Yet Another Envelope

The year is just about over and here comes Christmas, Chanukah and the New Year. What does everyone have on their mind, this is the U.S., so it’s money, of course. How many envelopes do you receive daily asking for funds for this or that cause, they probably outnumber the gift catalogs 3 to 1.

Sometimes you are thanked for a contribution over the year and an envelope is included for yet another contribution which really annoys me. Sometimes there is no acknowledgement of your contribution at all!

I have written about what to do with your collection and even your cold hard cash. But I thought this time I would look at it from a more personal point of view. So many not for profits are totally legitimate in their quest for funds. Can one put a limit on the money needed for cancer, Alzheimer’s or a myriad of other diseases that need endless resources to do the research.

My wife and I have had many discussions on this subject. I actually enjoy donating to worthy causes, but like most people, we have limits on what we believe we can give away. How does one make a decision on which nonprofits to contribute to? Like most people we give to those whose mission we believe in but we also take into account who is running the organization and where we can make a difference.

Our lives have been devoted to the arts. My wife was a curator, and I was an art dealer so our way of thinking is that art is important for everybody, and museums are the places that can introduce many of the arts to the public.

I remember that one of the founders of our art gallery said “Charity begins at home”. That can have many different meanings, and some might feel that means keep your money for your family but since we left New York I take it differently. While large museums such as the Metropolitan in New York and the Louvre in Paris might want to expand, hire another curator or enhance their collections no fewer people are going to visit if they do not do that.

In smaller towns they may need that work of art or additional space to fulfill their mission and attract more visitors and our contribution can make a real difference.

The southwest is Indian Country, Native American, if you like, and many of the pueblos and reservations are extremely poor. Poverty is a broad problem but it is easier to focus on one group than everywhere. I have written specifically about the Hoop Dancers several times. We give to the Lightning Boy Foundation not because we think everyone should learn hoop dancing but because it engages pueblo youngsters in a discipline that requires the ability to focus, care about improving, and working with others.

In New Mexico there is also a thriving branch of the National Dance Institute which goes into the schools and does the same thing for students of all denominations.

We also love theater and have watched the excitement of children when they see their first play, opera or concert. I have seen a 6 year old walk into a theater such as the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe for the first time and their eyes literally get wider and their jaw drops in wonder.

Our son who is today an actor, was from an early age a regular at performances of a young people’s theater in New York. He was so enthralled he would not leave before the stage set was struck. The other night at the Santa Fe Playhouse we watched a little girl try go up to the stage to high five an actor during the play. Her mother drew her back but during curtain calls the actor came to the edge of the stage to high five her. Those experiences are not forgotten.

If our donations can help institutions that engage people in the arts we love and value we are achieving our goal. What would yours might be?