lollardfish: (Pie)
lollardfish ([personal profile] lollardfish) wrote2014-03-11 08:55 am

Talking about sex to girls

I wrote a blog post today about the way we talk about sex to girls, generally speaking, in our society.

But it was really a thinly veiled excuse to note that Scarleteen, the best resource for sexual education for teens (and beyond) online, is in some financial difficulty right now. If you care about this topic, please read this and, if you can, please donate. I have. Thank you.

[identity profile] minnehaha.livejournal.com 2014-03-12 07:47 pm (UTC)(link)
For a site that gives advice and answers on the most personal of topics to REQUIRE someone's home address in order to make a donation is misstep that might be killing their website and their service.

K.

[identity profile] lollardfish.livejournal.com 2014-03-12 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
I wonder if that's a legal requirement for their non-profit status?

[identity profile] minnehaha.livejournal.com 2014-03-13 03:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Scarleteen doesn't have non-profit status.

They use the Center for Sex and Culture's non-profit status as their fiscal agent. Which is fine and an acceptable way to do things for a small organization (which they clearly are). And they don't REQUIRE one's home address to make a donation, just to make a tax-deductible on-line donation. One can make a not-deductible on-line donation without providing a home address. There are also snail-mail options, deductible and not-. All that is needlessly confusing, of course.

I guess my main objection is that, by donating through Network for Good (the tax-deductible on-line option), one is required to provide a home address to Network for Good. (And what is done with that information?) For small donations, not getting a deduction doesn't matter, but to make a large donation on-line: what are the privacy implications?

And Scarleteen's own privacy policy doesn't describe what happens with their donor database, nor how to opt out of it.

K.

[identity profile] minnehaha.livejournal.com 2014-03-13 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)
I donated, BTW. Just not as much as I would have otherwise.

K.

[identity profile] lollardfish.livejournal.com 2014-03-13 04:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Right, I get it. I didn't donate enough to think about tax deductible issues, but your qualm makes sense. I'll tell Heather if you don't mind?

[identity profile] minnehaha.livejournal.com 2014-03-13 04:54 pm (UTC)(link)
I encourage every one who gives anything to think like a donor, because they are a donor. Even five bucks here there and everywhere over the course of a year adds up to maybe $100 or more than can ultimately lower your tax bracket.

K.

[identity profile] minnehaha.livejournal.com 2014-03-13 04:55 pm (UTC)(link)
(And yes, I said, above "small donations don't matter", but I take that back.) :-)

K.

[identity profile] lollardfish.livejournal.com 2014-03-13 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
I affirm your back-taking and your smartness about such things.

[identity profile] minnehaha.livejournal.com 2014-03-13 05:04 pm (UTC)(link)
*high five*

K.

[identity profile] lollardfish.livejournal.com 2014-03-13 03:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Interesting. Do you mind if I send this to Heather (the founder/director), without mentioning you specifically?

[identity profile] minnehaha.livejournal.com 2014-03-13 04:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Feel free. I mentioned some of this in the (character-limited) comment field in PayPal, so you can fee free to mention my name and e-mail, both of which she already has.

K.