Plan B Forum

Am I the only person annoyed with the Facebook "donate to my favored charity for my birthday?" Beyond ending up with hundreds of appeals a year to charities you may or may not care about (or even heard of), nearly every birthday celebrant is someone you would never give a gift to absent an actual IRL party. And, since giving is the gift, shouldn't it be the birthday boy/girl who promises to donate $X for everyone who wishes them a happy birthday?

"FACEBOOK IS NOT YOUR FRIEND."

I'm waiting for the resurgence of "MySpace."

On the other hand, I was pleased, surprised, and embarrassed by the generosity of my friends when I did this last month (without asking anyone specifically, but posting it twice on my FB page and keeping it low key). I raised $500 for my local library Friends group. And yes, I gave as well.

What I've learned about philanthropy (in this an other efforts) is that many people want to give, they just need to be asked (and lots of people don't like to ask).