It's not often that I get a letter in the mail that says "Hey, we're going to give you some money." Of course, the federal government isn't really giving me free money by sending me a check this month. They're just taxing less of my household income in 2008 and giving it back to me now. But that extra chunk of change was not factored into my budget for this year, which makes it kind of like free money.

So what's a socially minded individual to do with it?

Nonprofits are hoping you'll donate at least some of it. The New York Times reports that Charities See Opportunity for Donations as Rebates Reach Taxpayers. Fundraising consultant Robert Sharpe is quoted:

The key for charities is to recognize that while 95 percent of the people who are getting these rebates need to use them to pay for their own gas and groceries, 5 percent can afford to give them away, and that’s a lot.

My friend Grace blogs at What If No One's Watching, and she's been thinking about this issue:

...basically the upshot is that charitable organizations are suffering right now just like everyone else, and there are those (myself included) who believe that the money these checks represent may well have been better spent bolstering social services. So, if you think like that too, maybe we should both put our money where our mouth is and give some of our stimulus checks to charity?

Back in January, Michael Seltzer reminded us in his blog PhilanTopic that nonprofits don't just rely on donations from you and me. They also get support from corporations and charitable foundations. Corporate cash tends to dry up during a recession as businesses see their profits erode. Foundations, which manage large sums of invested money and donate the interest, don't have as much to give when the stock market is down in the dumps. For nonprofits who contract with state and local government agencies to provide services, they may see contracting opportunities dry up as those levels of government face shrinking tax revenue.

So as nonprofit organizations of all types brace for recession, they have plenty of incentive to ask for a piece of your tax windfall. Unfortunately for them, the New York Times piece states that surveys are showing only 3-4% of people have intentions to donate their checks.

Personally, I did more charitable giving in 2006 and 2007 than I ever had before. I had a good job and I had paid off my student loans, so I set aside a percentage of my income to give away each month. It was a lot of fun, and I felt really good about it. In the fall of 2007, I had a baby and became a stay at home mother.

Now, even though we are quite financially secure, I am less confident about giving. I've kept up my monthly gift to Women for Women International, but I haven't done much else. Thinking about donating a sum of money that large makes me really nervous.

A 2005 study of giving in the UK referenced work done by psychologists to explain how people make themselves feel better when they decide not to give. The U.S. Association of Fundraising Professionals recapped the Top 5 methods as follows:

1. Denial of responsibility: "I don't have enough money to give to charity."
2. Denial of injury or benefit: "My gift won't make any difference." [...]
3. Denial of victim: "There is no need for anyone to be homeless; there are plenty of jobs around."
4. Condemning the condemners: "What right do pop stars have to ask us to give? They should give away some of their millions."
5. Appeal to higher loyalties: "My priority is to look after my family - charity begins at home."

Wow, some of that sounds really familiar. We only have one income! I can't fix poverty with a few hundred dollars, so why try? What if we need that money later to take care of the baby?

Let's get serious, though. I have enough money to pay for the electricity powering this computer so I can write this blog post, which means I'm way ahead of millions of people around the world. I'm drinking a glass of clean water while I write, and all I had to do to get it was walk over to the refrigerator. I have health insurance. I have a retirement account. Heck, even the fact that I have a (fixed rate, thank goodness) mortgage means I'm pretty darn lucky.

Surely I can spare even $100 out of "surprise" money to help folks who are hurting, especially during a recession. In fact, it turns out that my local nonprofit food bank can turn that $100 into 300 meals.

I wonder what a few other nonprofits could do with $100?

[Image by Ede Bittle.]