My Vision for My Ten Bucks

My vision for this blog is simple: to encourage regular people to take pride in their small donations, and make them carefully.

I don't make a load of money. I can only donate ten bucks to each charity. That's my limitation. And I'm proud to fork over my ten bucks every two weeks to make a difference, no matter how small it may seem.

I want to inspire my fellow Delawareans to choose to donate to charities within their communities. Choose carefully. Visit these charities. Get to know the people that shoulder great responsibility: using your donation in prudent and efficient ways. Ask them where your money will go. Remember, spending ten bucks on lunch may keep your belly full to dinnertime; donating ten bucks to a local charity may feed an entire family.

I never asked for matching donations, but I welcome them. My friend Susan pledged her support the day before I introduced this blog. Since that day, nine friends have decided to match my ten bucks dollar for dollar. Some are sending 26 checks at the end of my project, others have been faithfully sending their checks as I profile each charity. Let's do the math - that means 10 people (including me) - making $260 in donations during the course of the year. Total: $2,600! It adds up quickly! (It's based on the honor system, obviously, I'm not going around punching people and telling them to pay up.)

Your ten bucks is an investment in your community. If you carefully select your charity, you'll see a return on your investment, not in your portfolio, but in the strength of the infrastructure of your community.

My ten bucks matters, and so does yours.