Felix Salmon's blog at Reuters made a startling suggestion: Don't donate money to Japan.
His reasons (to simplify) are that Japan has the resources to recover on its own, and money going to relief for Japan is not going to relief in places that also need help but don't have resources.
It's provocative, and the blog has been flooded with angry comments. (I think Salmon's blog must have got reported in the wingnut blogosphere, because many of the commenters seem to think his opinion signals a liberal big-government plot -- go figure.) Most of the commenters clearly didn't pay much attention to what Salmon actually wrote. His argument is reasonable.
But I think he's wrong.
Rationally, if you're looking for lives-saved-per-dollar, it makes more sense to donate to help victims of Haiti's earthquake. Even 14 months later, people are dying from that quake's aftermath. Or the everyday catastrophe of extreme poverty, which kills, maims, and crushes many more lives every day than disasters do.
But sometimes the heart has wisdom beyond reasoning. People are giving to help people in Japan because their suffering is before us. That's the essence of charity. To try to lecture or train that compassionate and human impulse into something cool and calculating is just heartless.
Don't give to the thing that's stirring you to action right now, but give to something else that I'm telling you is more important. That's a tough case to make. To people who never give, it's just a bunch of noise. The only people you even have a chance to persuade are those deeply involved in charity, who give frequently and have a sense of connection to the causes they support. A disaster brings new givers to the table. Few of them are invested yet in the subtleties of the cause. But they're taking a first step. Some of them are beginning a personal transformation that will make them wise, involved, and excellent donors. Now is not the time to whack them around because they aren't quite getting it right!
Furthermore, charitable giving is not a zero-sum game. Giving begets giving. How many people, making an impulse $10 gift on their cell phone, will notice how it feels to make a difference and start giving regularly to all kinds of causes?
The fat part of the Baby Boom, those born from the mid 1950s to early 60s, are getting near donor age. There are so many of them, that if even a small percentage of them hit their donor tipping point a few years early, the impact on philanthropy will be huge. If giving to Japan now helps that along, great!
Salmon is just a guy with an opinion. But I know a lot of nonprofits who share that opinion whole-heartedly. They put a lot of effort into finding ways to educate donors -- a massive and fruitless effort to make donors into different kinds of people whose motivations are different from the real donors that give real money in the real world.
That's not just pointless. It's harmful, and it's callous. Gifts to Japan -- even sloppy, emotional, unconsidered gifts -- are a blessing. Not only to those in need who get help, but to everyone: nonprofits, their staff, and donors. Be thankful for the outpouring.
Thanks to @tactphil for the tip.
