Giving now may change the course of history.

How many of us are waiting for the "right" project to come along and smack us in the face with its power and timeliness? Only when that Perfect Project comes along will we be ready to truly display how generous we really are. Well, if we are sitting back waiting, we might still (conveniently?) be waiting a long time. But momentous world changes are happening, now. Even if during the course of major historical events we are not clear what is happening (and we can't know until afterwards), we can take part. We can seize an historic opportunity to support the forces for positive change, and make a very timely contribution.

"Hearing about the upcoming elections in South Africa , I thought, "How incredible-after decades of sickening oppression under apartheid, South Africans finally have the right to vote! I felt called to support them, knowing these decisions will affect South African people's lives for years to come. I challenged myself to make by far the largest contribution ever-$100,000 from my assets-to the Fund for Democratic Elections in South Africa . The Fund will promote the election of parliament members supportive of Nelson Mandela and his platform of human rights and economic justice for all South Africans. I'm thrilled to help, even from a distance. - A.M.

Other historic opportunities shine before us as well-supporting peace in the Middle East and in Bosnia, promoting a sound health insurance plan, helping the cleanup of toxic sites on military bases as they close-these are but a few of the countless hot and underfunded issues of today.

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