Shazam figures out what song you’re listening to.  A pocket flashlight (not to mention a light saber) is only two taps away.  And Yelp can get the phone number, directions and even a review of the place you’re trying to find and meet your friends at in a quarter of the time directory assistance, Safari, Google or any mapping software can do it.

So, why wouldn’t our love affair with the iPhone help us make the world a better place?  Why wouldn’t our obsessive usage create perfect opportunities for capturing micro-donation portals to make contributions to the micro-finance or giving sites of Kiva or Global Giving?  What about a carbon calculator that lets you immediately link to an offset purchase equivalent to the inquiry? It would seem that millions of tiny donations could add up to lots of impact.    It seems possible, and even more so fun.  But does it really add up to a smart fundraising play?

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Don’t get me wrong, I love the holidays. Figuring out gifts and baking an insane amount is actually fun, but takes a lot of coordination. So I wanted to give you another option for your gift giving. The gift of time.

It is the ultimate in green giving. No purchase necessary. It doesn’t consume resources. It even thwarts the consumerism that is so prevalent during this season. All’s it requires is for you to craft some room in that super busy over-scheduled life of yours.

I didn’t say it would be easy.

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Tis’ the season to donate and if you’re so inclined there are lots of folks trying to help you do it.  Facebook has jumped into the game with an application to give Facebook Charity Gifts. Through the app, you make a donation as a gift in a friend’s name and your friend receives a nifty icon on their Facebook page. Sounds like a great proposition, right? The problem is that Facebook did not do its homework on all these nonprofits.

A quick check on Charity Navigator reveals that only seven of the twenty-one nonprofits (33%) were given 4-star ratings: American National Red Cross, One Economy Corporation, Heal the Bay, Islamic Relief, MERCY CORPS, Humane Society of The United States and United States Fund for UNICEF. One group earned 3-stars (”good”), two groups earned 2-stars (”fair”), two are hospitals (and not 501c3 charities)[CORRECTION: the hospitals are both in fact 501c3s] and seven groups were not even rated, including one group with no website [CORRECTION: LOVEFUTBOL does have a very nice website], no HQ and listed “c/o” someone who apparently lives around the corner from me. I should add that looking at the rating is not always enough.  As a reader named David pointed out in a comment to the post last week, notwithstanding its 4-star rating, UNICEF has its own questionable practices.

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It’s a great idea: A small non-profit, Global Giving, challenges Americans to avoid the long lines and return to the true “Giving Spirit” of the holidays. But is it? Is it with, what, according to Charity Navigator, the well-respected non-profit watch dog, NOT a top notch company…in fact, the lowest ranked of similar organizations! Global Giving, according to Market Watch is encouraging shoppers to give a donation instead of a gift:

To help Americans rediscover the true meaning of the holidays AND find a gift for “the person who has everything,” [Global Giving] — “the Amazon of philanthropy” — is launching the “Great American Sleep-In”: a challenge to get more Americans to spend time with their loved ones and avoid the mall traffic this “Black Friday” by giving a gift that gives back … all from the comfort of their own home…. This year, instead of spending $20 on another tie, how about providing baby bottles to mothers in Brooklyn, immunizing mothers and children in India or sending a child to school in Uganda?

The problem is, that the organization running this promotion — and don’t be fooled for a minute, this is a promotion — may not be such a great sponsor.  After a bit of research, I’m not sure I want to give them my donation. This, from their own site, troubles me:

All donations go through the GlobalGiving Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 organization, which receives a nominal 10% fee. This helps cover the cost of operating the marketplace - finding and researching projects, attracting donors, and building our website.

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The common thread with families who conserve is that they’re part of a community and their children have a sense of obligation. Children are born narcissists and can evolve into selfish beings or amazing, giving and inspired members of our society.

How do we grow them up green?

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