Posted on December 24, 2010
Ira Kaminow from Tzedakah, Inc. wrote an article entitled Searching for Tzedakah: What Google Reveals about America’s Interest in Jewish Charity that is very interesting. I will let you read it and form your own impressions but want to share some quotes that I found telling:
There is more search interest in investigating the quality of dog food than charities. Well, at least interest in charities outranks interest in cat food.
Jewish donors seem to be more interested in avoiding taxes in December than averting the evil decree on Yom Kippur.
It’s hard to find positive mitzvahs that generate less search interest than tzedakah.
Clearly we have a great deal of work to do and agencies like Areyvut that is dedicated to teaching students about the importance of tzedakah from a young age are critical to this effort and need to be supported.
I applaud Ira for constantly raising the level and effectiveness of Jewish charitable giving and for encouraging more informed giving and better managed, more open, and accountable charitable organizations. I encourage you to use the resources on the site to help with your year-end giving and for anytime you want to learn what Jewish sources say about the importance of tzedakah and charitable giving.
