Hi all,

Here is a list of walks that Buddhist Global Relief is holding this year (apologies for not posting this sooner):

UNITED STATES:
Los Angeles, CA November 17
Sacramento, CA October 24
San Francisco, CA October 19
San Jose, CA October 6

Willington, CT October 26

Tampa Bay, FL December 8

Ann Arbor, MI October 6

St. Louis, MO October 19

New York, NY November 2

Houston, TX November 24

Seattle, WA October 12

Cambodia: (completed)
Beanteay Meanchey, Cambodia October 3

India (completed)
Nagpur, India October 6

UK: (completed)
Yorkshire, UK August 25

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For those of us who try to balance dana (giving) among a variety of excellent organizations, here is some BGR non-profit information.

BGR is a non-profit 501(c) 3 under U.S. corporation law. They display their expense ratios on the bottom of every webpage (as far as I can tell) and supply their financial information (e.g., the Form 990 and support) for every year they've been in operation. When I have asked about changes in financial allocation (e.g., advertising allocations, overseas partners) they have been very prompt, exact and transparent and welcoming in their reply. Therefore this is the second year I am also volunteering for their walk in November. They have no one who receives salary or benefits and in 2011-2012 they noted that 92% of their income goes to direct program costs, which include these projects around the world:

• Ethiopia
INCREASE YIELDS OF VEGGIES Improve food production in the Meki-Ziway area of the Central Rift Valley >

• Haiti
A NEW LEASE ON RICE Provide training in System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and support to roughly 150 farmers >
• Haiti
MEALS FOR HUNGRY KIDS Support the US-based What If? Foundation with its free meals program to over a thousand children >
• Haiti
HELPING KIDS GO TO SCHOOL Support the What If? Foundation in providing scholarships to 194 children for the 2012-13 school year >

• India
IMPROVING THE LIVELIEHOODS OF POOR FARMERS Improve the economic status of 150 marginalized families in the Deoghar district of Jharkhand state >
• India
WOMEN’S COMMUNITY CENTER Support the establishment of a women’s vocational training and community center in Nagpur >
• India
ENHANCED FOOD SECURITY FOR WOMEN FARMERS Benefit over 6500 people in 1200 households of marginal farmers in 13 villages in the Uttarakhand region >

• Rwanda and Malawi
TRAINING IN ORGANIC AGRICULTURE Train farmers in a system of organic agriculture called GROW BIOINTENSIVE. >

• Sri Lanka
EMPOWERING YOUNG WOMEN Enroll 60 young women for 6 months in vocation training and then provide job placement services >

• Vietnam
MEALS FOR HOSPITAL PATIENTS Provide 2 meals a day to patients in Vietnam, where the price of a hospital stay does not include food >
• Vietnam
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR POOR CHILDREN Provide scholarships to students in elementary and middle schools in both the Cam Duong and the Tam Binh areas of Vietnam >
• Vietnam
SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION Expand training in the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) to village farmers in three villages of Vo Nhai district, Thai Nguyen province >

• New York City
FEEDING A HUNGER FOR MEANING a vegetarian meal program called “Starved for Meaning” for hungry and homeless young people >

• New York City
URBAN COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECT Help build a sustainable food system throughout New York City to address poverty, food insecurity, and high incarceration rates in low-income communities >

• Santa Clara County
BUILDING ORGANIC HOME GARDENS Increase self-sufficiency and healthy eating among Santa Clara’s low-income immigrants and people of color >

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On who should teach the dharma, qualities 4 and 5 from Anguttara Nikaya (of five qualities listed) :
"[4] The Dhamma should be taught with the thought, 'I will speak not for the purpose of material reward.'
"[5] The Dhamma should be taught with the thought, 'I will speak without disparaging myself or others.'
With thanks to accesstoinsight.