How can Christians give responsibly in a needy world ? The Edgewood UCC Justice and Peace Task Force suggests where to give donations in the Christmas and end-of-year giving season to meet local, national, and global needs with a focus on advocacy for change locally and nationally for global justice and peace.

Charity or Justice?
In this season, we are besieged by many charities. Most appeal
for support for the sick, the poor, and the needy. Many, such as the
American Heart and Cancer Societies, Smile and Make-a-Wish Foundations, and local shelters for the homeless and foodbanks serve individuals rather than advocating for change of the laws and regulations that create this suffering. In this recession, some of these organizations do deserve our support. But the J&P Task Force believes that our donations should not only provide balm for the wounds of injustice but also should change the conditions that create injustice. Below are suggestions for giving to organizations dedicated to changing government policies and/or promoting individual self-sufficiency.

Here are some suggestions for giving to change government and public policy in a way that is generous, caring, visionary, and strategic: 

1) First, work to change the policies of the U.S. and state governments so they serve all the people – both at home and abroad. We should expect our national, state, and local governments to provide stability, security, and safety nets for the poor, the weak, the sick, the needy, the jobless, and handicappers. As Frances Moore Lappe has said, "We must demonstrate how government can be reclaimed as a vehicle through which we can act on our deepest values..."

Thus, our first task is to vigorously lobby our government and to strengthen those church and citizens’ organizations that track government policy every day. Churches and individuals may need to donate for human needs when our governments fail to respond, e.g. when the Michigan poor are not covered by unemployment or social welfare. But our focus should be on seeking justice and peace by changing the structures of life that are shaped by governments.

Who can work with us to do this? (See suggested highest priorities in bold.)
On national issues:

• United Church of Christ Justice and Peace Network - www.ucc.org/justice 
• Friends Committee for National Legislation - www.fcnl.org (issues: war, nuclear disarmament, military spending, environment, immigration, Native Americans) 
• Oxfam America Advocacy Fund – www.oaaf.org Challenging laws keeping people in poverty, reform for food aid, and control of oil, gas, and mining companies on poor people’s farmlands
  
• National Priorities Project - http://nationalpriorities.org – U.S. budget priorities 
• National Council of Churches, Poverty Initiative - www.nccendpoverty.org 
• Community Alliance for Global Justice including Food Justice Project; AGRA Watch, Trade Justice - www.seattleglobaljustice.org 
• Fair Food Network - www.fairfoodnetwork.org 
  
• Pesticide Action Network - www.panna.org
  

On state and local issues:

• Michigan League for Human Services (action on MI poverty) - www.milhs.org 
  
• Peace Education Center (Lansing area) www.peaceedcenter.org 
• Michigan Peace Team (nonviolent peace-keeping) - michiganpeaceteam.org
• Alliance for Immigrant Rights & Reform - Michigan - http://www.michiganimmigrationreform.org/
• Farmworker Legal Services of Michigan - www.farmworkerlaw.org 
  

2) Second, support international solutions for the problems of all humankind: We should demand that our government build cooperation with other nations and actively support the international agencies of cooperation and especially the United Nations to address global poverty, conflict, and peace. At times of international disasters (tsunamis, droughts, displacement of populations, global warming shifts, recessions, earthquakes, etc.), instead of depending on individual donations, we should expect our government to be a team-player with the international community of nations and international organizations (UN, UNHCR, UNICEF, FAO, etc.) Similarly, as church members with a commitment to the well-being of all humankind and we are critical of narrow nationalisms, 
           United Nations, UN-USA - www.unausa.org – lobby to secure      
                       US funding for UN and to encourage US ratification of 
                       international treaties (Also UNHCR, UNICEF, UNESCO, 
                       WHO, ILO, FAO, etc., e.g. https://secure.unicefusa.org or on 
                       refugees, www.unhcr.org) 
        Amnesty International - www.AmnestyUSA.org - monitor and 
                       lobby for human rights worldwide

3) Support self-help initiatives, training, and advocacy that enable individuals to change their economic or social conditions. These include support for microenterprise loans to enable citizens to set up businesses; for Fair Trade products that pass profits to the small farmers; for help for peasants resisting land grabs by foreign corporations; for self-help cooperatives in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East; and for income-producing animals, seeds, and tools for poor rural familes in developing countries. 
        Church World Service - www.churchworldservice.org – advocacy 
                           and emergency relief 
        FINCA (Foundation for International Community Assistance) -                            www.finca.org 
        Technoserve - Business Solutions for Poverty - 
                           www.technoserve.org
        Via Campesina - http://viacampesina.org/en/- help poor
                           peasants resist landgrabs by foreign corporations and lobby
                           on climate change and peasant rights
        SERRV - http://www.serrv.org/category/donate-lend - A source of
                           fair trade products, of training for artisans in poor nations
                           for product development, and of loans to the artisans             
        Solar Circle - http://solar-circle.org - Capacity-building in
                           Tanzania for solar ovens
        Women for Women International - 
                           www.womenforwomen.org - help women entrepreneurs 
           Heifer International - www.heifer.org - gifts of animals, bees,
                           poultry, or agricultural tools for self-help small farmers.

“The fundamental lie is making material things more important than people in the world system, presenting the existing order as the natural order of things and radical change as chaos...“..we discovered ...that Jesus was one of us. He was born in poverty. He did not become incarnate as a king or nobleman but as one of the poor and oppressed. He took sides with the poor, supported their cause, and blessed them. On the other hand, he condemned the rich” [and declared that] “those who are living in slavery will be set free...” -- From Kairos Letter by Third World Christians to fellow Christians in the US and other wealthier nations