Charity Recommendations

[Ian L]

My favorite is the SENS Research Foundation:

 

http://www.sens.org

 

That is a good one. They seem to have a lot of insightful ideas to tackle age related diseases and problems. Aubrey de Grey is an interesting speaker.

[returnonmycapital]

Have you heard of Toronto Brigantine?

 

It is a charitable organization that gives kids independence and teaches them real life-skills through adventure. Two tall ships sail around the great lakes all summer long with kids between the ages of 13 & 18. Many are from less fortunate backgrounds and their trips are paid for by donations. We try to get at least twenty bursaried children out on the water for between 1 week and 2 week trips each summer.

 

The kids are responsible for sailing the ships, rigging, repairs, cooking, cleaning, you name it. Only the captain is older than 18 (and not by much). My older kids have sailed on the boats over the last two seasons and they love it. I am on the board and my wife and I support the cause financially.

 

Check it out: http://www.torontobrigantine.org

 

We can use all the help that we can get.

 

[eclecticvalue]

You should look into http://sirf-online.org/

 

They basically do investigative reporting and recently they have done a thorough article on BAM and a fraudulent hedge fund manager in Ohio.

 

So if you want investigative journalism to flourish then donate to this organization.

[nodnub]

You should look into http://sirf-online.org/

 

They basically do investigative reporting and recently they have done a thorough article on BAM and a fraudulent hedge fund manager in Ohio.

 

So if you want investigative journalism to flourish then donate to this organization.

 

Lol, SIRF is Roddy Boyd.

 

Edit: based on the history here... some might suspect him of being a shill for hedge funds with short positions that dont want to get their hands dirty. I'm guessing he doesn't need our charity.

[Parsad]

Finally, I did something today that I've read about other people doing in the news, so I thought I would try it. 

 

I was having breakfast at IHOP this morning, and one of the waitresses was joking to some younger customers that walked in "Welcome to the International House for Old People", because most of the restaurant was full of seniors...yours truly excluded, but my body felt like it! 

 

Anyway, I called the manager over after I was done, and asked if I could anonymously pay for the meals of all of the seniors in the restaurant.  She was really excited, and quietly started printing one tab after another...about 15-17 tabs...then tallied them up and gave me the grand total.  I was even more excited than her, and it felt great! 

 

I told the manager and staff to just tell them when they ask, that someone wished them "Merry Christmas", and if they can, they can pay it forward to someone else sometime in the future. 

 

I highly recommend it...felt really wonderful!  You can even do a much smaller, but equally wonderful gesture, like paying for the person behind you in the drive-thru at McDonald's, Tim Horton, Starbucks, etc.  Next time, I may stick around quietly in a corner just watching their reactions when they come up to the till!  Cheers!

[Liberty]

Sanjeev, you truly rock. On so many levels. Keep being the beam of light that you are  8)

[eclecticvalue]

Sanjeev, you could have recorded and uploaded to youtube and possibly have gone viral!!!. JK, I know that's not your style.

 

I am going to have to put that on my bucket list and do it one day.

[LC]

Wow, what a gesture. Thanks for being a great person :)

[SharperDingaan]

Congratulations  ;)

 

[NormR]

... and are helpful again with our 2nd daughter (who was born last Thursday and in the NICU with several real worrisome issues).

 

Congratulations on #2, I hope that she's doing well.  Wishing you and your family all the best.

[jeffmori7]

http://www.moneysense.ca/spend/the-2013-charity-100

[krazeenyc]

I give to March of Dimes as the cause is dear to my family.

 

But.. I've been giving some thought to charitable giving and wondering what percentage of my money actually goes to helping those I intend to help. If anyone that already knows a good place to look to figure this out and is willing to share I'd appreciate it.

 

This guy's story is quite amazing.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/man-leaves-secret-fortune-worth-1876-million-wash/story?id=21043719

 

Also this story is so unfortunate.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324263404578614183479259720

[leftcoast]

Freakonomics: Charity “Shoppers” vs. Charity Investors

http://freakonomics.com/2013/12/31/charity-shoppers-vs-charity-investors/

 

Yet when it comes to charitable giving, most people spread their money around. Why is this? And is it an effective strategy for helping people, or just a way to make ourselves feel good? 

...

But I suspect this is all mere rationalization, and that, we really divide our charity for a third reason: giving is more like consumption than like investment. We give because it makes us feel good.

 

(And, for the math-geeks among us, the warm fuzzies we get from giving isn’t linear with the amount given —  we get more warm fuzzies from splitting our gift between two charities, or among three or four or more.)

[NormR]

What charities would y'all recommend this year?

[rb]

For Canada/Toronto I really like The Scott Mission - food bank etc. I donate to then a lot.

[longlake95]

http://www.grievingchildren.com/

 

A great organization that helps kids during a time of extreme emotional pain. We give to Seasons yearly. I have seen the operation up close, there is no waste. You can search their tax filings and see just how lean they run.

 

LL

 

 

[Jurgis]

I'll go meta: https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org

 

I donate to:

http://www.seva.org/site/PageServer

http://www.worldwildlife.org/

 

Plus some organizations that are more personal, etc.

 

[tengen]

Doctors Without Borders

[NeverLoseMoney]

Watsi: https://watsi.org/

 

Donations fund healthcare for people around the world. I like the idea that healthcare costs are quite low in the countries that their medical partners are active in. A few hundred dollars can often fund a medical procedure that will have a very positive impact on the patient's life.

 

Watsi also offers a transparency document that shows you where the money goes.

[Parsad]

What charities would y'all recommend this year?

 

I'm writing this to you at 6am Christmas morning...how fitting!

 

I recommend donating to wherever your heart may be...as well as where you think they may need help.  This has become a big part of my life thanks to Buffett's example and Prem's example.  For me, it's exactly how I suggested...both in time and money:

 

- Crohn's & Colitis Canada - We were already doing an annual dinner in Toronto.  When JoAnn (Prem's executive assistant) passed away from colon cancer, this became a natural fit and somewhere we wanted to help, as JoAnn had suffered from Crohn's for most of her life.  She, along with Francis, were the ones who originally set up my lunch with Prem back in 2005...that changed the trajectory for my whole life!  She became a good friend after that, helping as much as she could to make our dinner better each year.  When I would come back to Vancouver in the early years, I would give the funds to their BC representative, Alison Obrecht, who became a good friend.  Alison eventually was head-hunted by Cystic Fibrosis.

 

- Cystic Fibrosis - When Alison arrived there, shortly after she mentioned that they were being evicted from their regional office because it was being sold and developed.  I had just taken over at Premier, and wanted to sublease out some of the offices.  She brought her Western Canada manager to our office and they ended up leasing out 5 of the offices at Premier for the next five years...essentially to the end of our lease agreement.  I ended up being asked to join the Vancouver office's board of directors after raising money for them.  Alison was subsequently head-hunted by Simon Fraser University's Endowment.

 

- Simon Fraser University - Some of you may know, especially the old-timer board members, but my father passed away in 1991 when I was 21 and was a 3rd year student at SFU.  My father, Tony Parsad, was one of the first employees hired by SFU when it opened in 1965 as a Chemistry lab technician, and worked there until the day he died.  I had an awful love/hate relationship with SFU.  I used to go up there as a young boy with him, and much of my formative years were spent enjoying what the campus provided from my father setting up chemistry experiments for me, playing on their soccer fields at various sports camps, or simply enjoying a nice lunch with my father in the cafeteria or faculty restaurant, the Diamond Club.  But when I went up there as a student after high school, I kind of hated school at the time...as I was a biology major, but my true interest lay elsewhere as you all know now.  After he passed away, it became even more difficult, simply because everyone (faculty) knew me and everyday I could imagine my father coming around a corner...even though he never would again.  Again, as many of know, I raised my brother after that, who was 9 when our father died and helped my mother who had become a young widow.  I never had the opportunity to do anything for my father, but always ached to do something for him...never really had the financial ability before Corner Market Capital and spent many years building the business living frugally until it did finally work out.  Finally, about two years ago, after finally having the capacity to do something substantial, as CMC and my personal investments did very well, I finally did what I needed to do for him...23 years later.  It was one of the most important and personal things I had ever done and probably wouldn't have happened if I had not become friends with Alison who went from Crohn's to Cystic Fibrosis and then SFU!  I haven't shared it with anyone until now:

 

https://www.sfu.ca/science/support-science/donors/the-parsad-family.html

 

The endowment will live on long after I'm gone and I plan on doubling its size every 5 years.  Interestingly enough, that photograph was taken at the Diamond Club where I would have lunch with my father on occasion, and where I signed the paperwork for the endowment.  Life is a full circle! 

 

Dakshana - Well Mohnish is a friend, but that's not why I try and help them out.  This is simply an organization that uses a Buffett-type approach...impacting one person will have a trickle down effect and eventually you'll have an exponential type compounding effect.  It just made sense.  I've donated small amounts so far, but will increase that over time and as the need increases at Dakshana.  This is something Alnesh and I donate to through Corner Market Capital.

 

Surrey Christmas Bureau and Surrey Food Bank - Surrey is the fastest growing municipality in all of North America.  As such, the needs at the Christmas Bureau and Food Bank are relentless.  While the organizations don't teach a man to fish, sometimes you just need to feed someone for a day...this is a sentimental choice, as our family is fortunate enough not to go hungry while others do, regardless of circumstance.  I moved to the area four years ago and it's a dynamic city going through huge changes...I felt I needed to help the community.

 

Adopt-a-School - Run by the Vancouver Sun, this non-profit provides funds to various elementary and high schools beyond government funds in the Vancouver/Lower Mainland area.  Many children go to school and don't have breakfast or lunch because their families are struggliing.  As a student, that is an awful way to try and learn when your stomach is growling or you are tired from going hungry.

 

Donations/gestures on a whim - the IHOP thing I did a couple of years ago is a example of that.  Sometimes I might just pay for a young families dinner I see somewhere when dining with my family, or someone's coffee.  A single Mom dying of cancer and needs funds to support her children when she's gone.  A pay it forward type of gesture.  I normally wouldn't really talk about these things, but I figure there are plenty of people on here who have the ability like myself to make a difference...maybe it will give them an idea or motivate them. 

 

I'm sure there are hundreds of other ways as well you could do this.  I feel very, very grateful for my life and what I have now.  I'm living the exact dream I always had in the back of my mind, but didn't know it existed until Buffet and Prem showed up.  I've only started on this endeavour in the last few years, but it's a huge part of my life and being.  I wish you a Merry Christmas and hope you get as much enjoyment from it as I do!  Cheers! 

 

 

[arcube]

Sanjeev,

 

Merry Christmas and Thanks for sharing your personal story. Tragic yet incredible. These personal stories are inspiring to say the least, and I really admire your down to earth attitude.

 

I would second Dakshana. I think it is a great initiative, one that touches some lives (undiscovered gems and brilliant kids) that could have never made it. It is also run in a high impact way and I believe it will do great long term benefit for multiple families and if the day comes that even 10% of the beneficiaries decide to give back it will have a snowball effect.

 

Personally, I would also recommend Partners in Health. (http://www.pih.org/). These guys help people who sometimes no one wants to help because of infectious disease etc. I have always found them really valuable like DWB that my family supports as well.

[Luke 532]

I'm looking to do a little charitable giving this holiday season.  Can anyone recommend a good / their favorite charity?

 

Wycliffe Bible Translators: https://www.wycliffe.org/

 

Prison Fellowship Ministries (I worked there in the past): https://www.prisonfellowship.org/

[doughishere]

NFP that I use to mentor for. They take inner city kids in Chicago and put them in private schools. 100% of the kids go to college.

 

http://www.highsight.org/

 

 

December 30 is Eve of Eve at Union Station Merchandise Mart. Great time!! Ive gone the past 5 years but wont make it this year.

 

http://www.highsight.org/site/epage/106996_961.htm

[NormR]

Where are value investors donating this holiday season?

[BG2008]

Beat the Streets - Inner NYC Wrestling Program to Keep Underprivileged Kids Off the Street

 

For those value investors who are current and former wrestlers, there's an organization in New York City called Beat the Streets.  They intend to get underprivileged kids off the streets in NYC and get them to wrestle.  I think wrestling as a middle school and high school activity is particularly important in this day and age.  It teaches kids to work hard and teach the correlation between effort and wins/results.  Personally, it has made me a better value investor as the endeavor can be lonely and un-rewarding at times. 

 

Beat the Streets provides funding in the form of donating wrestling mats, headgears, paying for tournaments etc.  Unlike my high school, where wrestling is a well funded activity and we worried more about winning county championships, NYC school do not have the same funding, coaches, and equipment.  Beat the Streets gets fringe kids who might've spend time getting into trouble to wrestle.  For those kids who would've hang out on the street and start accumulating arrests, BTS gets them into wrestling rooms and teach them about hard work and discipline.  These kids may not wind up becoming ivy league hedge fund managers, but converting a potential lifetime criminal into a hardworking blue collar plumber, electrician, waiter etc is a great triumph.  Again, most high school wrestling program focus on winning and beating their rival schools.  Beat the Street spends more resources on bettering the lives of these kids and they offer more "life skill" coaching than most wrestling program.  They offer seminars on how to attend college, eating etiques (knife, fork, etc), writing thank you letters to donors, etc.  These are all very basic skills to most people on this board.  But these skills changes inner city youngsters' lives because of their family background. 

 

http://btsny.org/