The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Springboard for the Arts, it helps local artists out of tough spots and make ends meet.

Google sent me a Donor's Choose gift certificate for $100 a few weeks back, which introduced me to the site. Awesome programs. It's great to know exactly what your money is going to fund. In my case, I funded a math program at a South Minneapolis grade school.

Also, Network for Good lets you search Minnesota Charities. We donated to Minnesota Crisis Nursery there.

I'm also a fan of the downtown homeless shelter, People Serving People.

Jason, I volunteered there recently. Pretty cool place just trying to do right by kids that need it. I plan on doing more in the future.

Ed, that is a great donation!!

They say you should donate to charities you know. In spite of the fact that you all know me, please consider the ALAMN -- we are a very lean nonprofit, dollars donated here are spent on local programs to help clean up the air, help smokers who want to quit, and support research in lung cancer, asthma and COPD.

We also accept donations of vehicles and boats-- we get a lot this time of year. I donated my Sonoma pickup when I bought the Golf.

See more at www.lungmn.org

Me? In addition to ALAMN, I give to Heifers International, the American Cancer Society and TPT, to name a few.

Closed circuit to Jason: will you be working on Wednesday morning? I'm meeting with Terri around 10 a.m. -- if you are in the studio, I'll stop by and say hi.

For the articles, Bob. For the articles.

I think supporting the empire that keeps Kendra safe inside the Playboy Mansion instead of throwing her into the cold, cruel world is a very charitable thing.

Have you seen www.givewell.net? It's a new website that tries to help donors answer that question by researching, evaluating, and recommending the best charities. It was mentioned in the New York Times last week: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/20charity.html.

Just a note: Someone from Givewell just spammed Metafilter. I don't know how they are as a Web page, but they don't really seem to have figured out the Internet. The consensus on the thread seems to be that they're pretty sketchy.

The Givewell thread did succeed in reminding me what charity is, and how much it means. The Red Cross saved my ass after Hurricane Katrina, and anyone who has received assistance from them knows the depth of their generosity and the immediacy and effectiveness of their assistance. I need to give more to them. I owe them, but not just because they helped me. Because they provide the assistance people need when they need it, and funding that is my debt to humanity.

In today's world we need people thinking outside the box. Check out http://www.PerpetualEndowments.org They are doing it right.