In 2010 I did a small experiment. After putting money away to pay mortgages, rent and so forth I'm left with what I call the "disposable income". And, since I deliberately didn't spend as much as I end up doing on books (remember that I had the Kindle this year and, my purchases have been more sporadic - I generally prefer the books on the Kindle unless completely pushed towards getting a physical copy) I decided that I should figure out how much I can give and where. The list of recipients were short - FOSS projects I liked/used and, organizations which I think are doing some good work in the field they have selected. And, I used the interactions and conversations to gauge whether I'd be contributing again.

The end result of the year-long experiment is that I've finally narrowed down the list of agencies with whom I'm comfortable dealing and, who'd receive my contributions. A list, which I freely admit, is based on whether there was a "Thank You" note at the end of the first contribution. Such a note, properly structured, makes one happy and those warm fuzzies are a good incentive to try and contribute again. It feels awkward to see that not all organizations which request contributions/donations work on ensuring that everything is taken care of.

2010 helped 2011 get focus. That's the upside from the year.