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The Starter Kit: Passive Activism 101
1. Activate your money
All our money talks. But does your money roar or whisper? With lots of money it’s easy to be heard. For those without
such wealth, it’s not as easy – but there are still ways to pump up the volume. Of course you should donate as
much money as you can afford to charity - but I want to focus on more passive approaches to helping your money further your
activism. I’ve broken this approach into pieces, but they all have one thing in common: they do not involve spending
any more money than you do already:
2. Do your online shopping through iGive
I don’t know why iGive (www.igive.com) isn’t more popular than it is. Here’s how it works: you tell iGive which charity you want to support, and they
send a percentage of the money you spend cyber-shopping to that charity. There are already 30,000 charities listed, and you
are free to make it 30,001. On the shopping side, the whole cyber-mall may not be available, but with hundreds of shopping
sites (including behemoths like Apple, Dell, Staples, Barnes&Noble…) spread across dozens of shopping categories, it’s
a good bet they’ve got your shopping list covered.
3. Use a credit card which donates for you
There are oodles of credit cards offering you perks to use them– frequent flier miles come most readily to mind. It
turns out there are cards whose perks take the form of charitable donations. MBNA Bank (www.mbna.com) offers a few, including the Humane Society Visa Card in my own wallet. I’m sure there are others. If you have a card
which isn’t offering you perks, then changing is no pain, all gain. If you have one that does, it may not be entirely
painless - but if you’ve been experiencing the same diminishing returns on frequent flier miles that I have over the
years, perhaps not so bad after all…
4. Use a phone service which donates for you
Working Assets (www.workingassets.com) offers several creative ways for you to support charities without picking up the tab yourself. They offer a Visa card, which
by coincidence is also sponsored by MBNA. But their telephone services (in partnership with Sprint) are perhaps the more interesting option: 1% of your phone bill
– home and/or mobile – is donated to a basket of charities which you can help choose. Not surprisingly, I opt
to let my fellow subscribers pick ‘em, but with such current worthies as Greenpeace and Doctors Without Borders, so
far so good.
5. Shop your conscience
This one is easy. Just take a closer look at the stuff you’re already buying to see if there are easy alternatives
whose selection will help save the world. Happily, it is becoming increasingly easy to find products, stores and services
which are more ecologically, economically and politically correct. Paul Newman was a pioneer in donating profits to charity
with his "Newman's Own" label, but nowadays he's got plenty of company. Here are some differences you’ll likely find
between very similar products on the very same shelves:
- % of profits donated to charity
- Preservatives, additives, dyes, phosphates, hormones …
- ‘Not Tested on Animals’ labels
- Fair trade certification
- Organic and/or locally grown
- Low gas mileage and/or emissions
6. Invest your conscience
Investing. This is where your money can talk the loudest. Sure, the volume increases with the dollars, but you only need
a few hundred bucks to join the choir. The buzzword for this endeavor is ‘Socially Responsible Investing’ and
it covers lots of territory, but I’m restricting this discussion to mutual funds. Socially Responsible funds are just
like regular funds, performing as well as - and often better than - their peers. They have one key difference: their managers
consider social factors in addition to the usual financial ones when picking investments. Take the fund I’m in -
Pax World Balanced Fund (www.paxworld.com.) They won’t invest in companies into weapons, defense, tobacco or gambling; and they seek out companies with high marks
for ecology, quality of life and fair employment. It’s a win-win on my end: my money makes nice money without making
nasty bombs. This is one easy halo. There are a dizzying array of such funds out there, and more are popping up every day,
with their own take on what constitutes a ‘socially responsible’ investment. The Social Investment Forum (www.socialinvest.org) is a good place to start slogging through them – and hopefully find a good match for your own take on such matters…
7. Volunteer the easy way
New York Cares (www.nycares.org) is the quintessential passive activist’s playground. Their function is simple and it is genius: they maintain a database
with thousands of volunteer opportunities in and around New York City. On any given day there are dozens of agencies looking
for help doing all the do-gooding you would expect and then some. From serving jello to homeless peeps, to playing fetch
with homeless puppies, it’s all there – and it’s all on your terms. No long-term notice or commitment required.
You can sign up as late as the same day for a gig. Spend an hour reading to some kids at a shelter on Friday, and your soul
is squeaky clean and ready for a weekend of debauchery. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.
The Hands On Network connects New York Cares with similar programs in Chicago and Boston and probably elsewhere: http://www.handsonnetwork.org/
8. Rethink recycling
I used to live in Greenwich Village, where recycling was a marvel of efficiency. We put our rejects in front of our building
before lunch, and they were gone by dinner. Furniture, clothing, shoes, magazines, dishes… all gone right down to the
boxes they were left in. If you live in a place where such grass-roots recycling is available, consider yourself lucky. The
rest of you will have to work a little harder. The internet can help, as evidenced by the spectacular array of crap people
are selling – and, more surprisingly, buying – on ebay. One person’s garbage truly is another’s treasure.
More locally, look for a church, thrift shop, agency or entrepreneur who will accept or even pick up your detritus. You’d
be surprised what you can get out of your house and still keep out of your landfills – often with a tax deduction thrown
in the bargain:
- Furniture
- Books
- Clothing
- Cell phones & other electronics
- Prescription glasses
- Computer stuff
- Paper, Metal, Glass & Plastic (yes, duh, but worth a reminder…)
9. Find your own Inner Activist
This site is all about lowering the bar. It is an entry point into the wonderful world of activism. If this is as far as
you go in that world, then good for you. However, you may have what it takes to become a more active activist. Here a few
places where such people hang out. There are many, many others. Take a look - you may surprise yourself:
http://www.activism.net/
http://speakout.com/index.html
http://actionnetwork.org/
http://www.globalactionnetwork.org
10. Support Passive Activism
I hear voices. They make fun of this site’s pathetic ambitions, simplistic suggestions, lo-tech graphics, and my sensible
shoes. Help me quiet the voices. Send in ideas to add to this Starter Kit or another piece of Passive Activism. This is
a work in progress - now and forever. I know there are loads of great ideas out there that should be in here, so don’t
be shy. No suggestion is too small or too silly - but hurry before it's too late. The voices foretell of shocking and awesome
times. I fear their irrational exuberance...
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