It's interesting to talk to people about what non-profits or causes they support, and the reasons why. Some people feel that efforts should be directed at reducing human suffering, by combating hunger or poverty. Others believe that we should combat human suffering by finding cures for diseases, or supplying people with the means to prevent disease. (Think mosquito nets.) And many others feel that the environment should come first, because that affects everyone on the planet...it won't do any good to feed hungry people if global warming is going to fry us all, so to speak.

The kinds of things people choose to support is telling about their priorities. We all know that we live in a world where aid to the needy is scarce. You only have so many dollars to give in a year. If you give a dollar to support clean water initiatives in the third world, that's one less dollar that can go to cancer research. We weigh the trade-offs, and make our decision based on what we think is most important.

The reasons vary, and they're usually based on personal experience. Regardless of the reasons, there's an awful lot of generosity in this world, especially amongst people who aren't even wealthy.