It’s only a buck
The life of a famous blogger is never dull. There I was in the grocery store, shopping for dinner, when a member of the Unit 499 Board came over to upbraid me for being so hard on the Unit about not giving any money to charity.
She (and that’s all the description you’re going to get) wasn’t happy about my saying we should be giving more/any money to people who need it. She thinks it is important to keep all that cash (over $32,000) because some clubs might need help buying cards and dealing machines, but she says it is the treasurer who refuses to spend any money.
Now I think the treasurer is a penny pinching, risk averse, small minded bean counter. I also think he works for us, not the other way around. It isn’t his job to decide where the unit spends money, it’s his job to keep track of everything.
We kept talking. I kept insisting that as a group we are well off and incredibly fortunate, and should be sharing with others. You can’t much argue with that.
Finally, some consensus was achieved. I suggested that we could most certainly afford to donate $1 a year per member to charity. Who doesn’t drop more than that in pennies every year? There are about 800 members of our unit, so $800 to $1000 per year is eminently reasonable.
She asked how we were going to decide to whom to give this abundance. I explained the concept of delegation–point at somebody on the board and say “Find a decent local charity which keeps less than 10% for overhead and gives the rest to people who need it. Give us an answer next month.” That business school education finally paid off for me.
Now I’m going to do some delegation. Find yourself a board member and say you’re in favor of a buck a year for charity. Let them all know. This stuff isn’t rocket science–we can be good people if we just want to be.
Totally Unauthorized 
I guess that should be do-able for you group! I trust these folks also have their own charities that they give to. I’m a retired nurse, now part time professional artist, on social security and a small retirement account that I saved for. And even I give more than that to charities each year. I applaud you. And, btw, I love your blog.
great idea. $1 per player per month seems like a more commensurate amount for charity. how about we return to the pre-move table fees & donate $1,000 from the unit to a local charity each month. share could be the month #1 charity. shelter,inc. of martinez would be my candidate for month #2.
I am one of those people who thinks that we should keep the unit treasury money for the future of the unit Being only 65, I am worried about the day when there are not so many of us.
I do concur that a dollar a member, even possibly a $1 a month, is a good goal But, I would rather see us raise the money another way besides taking money out of the treasury.
Remember, when you proposed that the unit hold more events. How about more special events benefiting charity?
Great blog, Chris. You know I’m one of your biggest fans. Not in your unit, but your proposal to give to charity seems SO reasonable! Sometimes we forget to count our blessngs: we get to play bridge and enjoy so many other good things in life. SO many are less fortunate.
Hi, Great idea!! Also maybe use some for youth bridge.
I completely agree. Except that I think $5 is a more reasonable amount.
We agree with you absolutely Chris Rosalind
and Gerry Cunha