the richest man in atherstone

I mentioned in this previous post that one of my goals for 2007 is to donate 1% of my income (excluding gifts and cash from my 'doubling plan') to a charity. So, this week, I've been searching for a charity to support.

After a lot of thought and a lot of research, I decided to choose BDF NewLife as my charity for 2007. They focus on helping children with birth defects and their families. They do this by buying specialist equipment, providing guidance and support to families and funding medical research.

I did intend to make this post a bit longer by detailing my research and decision-making process, but decided against it for three reasons; 1)I didn't want to offend other charities with my individual views, 2)Some of my reasoning is very personal and isn't something I particular want to discuss here, and 3)Apart from the budgeting aspect, it doesn't have a lot to do with personal finance, which is the remit of this journal.

I'd also like to add that BDF NewLife do not spend an awful lot of money on marketing and branding, preferring to use their money directly where it is required. I, myself, had never heard of them before I did my research. So, I hope this post has raised awareness of this charity amongst my readership and if any of you are thinking about being charitable, please consider this organisation.