Alborn: Charitable Giving Shouldn’t be about Political Points

I just packed for my flight home from Okinawa, Japan. I’ll be flying through Tokyo and because I have to switch from a Domestic Airport (Hanada) to an International Airport (Nareta), I’ll be spending the night there. As I make sure I haven’t forgotten anything, I am also thinking about the list of “to do’s” when I get home. At the top of that list will be to make some donations to a few of the worthy not for profits in our community (and a couple National and International Organizations). I’ve been luckier than most in life and like to share my modest success in life those who because of chance or circumstance weren’t quite so lucky.

I spend a lot of time thinking about my charitable giving. It’s a very personal decision. My choices reflect my beliefs and personal philosophy. I favor small groups lead by mostly volunteers because I recognize they are driven by a passion to help others. I also look carefully at the percentage of revenue a group devotes to programs versus overhead. Yes, I look at the IRS 990’s, and draw upon my personal experiences.

Prince William County also likes to give my money to not for profits. In theory, I don’t object when I am confident that the recipient is perhaps performing some core service quicker, faster, or cheaper than the government might deliver it. In practice, I lack confidence in Prince William County’s ability to pass out my money for me because the process has become too politicized.

I have reviewed the Prince William County process for determining community partners and consider it a reasonable framework. If the process were allowed to play out without political interference, I frankly wouldn’t object. When I see Supervisors use this process as one more political tool to reward constituents, grab publicity, and protect incumbency I shake my head.

For too long in Prince William County we have watched our tax dollars go to ruthless self promotion, incumbency protection, favored groups, private causes, pet projects and even personal amusements through the Discretionary Fund process. When we noticed, and complained, the Discretionary Fund process went away.

We have already seen Prince William Supervisors use their position to attempt to influence the outcome of which charitable organizations are funded with tax dollars as “community partners.” While that’s their right, a First Amendment right I encourage, I question the fingerprints on those we elect to influence just how our tax dollars are spent on not for profit groups.

The “take away” for me is that perhaps those we elected to sit behind the Dias either don’t trust the community partner evaluation program that they approved or that they don’t think their favorite group will qualify if fairly evaluated.

Pick one.

I’ll admit it, the Beatitudes Jesus shared during the Sermon on the Mount are my life’s compass. He didn’t say, “Look to Rome to feed the hungry”, he was talking to us. Those who would like to pass that obligation on to anonymous bureaucrats perhaps missed the point.

I do the bulk of my charitable giving around Christmas. I put a lot of thought into just which groups I support, and how much I will give to each group.

I am disappointed that perhaps the community partner program might become the next vehicle for our supervisors to use our money and determine how it is spent as one more ruthless publicity, self-promotion, and incumbency protection program.

The process of spending taxpayer money should be objective and driven by the math involved in collecting just enough money to support those things that only Government can do. Not for profits are a valuable tool in delivering Government core services quicker, faster, cheaper.

I remain suspicious of any elected official who attempts to undermine what should be an objective process by directing our tax dollars to their favorite people (and its always about “people”). The price of not being one of those favorite “people” is just unacceptable to me.

I’ll be home “tomorrow” (crossing thirteen time zones and arriving the same day I depart). I’ll be pulling out my checkbook next week to share my modest success with those who perhaps didn’t get the same breaks. I encourage you to do likewise.

Merry Christmas from Japan! It’s time to catch my flight home.