December 2023 Donation Matching

Since 2021, I’ve donated 10% of my take-home blog income to sustainable non-profits or mutual aid funds. Since one of my main niches is sustainability/sustainable fashion, it’s only right to give back to the people more directly impacted by these issues, and those finding solutions on the ground.

This year, I’ve already donated close to $2,000, but there are a few causes for which I wanted to raise awareness and try to double the impact with donation matching.

So, I will be personally matching donations to the following orgs, up to $1,500 total. This post will go over my reasons for picking these orgs and the guidelines for submitting your donation to be matched.

Update: Thank you to all who donated! We ended up raising ~$230 for Awaj (approximate because some people said they donated and didn’t email me receipts) and $450 for PCRF. I donated $750 each to those orgs since the third fund closed.

The 3 Organizations

1. Awaj Foundation (Bangladesh)

Bangladesh the second-biggest producer of garments in the world, and the minimum wage for garment workers in Bangladesh hasn’t been increased since 2018. It’s sat at $75/month all these years, and workers have had to work overtime to cover basic necessities.

And after months of negotiations, the updated minimum wage announced by the Bangladesh Labour and Employment Ministry was only $113. The Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies calculates a living wage to be $302, and the Asia Floor Wage Alliance has it at $462. Garment workers were demanding $208/month.

The protests turned violent in November, and at least four workers were killed, and hundreds more injured. Many participants in the protests have also since been fired from their jobs, and now don’t have enough money for food.

To help the workers impacted by the protests, Remake Our World set up a Direct Relief fund. The money will go directly to workers affiliated with the Awaj Foundation, a grassroots labor rights NGO in Bangladesh. The money will cover “medical costs, legal support, food, and other daily necessities for Bangladeshi garment workers affected by the recent violence surrounding the minimum wage fight.”

2. Palestine Children’s Relief Fund

Israelis and Palestinians have been at war for 75 years, but the violence recently increased after the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas, where 1,200 Israelis were killed. Israel responded to Hamas’ indiscriminate bombing with their own indiscriminate attacks, which continue to this day.

The situation in Gaza is dire, with over 20,000 Palestinians killed, 53,000 wounded, and half a million starving (25% of the population). The Israeli military has committed war crimes by repeatedly attacking hospitals and refugee camps. They have also imposed communication blackouts.

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund provides humanitarian aid to Gaza. They are a well-reputed, on-the-ground organization with a 97% score on Charity Navigator. Here is how the funds will be used:

“The funds raised will primarily focus on immediate relief, including providing essential medical supplies, food, medical treatment, clean water, and other necessities…Additionally, our campaign will support rebuilding healthcare facilities and providing long-term support…It will also allocate resources towards trauma counseling, mental health support, and other initiatives for children affected by the conflict, aiming to foster healing and resilience within the community.”

3. Lumumba Sustainable Village (DRC)

Since 1996, conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has led to 6 million deaths. Currently, the country has nearly 7 million internally-displaced people.

The First Congo War in 1996 began as a result of the Rwandan Genocide, as some perpetrators fled to Congo and began organizing militias there, so Rwanda invaded Congo. The Second Congo War began shortly after in 1998, and it’s known as Africa’s World War, with 9 countries involved.

While the Second Congo War ended in 2003, the DRC continues to experience violence, with multiple armed groups terrorizing each other as well as civilians. Even foreign governments are involved, as the DRC is home to precious metal mines, particularly cobalt, which powers our electronics—and everyone wants their hands on that. The mines are hazardous, and militias often traffic children to work in them.

To support the displaced families in the DRC, I Heart Africa began a sustainable village in the Congolese countryside. They’re asking for funds to build and maintain housing, train village residents in carpentry and soap-making, and purchase a wood treatment machine for making furniture, so the village can be self-sustaining. The Gofundme is specific to Lumumba Village, but if you want to see how I Heart Africa has allocated funds in the past, you can check out their latest trustee report.

Guidelines for Donation Matching

To keep this as streamlined as possible for everyone, here’s what you need to know if you want your donation to be matched by me!

• The “match period” will run from December 23-30 until 11:59pm Eastern Time. Any donations to these 3 orgs during that time will be eligible. (Previous donations don’t count; it must be during this time frame as the point is to raise more funds). I’m choosing to keep it in 2023 for the fiscal years of these orgs/funds. I personally don’t get any tax breaks since I have a single-member LLC for my blog and am taxed as an individual, in case you were wondering.

• The donations must go to one of these 3 orgs/funds, as I’ve personally vetted them and don’t have the bandwidth to vet other orgs.

• If you donate in a currency other than USD, I’ll match with the Google exchange rate in USD.

• Once you’ve donated, email me with the subject line “December 2023 Donation Match”. Include a screenshot of the donation receipt with the date and amount. My email is lily[at]imperfectidealist[dot]com. My DM requests are turned off since I can’t manage them, so please use email. Please do this even if you know me personally and have my number/DMs, as it’ll be easier to keep everything in one place!

• On December 31st, I will add up the totals for each org and make a matching donation in a lump sump. This is to reduce the transaction fees for the orgs. If you donated, I’ll email you back with a screenshot of the lump sum donation to that org.

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to learn about these causes and for donating!