I will save you and you shall be a blessing.

–Zechariah 8:13

From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.

–Luke 12:48

With great power comes great responsibility.

—Benjamin Parker

As we explain elsewhere, we here at LDB are “[a] cabal of conservative and libertarian law students and lawyers agitating for first principles.” The blog provides an outlet for us to put thoughts on “paper” and bounce ideas off one another as well as our readership. It’s great fun, which is why we do it, and we hope that, in our short life thus far, we have had a positive impact on those who have clicked through these pages.

Recently, we decided it’d be fun to “meme-ify” (the kids these days….), and so we introduced a store where readers can pick up some hip, trendy, blog-themed swag, as a lighthearted way of commenting on current affairs. These have proven to be somewhat popular, and so we found ourselves in a dilemma: we had revenue on our hands. Oops.

The thing is, we’ve all been pretty blessed with good backgrounds, good jobs, or a mix of both, and so we really aren’t that hard-pressed for this extra source of income. So we thought we’d channel this money to those who need it more than we do. And while we were at it, we thought we’d find a specific charity to promote, so we decided it’d be a good idea to add a feature in our posts directing readers to donate a small amount to support said charity.

Click the image!

This way, our conservatarian screeds can serve a greater good, our impact can be enhanced through micro-donations from charitably-inclined readers, and a charity looking to make a real difference can increase its visibility.

The only thing to decide, then, was which charity to support. In keeping with our ideological priors, we thought we’d find an entity looking to promote private charitable efforts in the most effective way possible, cutting out the bureaucratic trappings that come with government aid or institutionalized charity. Enter DonorSee.

Gret Glyer is the founder of DonorSee, an app-based charity that allows donors to give directly to individuals in need in connection with a preexisting person or entity “on the ground” in the area of need. By structuring charitable giving in this way, Gret has managed to cut basically all costs relating to overhead, allowing the donation to go to the cause being supported without losing much of the money to red tape or infrastructural expenses. Additionally, DonorSee allows donors supporting a cause to see precisely how their aid is being used because end-users of the funds post video updates to the app showing what has been done with money received. Essentially, it’s a platform for charitable giving in the 21st century, as demonstrated by J.J. Watt’s recent success in spontaneously raising over $31 million dollars by way of a crowdfunding campaign for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, totally apart from a preexisting 501c3. We do everything by smartphone these days anyway, and we all expect the most bang from our bucks, so why not include charitable giving to the list?

Such efficiency and transparency is remarkable–especially given other, more popular charities’ less-than-stellar track record–and DonorSee has been noticed by USA Today, National Review, and the Huffington Post, among others. Gret has a track record of making a difference, and, given our bent to oppose anything smacking of bureaucracy or institutional malaise, we’re very much on board with his efforts to shake up “Big Aid” in order to benefit “the least of these.”

Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.

–Matthew 25:34-36

As such, we’ll be giving everything we’ve received thus far to one of DonorSee’s many causes, and moving forward we’ll be channeling everything given by way of the site to causes hosted on DonorSee on a quarterly basis. When we do, we’ll write about it, to inform LDB’s readership about the direct, real-world good you are doing just by giving a little bit or buying a snazzy coffee mug. We hope you’ll join us in this effort to support the worthiest of causes.

[A]s you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

–2 Corinthians 8:7