2013 donation plan

Not riding today; it's about 2° colder than I like to go out in. So while I'm stuck at home, I'm working on some end-of-the-year projects. I've done the spreadsheet for my retirement plan, and another to add up my bike miles for the year (Winter Larry did one last year, and it was so useful, I decided not to wait to see if he'll do one - if he doesn't share his with the club, I'll post a link to one you can download. I intend to use two copies: one for miles ridden, and one for hours ridden, because time on the bike may actually be a better index of how much fun I'm having than miles).

I'm looking at my annual donation plan. I'm changing one of the recipients. Two of the other recipients have made it easier to donate, one with a Paypal link, and the other with a downloadable .pdf with an address to send the cash (that's good enough - I'd rather do it online, but I'm willing to send a check; it will be one of the half-dozen paper checks I write this year).

Here's the list:

• January: Public Radio WHYY
• February: Our local rescue squad
• March: Our local fire company
• April: The USO
• May: Our local public library
• June: The Human Rights Campaign
• July: The PICO Network
• August: People for the American Way
• September: The ACLU
• December: the Philadelphia Museum of Art

We also give monthly to the Princeton Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), where The Excellent Wife (TEW) and I are members (they don't throw me out when I say I'm an atheist).

The careful eye will note that there are no entries for October or November. We're keeping those open for apparently-deserving causes that come up during the year (in the past, these have gone to charity walks, and suchlike). Donations to charity bike rides I do are separate; I consider that a cost of riding (although I will gladly deduct whatever is allowed).

As I said in last year's donations post, "Some of our donations are tax-deductible, and some are not, as we believe that making donations to political causes to bring about the kind of country and world we believe in should be part of our plan." Support means more than just talk, or blog posts with links. Put your money where your mouth is - or where your keyboard is.