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15 January 2010
Non-Believers Giving Aid: a religion-free way to help disaster victims
Aid Been Given Spurred by the horrific suffering in Haiti, the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDFRS) has joined forces with 13 other freethought groups or associates, to collect donations to non-religious relief organizations. Those participating are Atheist Alliance International, Atheists Helping the Homeless, Atheists United, The British Humanist Association, James Randi Educational Foundation, Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, New Humanist magazine, Pharyngula, Rationalist Association, Reasonable New York, The Reason Project, The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, The Skeptics Society and Unreasonable Faith.
We have set up a new dedicated bank account and PayPal facility in the new name of Non-Believers Giving Aid. All of the money donated will be distributed to disaster relief.
Clearly the immediate need is for the suffering people of Haiti, and all the money raised by this current appeal will go to that cause, but the new account will remain available for future emergencies too. There are, of course, many ways for you to donate to relief organizations already, but doing it through Non-Believers Giving Aid offers some advantages:
1. 100% of your donation will be go to these charities: not even the PayPal fees will be deducted from your donation, since Richard will personally donate a sum to cover the cost of these (capped at $10,000). This means that more of your money will reach the people in need.
2. When donating via Non-Believers Giving Aid, you are helping to counter the scandalous myth that only the religious care about their fellow-humans.
It goes without saying that your donations will only be passed on to aid organizations that do not have religious affiliations. In the case of Haiti, the two organizations we have chosen are:
* Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans Frontières)
* International Red Cross
You may stipulate using the dropdown menu which of these two organizations you want your donation to go to; otherwise, it will be divided equally between them.
Preachers and televangelists, mullahs and imams, often seem almost to gloat over natural disasters – presenting them as payback for human transgressions, or for ‘making a pact with the devil’. Earthquakes and tsunamis are caused not by ‘sin’ but by tectonic plate movements, and tectonic plates, like everything else in the physical world, are supremely indifferent to human affairs and sadly indifferent to human suffering. Those of us who understand this reality are sometimes accused of being indifferent to that suffering ourselves. Of course the very opposite is the truth: we do not hide behind the notion that earthly suffering will be rewarded in a heavenly paradise, nor do we expect a heavenly reward for our generosity: the understanding that this is the only life any of us have makes the need to alleviate suffering even more urgent. The myth that it is only the religious who truly care is sustained largely by the fact that they tend to donate not as individuals, but through their churches. Non-believers, by contrast, give as individuals: we have no church through which to give collectively, no church to rack up statistics of competitive generosity. Non-Believers Giving Aid is not a church (that’s putting it mildly) but it does provide an easy conduit for the non-religious to help those in desperate need, whilst simultaneously giving the lie to the canard that you need God to be good.
Whether you do it by clicking the PayPal button or by cheque (see below), please help us to help the suffering people of Haiti.
Important note for UK donors – please read carefully
If you are a UK taxpayer, please make it possible for us to claim Gift Aid on your donation. Gift Aid means that every £10 you donate becomes £12.82. We aim to have Gift Aid-compatible electronic donation facilities in place for future emergency appeals, but until then we would urge you to donate by cheque rather than to use the PayPal facility below, and to enclose a completed Gift Aid Declaration with your cheque. Please make your cheque payable to RDFRS, and make sure you write ‘NBGA’ on the reverse of it, along with the name of your preferred charity (MSF or IRC) if appropriate. If you simply write ‘NBGA’ on the reverse, without the addition of MSF or IRC, your donation will be evenly divided between them. Then post it, along with your completed Gift Aid Declaration, to the Oxford address shown below. RDFRS will not retain any part of your donation or any Gift Aid we are able to reclaim on it.
Donations made via the PayPal button below are still very welcome, and will still make a huge difference to the people of Haiti; but donations by cheque + Gift Aid Declaration will go further still, and we hope that this thought will help to compensate for any inconvenience. Thank you!
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Proceed with Donation through PayPal
PAYMENTS CAN BE MADE WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD - A PAYPAL ACCOUNT IS NOT REQUIRED
(We will not share your information with any other organization).
Due to security issues, we cannot give out our wire information.
To donate by check (thereby bypassing the PayPal fee):
If you are in the US, make your check payable to Non-Believers Giving Aid and post it to:
Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
11605 Meridian Market View
Unit 124 PMB 381
Falcon, Colorado 80831 USA
If you are in the UK, make your cheque payable to Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, write NBGA and
your choice of charity (if applicable) on the reverse, click here to download and complete your Gift Aid declaration
if you are a UK taxpayer, and post everything to:
Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
Suite 184
266 Banbury Road
Oxford OX2 7DL
Great Britain
Organizations and supporters actively involved in this effort:
(We would love to add more organizations to the list: contact
rec@RichardDawkins.net)
Atheist Alliance International
Atheists Helping the Homeless
Atheists United
The British Humanist Association
James Randi Educational Foundation
Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers
New Humanist magazine
Pharyngula
Rationalist Association
Reasonable New York
The Reason Project
The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
The Skeptics Society
Unreasonable Faith
US tax is reclaimable on donations (EIN 98-0634772) RDFRS is exempt from Federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Contributions are deductible under section 170 of the Code. We are also qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers or gifts
under section 2055, 2106 or 2522 of the Code. RDFRS UK: Registered Charity Number 1119952
that's from our absent goddess
