Should the buying local approach be applied to donations to nonprofits?
Cross posted at Do Good in Brooklyn
Last week I was happy to stumble across Shop Brooklyn, which highlights local businesses across the borough as part of a larger campaign to get people to buy from local businesses. The campaign emphasizes the enormous benefits of buying local including job creation, local control, diversity, and competition.
This made me wonder–can the buy local approach apply to nonprofits as well? What if people committed to supporting their local nonprofit? While thinking about this I came across an older initiative by the United Way of Lake & Sumter Counties called Give Where You Live. The emphasis in their approach is why you should you support your local united way over another, but it doesnt address why you should give locally at all. While I believe the same question is asked when buying local (especially if other countries rely on our buying their products) the question is especially compelling when it comes to donations. Why should you care about your neighborhood when there are other communities around the globe that may be suffering more than yours?
- You can do more than give money: When a nonprofit is nearby it is easier to lend your time and talent as well as making a donation.
- You can see progress and make change: Maybe you don’t like the direction your local nonprofit is going in…maybe you think the community needs better or different services. Either way, because you are close you can participate in the programs the organization provides and see what’s happening for yourself.
- Strong communities address larger problems together: Giving locally makes it easier to develop stronger ties with your community as it encourages civic engagement. And when communities are working well together it is easier to address larger problems.
- Economic benefits apply to nonprofits as well: Nonprofits create jobs, support entrepreneurship, foster local control, and may even partner with and support local businesses in the area.
To encourage people to buy local, the 3/50 project focuses on spending $50 at three different local businesses each month. I’m going to apply the 3/50 campaign to nonprofits as well. Below are the businesses and nonprofits I support–what are yours?
Nonprofits:
Businesses:
- Foragers Market in DUMBO
- NOS Boutique in DUMBO
- La Bagel Delight (all over Brooklyn)
Ah I love the post. I have definitely modeled most of my giving to the locality that I live in. I personally feel that local giving is like local shopping is a perfect analogy. While giving is different, because you are helping make a positive impact or fix a problem, organizations like DonorsChoose have flourished taking this approach.
Great post AJ!
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RT @npmillennials: Should the buying local approach be applied to donations to nonprofits? – by @ajlovesya #nmba http://bit.ly/exkpAg
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RT @npmillennials: Should the buying local approach be applied to donations to #nonprofits? – by @ajlovesya #nmba http://bit.ly/exkpAg
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RT @npmillennials: Should the buying local approach be applied to donations to nonprofits? – by @ajlovesya #nmba http://bit.ly/exkpAg #local
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Allison,
I see where you’re going with it but would have to say I don’t fully agree with the mindset. I think sometimes we are just too complex for such a mantra and I also fear how much more insular that might make us as a society.
For me, the issues that light a fire for me are water sanitation and issues pertaining to women and children in the developing world. That’s not to say I don’t care deeply about education reform in the United States for example, but rather to say that when push comes to shove, what I read, where I donate, all that and more, is really inspired by my experiences living abroad and my desire to be a catalyst for change in those arenas. So for someone like me, the local issues, while important, aren’t those that ignite me like those international issues I listed.
Either way, great thought provoking question that you posted! I love reading your blog/twitter. =) @pjfurlong
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ajlovesya Reply:
December 21st, 2010 at 8:21 pm
You bring up an interesting point, Patrick and I think a large part of our decisions to donate come from our personal experiences and passions. How I feel about education reform is similar to the way you feel about water sanitation: my experiences (living here and living abroad) drove me to that issue.
There is inherent complexity in deciding to give locally or give abroad as well. For example, the reality that money donated abroad goes much further then money donated here. At the same time, the ability to develop and sustain systemic change is more possible here because we have a stable democracy and basic infrastructure (things we tend to take for granted).
Focusing on local issues does not have to automatically make you insular. Martin Luther King Jr, for example, wondered how America would grant peace and equality here towards blacks and people who are poor when we were fighting in Vietnam. He saw the link between the two and began fighting for change on both fronts.
When I advocate for supporting local organizations I see it as a stepping stone for ongoing introspection: Why is it seen as such a revolutionary thing to buy local? Where were my items coming from before? Why is it good to buy local now? We often dont start thinking of others until we start thinking of ourselves and seeing us all linked.
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