I've been sitting on this idea for a while, and I can't believe I finally went with it! Here's the thing:
I think about charity a lot. I also donate in amounts that frankly feel embarrassing, whatever I can actually spare that month. I know rationally that every little helps etc etc, but there's still this nagging feeling of this isn't enough, this doesn't count.
So I started wondering, am I the only one? probably not, right?
Here's what I've done with that feeling: I've added two new tiers to my Patreon. They're called Loyal Reader — Donor Edition (€5/month) and Tireless Reader — Donor Edition (€15/month), and they work exactly like the existing tiers (same content, same perks). The only difference is the small extra on top, which goes into a shared fund.
Every quadrimester, everyone on a Donor tier votes on which charity to support from a shortlist, at the end of the quadrimester (end of April, August, and December), the whole pooled amount gets donated. I'll share the receipt publicly so everyone can see where it went, then we start over.
it's not a lot, I have rookie numbers and I know it. But if even a handful of people join in, that's real money going somewhere real, chosen together, transparently, consistently. And I think that matters even when the individual amounts feel like they don't count enough.
Anyway. Here's the link to the tiers if you're interested, and if not, no worries—I'm just glad you're here. ♥
Here are a few of my favorite charities to spark your interest (they're all rated at least A- by Charity Watch), but since I've just launched this, I'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments!
Favourite one? :)
Charity: Water (charitywater.org) #CleanWater
The Trevor Project (thetrevorproject.org) #LGBTQ+
The Conservation Fund (conservationfund.org) #Environment
(Another one, leaving a comment!)
