Here’s the thing I’m feeling iffy about. Madras is a nonprofit, and the website explains that all net proceeds from books sales are donated to a charity of the author’s choosing. Now, I come to you as a woman who has spent the better part of her life trying to be of service — giving away my 8th grade field trip spending money to a homeless man in D.C., volunteering in high school, college & after, and ultimately settling into a career as a nonprofit fundraiser & manager. I am all about supporting nonprofits of all shapes and sizes. BUT, I don’t understand why the writers can’t make a little money off their writing?

Now, I don’t know what exactly Madras means by “net proceeds” — maybe they have built in some compensation to the writer — but it seems to me that writers can raise their voices and use their work to support nonprofits, without sacrificing themselves. We need to be able to leverage our art to get money from those who really have it to spare, rather than just giving up what little we might earn.

And this isn’t the first I’ve heard of this… the Poetic Arts Performance Project here in Philly that aims to “use our poetic gifts and those of artists from around the country and globe to help other charitable organizations in the Philadelphia area.” That’s commendable… and yet, I often wonder about arts organizations (which are hobbled to begin with) trying to help other organizations. Why can’t it be enough to raise up the arts, to focus on raising up the arts, and let the art have the powerful social effect that art can have. Keep what little money you might make and put it back into your own organization, so you can spread more art, whether that’s through publishing more stories that won’t find a home any other way, or putting on kick ass readings & educational events. I wonder… do these organizations think that they need to bribe potential patrons with the promise of a tax write off? Do they think it somehow makes it okay to pay for art by not really paying for art by giving to something “more worthy”?  Honestly, I suspect these organizations recognize that they aren’t going to get rich off their books and events, and they altruistically believe that what little they raise can make a difference to another struggling organization. And they may be right.

But I’m not convinced… I’m not sure that doing this doesn’t just reinforce the idea of writing as folly, hobby, something readers can & should get for free… unless its by someone a major publishing house has told them they should pay for.  I know that no one goes into writing for money… but why must writers always be hobbyists, why must we exhaust ourselves at full-time jobs so that we can pay the bills, so that we can live, so that we can write. Why can’t we try to get a least a little compensation for all the hours, heartache, tears, and papercuts we endure as artists.

Everyone else does it. I know its hard for some of us to understand that people who are scientists, engineers, and technologists are really passionate artists in the work they do. Only they make medicines and machines, and they don’t give them away for free just because they loved the process of creating and because they are so impressed with what they made. Hells no. If that was the case, everyone would have a car, a computer, and an iPod.

Maybe that’s over-simplified. And maybe not. All I know is when I buy a book or go to an event, when I’m really impressed by a writer, I feel great knowing that writer is going to get a little compensation for a job well done. A writer who needs that money to keep doing the best damn job she can. Making art. Putting it out there, in people’s faces, saying I am worth something. I am valuable. Listen to me.

Really, I’m genuinely interested in what motivates people to make donations — this time of year, it’s always a mix of holiday spirit, holiday guilt, and tax implications. I’m not sure that any one is better or worse than the others, so long as your not just hording your money away or using it to buy more useless gadgetry. I got into a conversation on Christmas eve about Bill Gates… my relative says that no person should have that much money, and I say Bill Gates (through the Gates Foundation) does an impressive amount of good with his fortune. Yes, it still boggles the mind that there are people who are personally worth more than the GDP of some small nations, but there will always be people who have more than others… to me, it’s what you do with it that counts. And it’s also about what “more” means to you — alot of us put charitable giving at the bottom of our priority lists, because we can’t “afford it.” (Yes, I’ve been guilty of this.) But, really, even the smallest donation can mean alot to an organization helping people in need. It sounds hokey, but I’ve been there — $5, $10, $25, $50… all of them make a difference to the bottom line.

So, alright, I’ll step down from my soap box and give you my five…

1 – Isles, Inc.: Based in Trenton, N.J., Isles’ mission is to foster more self-reliant families in healthy sustainable communities. When I think about where I want to give, I think about nonprofits from the inside out — not just what they do, but how they operate. Isles sets the bar very high. From healthy lifestyle programs, to job training, to developing affordable housing, the organization operates a gamut of interwoven programs that take a comprehensive approach to help end the cycle of poverty. On top of that, they generally meet their ambitious goals, they work with a lean staff (while still being smart about administrative, fundraising, and technological needs), and they hold themselves accountable for what they do.

2 – Mercy Vocational High School: Based in North Philadelphia, Mercy combines Catholic education (although it’s not affiliated with or funded by the Archdiocese) with vocational training programs in carpentry, electricity, HVAC, cosmetology, culinary arts, business education, computer technology, and nursing. These kids don’t have the luxury of “helicopter parents” to chew their breakfast cereal for them and fill out their college applications — but thanks, at least in part, to Mercy’s hands-on application and family environment, they get the support and opportunity to become promising young adults.

3 – Antioch University, Los Angeles: My M.F.A. alma mater, a place that is at once extremely diverse and constantly striving for even greater diversity and inclusiveness. Antioch believes that the student, the academic, the writer should be a part of the community — and I wish more places felt that way. There are universities here in Philadelphia that sit like little oases of wealth and education, unconcerned with the city’s racial and economic problems. Being affiliated with Antioch makes me feel connected to a large world of writers, thinkers, and activists. I wish more institutions were like that.

4 – The Mad Poets Society: This is an organization that does more for poets & poetry in the Delaware Valley than any other single organization. Period. A year-round schedule of poetry readings in each of the five counties. Programs for school children. A massive (not to mention ever-impressive) poetry journal. Mad Poets events connect poets across genres and generations — the energy at these readings and meetings is visceral. And talk about lean. The MPS runs almost entirely on the sheer will of one woman, Eileen D’Angelo, who does indeed have a day job.

5 – Is a tie for all the other organizations that I admire: Project H.O.M.E., The Village of Arts & Humanities, the Painted Bride Art Center, the Mural Arts Program, the Arts & Spirituality Center, and all the others out there doing great work that I can’t think of right now.