailed in the post My 5 Dividend ETF Picks. If you want more background, go ahead and read those articles, but you don’t need to read them to understand the rest of the article.
My goal in setting up the TD Ameritrade account was to use 50% of the money that I gained from dividends each year as charitable contributions for my favorite non-profit organizations. The amount would be determined by the amount listed on the 1099-INT tax form for that year.
I made just under $1000 in dividends in that account and so I am donating $500. My plan was to donate $50 each to a total of 10 non-profit organizations. I had nine organizations chosen already and in my Making a Difference, Part 1 YouTube video I asked viewers to submit their suggestions in the comment section of the video for the final donation.
Usually I keep my donations pretty private, but I wanted to share how you can make a difference with the money you earn from investments. Further, I wanted to shine a light on some of my favorite nonprofit organizations.
I am delighted to reveal the names of the charities that I donated to. I’ll give a brief explanation about why I chose each one and include excerpts from the thank you emails I received for donations. Many of those emails are written to mention something about what the donation will be used for and contain a feel good message to the donor. If you would like to improve your mood and brighten your day, make a donation, and read the response on how you can positively affect other people’s lives.
American Heart Association
My 10 year old son recently participated in the Kids Heart Challenge, a fun event where students learn about heart health and help raise money for the American Heart Association. Therefore, I have donated $50 to the American Heart Association. I also like to support this organization because I have immediate family members affected by heart issues.
After registering my son for this event and making the donation, we received an email that said, “The money you raise will go toward many important things — from supporting vital research, fighting congenital heart disease, advancing lifesaving medications and so much more. Studies show that more than half of kids in this country are not getting the physical activity they need to be healthy. That could lead to big problems as they get older. Thank you for everything you’re doing to help save lives!”
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
It is difficult to completely avoid exposure to tobacco companies, such as Altria, when investing in dividend ETFs. For a while, Phillip Morris was listed in the top 10 holdings of the iShares Core High Dividend ETF (ticker HDV) that I am invested in, though they have since been removed. Because some of the ETFs I own may have a small percentage of investment in such companies, I decided to donate some of the money I earned to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. I am particularly disturbed by the trend in young people vaping. My 13 year old son has told me about kids at his middle school vaping in the bathroom and some kids even risking vaping in class by hiding the e-cigarette in a long sleeve shirt and then inhaling while pretending to rub their faces. These kids are seriously addicted.
In response to my donation, I received this note, “Thank you for partnering with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Your generous gift powers our fight for a tobacco-free future. Together, we will prevent a new generation from being lured into a lifetime of addiction by the sleek, flavored, nicotine-loaded products that are threatening the decades of progress we have made in reducing youth tobacco use. Thank you for standing with us.”
Smile Train
Smile Train is a charity that covers the costs of corrective cleft lip and palate surgery and care to children in the developing world, as well as training and supporting local medical teams who provide the surgery. My younger son was born with a craniofacial disorder, which included a cleft palate. He had cleft palate surgery himself and so each year I make a donation so that another child can have this surgery. This $50 I am donating now is in addition to the annual donation that I made in December.
The thank you email I received reads, “I am delighted to acknowledge your $50.00 gift to Smile Train and your generous support of our vision that every child born with a cleft – anywhere in the world – has the opportunity to live a full, productive life. Smile Train has grown to become the world’s largest cleft charity because of the support we receive from donors like you, enabling a child to receive life-changing surgery once every five minutes. Friends like you are truly changing the world for the boys and girls whose families cannot afford lifesaving and life-changing cleft treatment. Thanks to you, these children are receiving new smiles and second chances at life.”
A brief aside leading into the next charity choice — I give my sons a weekly allowance and I ask them to divide their allowance into three categories, day-to-day spending, saving for something larger or to deposit in a savings account, and to donate to a cause. I got my younger son these colorful “Save, Spend, and Share” boxes (affiliate link). They are a useful way to introduce children to the idea of planning what to do with their money. If you will be giving money to a child for his or her birthday, this might be a fun way to package the gift.
Feeding America
My 13 year old son’s chosen charity to donate his money to is Feeding America, which he personally donated $60 to in December. He believes that no child should have to go hungry in this country. He asked me to match his donation at the time and I did. I am glad to make an additional $50 contribution to this charity right now and share information about it with you.
The Feeding America email confirmation reads, “I can’t thank you enough for the incredible generosity you showed with your gift to Feeding America today. The donation you just made will help us to provide 500 meals to families in need. I hope that makes you feel proud. It should! Every year the Feeding America nationwide network of food banks provides support to 40 million Americans who are battling hunger, a tremendous feat that is only possible because of the compassion and financial backing we receive from people like you.”
United Way of Greater Los Angeles
I believe giving to the United Way once saved my life and so I feel compelled to continue donating to their cause. I run for exercise and one day I went out on a run and decided I would drop my donation envelope with a check in it in a post office box near my house. The post box is next to the end of building next to a long alley way that leads to a small industrial use area, which doesn’t usually have any traffic. Normally I run right past the front of the building and cross the alley pretty quickly. Because I stopped at the box that day, I narrowly avoided being hit by a car that came rushing down the alley, zipping past me toward the street. I shudder to think about what would have happened if I hadn’t decided to mail in a donation that day.
I like the idea of giving locally to help people in my community. I am glad to make another donation to the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. There are over 58,000 people living on the streets in Los Angeles. That is more people who are homeless here than the entire population of the city I grew up in. I try imagining every single person I knew in my childhood as homeless to put some perspective on the largeness of this number.
The United Way’s email note said, “THANK YOU. We love you! Not just for your generous donation but because your donation is helping us dream big. It’s helping us fight so that all students can graduate college ready, so that everyone has a home to sleep in at night, and so that all low-income families are equipped with tools to protect and build their financial assets.”
FINCA
This is the first time I’ve donated to this organization, FINCA. I received a mailing from them recently and looking into it, I liked what they are doing. It aligns with the greater goals I have for Squintillions about educating women about personal finance and empowering them to make money-related choices confidently.
Their email confirmation of my donation described more about what they do. “Thank you for your generous donation of $50.00. If you haven’t done so already, take a minute to tell your friends and family about your donation and how FINCA empowers poor people around the world. With your support, FINCA helps hardworking women in the developing world gain access to financial services so they can build their own money-making ventures. While her loan amount may be a very modest sum to you and me, for her it’s a big boost, since many FINCA borrowers feed and clothe their children on a cash budget of only a few dollars per day. In time, she is able to achieve her modest dreams such as paying for school fees, improving her house or hiring employees. FINCA also will help poor families access life-changing solutions — like solar lamps and clean cookstoves — to improve their quality of life, save them time and money and make them healthier and empowered.”
Direct Relief
Next is an exceptional organization established right here in California. It has been one of the top ten charities mentioned on Charity Navigator, a useful website for vetting non profit organizations, earning a 4 star rating and some of the highest scores for multiple years in a row. I learned about Direct Relief (formerly known as Direct Relief International) when I was working for a medical device company and they recommended it as a charity to give donations to in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. It has been my go to organization for donations whenever I have felt the need to donate following a natural disaster. When giving to this organization you can choose to give wherever money is most needed or to community health in the US, emergency preparedness and response, or global access to medicine.
Their confirmation email is to the point: “Thank you for your generous contribution of $50.00 to Direct Relief. Your support will improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergency situations, enabling Direct Relief to provide essential medical resources needed for their care. On behalf of all the people helped through Direct Relief’s work, thank you.”
The Conservation Fund
I wanted to add an environment focused charity to this list and did some research for this choice. I admired YouTube creator MrBeast’s #TeamTrees campaign to plant 20 million trees, but I didn’t want to contribute to something that already had so much attention. Instead, I wanted to give to an organization that cares for the natural resources we already have and I found that in The Conservation Fund. I liked that they were doing so much good work all across the US to protect our waterways and forests.
The email they sent provides more detail, “On behalf of The Conservation Fund, thank you for your generous gift of $50.00. Since 1985, The Conservation Fund has led local, state, and national land conservation efforts—protecting over 8 million acres of America’s most important lands. Whether safeguarding wildflower fields in California, protecting large forests in Maine, conserving green space in urban Wisconsin, or supporting farmers of color in North Carolina, The Conservation Fund is working hard to find the best conservation solutions for every landscape and each community. Together with our partners, we’re building a smarter, more sustainable future for all Americans. To date in 2019, we have protected more than 167,000 acres through 131 exceptional projects. With your help, we are combating some of the greatest environmental challenges facing the United States today—climate change, resource depletion, habitat loss, and more. This work would not be possible without donors like you. Again, I thank you for your gift. We are proud to continually put 96% of every dollar raised directly into conservation programs.”
RIP Medical Debt
Raising awareness about a charity does have a ripple effect. I learned about this next organization I donated to from another Rebecca, on her Quest to FIRE YouTube channel. When Rebecca made a donation to RIP Medical Debt in one of her videos, I knew that I wanted to make one too. I am certainly empathetic to the situation that some of the beneficiaries of this organization might find themselves in. Getting on my soapbox just for a moment, the extreme medical costs and the system we have for paying for medical care in the United States is a mess. I don’t know what the solution is to the US system, but I’m pretty sure healthcare insurance responsibility should no longer be tied to employers and that there should be at least a basic level of medical care guaranteed to all citizens.
Have you ever received a $250,000 medical bill? I have. My second son had to spend a few weeks in the NICU after he was born, for surgery and recovery, relating to his craniofacial disorder and since he was a preemie too. Somebody had made a mistake during the billing process and we had to get the surgeon involved to contact the insurance company to get the information corrected, so that insurance would cover most of the bill. That was a very stressful week!
After I donated, they wrote to me, “Please let this email serve as an acknowledgment of your generosity and a receipt for your tax-deductible gift. Your gift will abolish 100 times its cash value in debilitating medical debt (that would be $5,000), giving recipients and their families a fresh start and empowering them to embark on a new path of greater financial stability. We, along with more than 500,000 beneficiaries and their families, are very grateful for your compassionate action. Your support has helped RIP Medical Debt abolish more than $1 billion of medical debt since inception. On behalf of our program beneficiaries, thank you!
LeBonheur Children’s Hospital
Finally, for the organization chosen by the Squintillions video viewers! I had four people comment with the names of the charities that they wished I would donate to. Those included: Operation Blessing, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) and LeBonheur Children’s Hospital. I used the Wheel of Names web site to generate a random winner.
The winner was the LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee submitted by viewer Kenneth Harris. Mr Harris particularly wanted to highlight their LeBonheur Heart Camp, which is free for campers to attend because of donations. Children attend a fun-filled week at camp with other children just like them. The camp is designed to provide education about heart diagnoses and promote healthy lifestyles. I specified that my donation be directed to their heart program.
Their email reads, “Thank you very much for your $50.00 gift to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. We are deeply grateful for your generosity and support of our efforts. Your donation makes a difference and enables us to provide vital services to every child who needs us. We count on you and people like you to ensure that we can continue changing and saving children’s lives everyday. Once again, thank you for your support.”
It was moving making these donations on each nonprofit organization’s website. The process of creating the accompanying video and talking about what each organization does, and reading the email responses filled with gratitude, magnified that feeling exponentially.
I have held an interest in non-profit organizations for a long time. I was able to quickly and simply make every single one of these donations online and for my younger viewers who grew up with the Internet this may not seem remarkable. But it made me recall the fact that I wrote my MBA dissertation on “The Impact of Electronic Commerce on Non-Profit Organizations” back in 2003. It was really astounding to reflect on how much progress non-profit organizations have made with developing well designed websites and implementing online strategies over the passing years, thus allowing them to truly connect with their supporters.
If you felt inspired by the work of any of these organizations I have shared, please go explore their websites and consider making your own donation today. We are all planted on this earth together. Let’s make life better for one another, in whatever ways we can. You may also investigate ways that you can volunteer with an organization that is important to you.