Susan Labandibar – Activist CEO

The American Express Members Project allows American Express Cardholders to vote for a $2.5 million donation to one of 25 “inspiring projects.”  Last year, the money went to providing safe drinking water to children in Africa.  This year’s project list is equally inspiring:

• Feeding one million children a day
• Help women and children survivors of war rebuild
• 6,000 girls scholarships in the developing world
• End human trafficking: Sustainable livelihood

Of the twenty-five projects, only one does not target the disenfranchised (I’m including the environmental causes here, because plants and animals have no voice.)   This project is Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease, with the goal of allowing those who had previously been undiagnosed the time to make financial arrangements and to “cherish special moments.”

Now, I’m not saying that this is not a laudable goal.  But when you compare it to feeding a million children, or ending human trafficking, I’m sorry, it doesn’t stack up for me.  Especially when you consider that the sponsor of this project is the Alzheimer’s Association, which has an annual budget of $100 million (of which $15 million is spent on fund-raising.) It’s not like this cause is going unnoticed by major funders.  In 2005, the Federal government spent $647 million to fight this disease, which has NO cure and is not likely to have one anytime soon.  The best that anyone is hoping for right now is to delay the onset of symptoms.

Back to the American Express contest.  Here’s the part that amazes me:  Guess which project has almost twice as many votes as the next most popular project?

The Alzheimer’s Foundation!

Why is this the most popular project?  Originally, I assumed that it was because many people’s lives had been touched by Alzheimer’s and they were reacting out of what Kathleen D. McCarthy, Director of the Center of Philanthropy at CUNY, calls “personalism.”  Put simply, Americans naturally tend to give to charities in which they are personally involved.

And some of the 74 comments left by people who voted for the project reflect this sentiment:

• My husband and I learned about a month ago that he has the early stages of Alzheimer’s…
• My exboyfriend’s mother suffers from this disease.
• My grandmother suffers from Alzheimer’s.

I can understand their feelings.  My father was diagnosed with mucosal melanoma in 2000 and died of the disease in 2004.  At that time, I was glad that organizations like the Melanoma Research Foundation existed, to give me information on the disease and to connect me with others who were searching for clinical trials that might lead to a cure.

But I wasn’t prepared for comments like these:

• I’m also happy that this project focuses on the United States, because this is where I live…Money I send to Africa or Cambodia, however, doesn’t affect anyone but them…
• I chose a project that benefited the USA.
• We need to address the issues here at home in the good old USA including the children of OUR country not in Africa or Cambodia…right here in the US
• I am glad to see some projects that will impact those living in the United States. We do much for developing countries. It is time that we start focusing more on those living a little closer to home.

I don’t understand why it is more important to spend billions of dollars battling incurable diseases here in the US when people are dying overseas from lack of clean drinking water, immunization, and malaria nets!

Last year, Americans gave $102 billion to religious causes, $43 billion to education, $29 billion to human services and $23 billion to health charities in the United States.  They spent only $13 billion on International charities, which is 4.3%.

As citizens of the United States of America, we have an enormous impact on what goes on in the rest of the world.  As just one example, the world needs American grain to feed itself.  World grain production has fallen short of consumption in seven of the last eight years, dropping world grain stocks to their lowest level in 34 years.  Corn prices nearly doubled and wheat prices nearly tripled between late 2005 and late 2007.  Part of this shortage is attributable to American actions such as global warming (from greenhouse gases of which we are a principal emitter), excess consumption of animal products, food wastage, and bio-fuels production.

From our creation of petro-dictatorships to ensure our supply of foreign oil, to the Global Gag rule, which freezes funds to the U.N. for family planning assistance, the US has left a huge footprint on the rest of the world.

We need to stop shouting “America First!” so loudly that we can’t hear anything else.  The good news is that young people are starting to realize this.  Gifts to environmental organizations are increasing at three times the rate of gifts to health organizations (7.7% versus 2.4%.)  International charities report the largest increase in donations–up 12.9%

So, let’s keep it up.  And next time you are asked to contribute to the United Way, or the American Cancer Society, or the American Heart Foundation, consider spending that money on organizations like Kiva.org, or the UNICEF, or Heifer International

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