World's Wealthiest Charities

Listed below are the top 10 wealthiest Charities in the world - with a small sampling of causes they champion

1 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 

• Global Vaccination and Immunization programs
• Aids research
• research into micro finance (loans to the poor)
• Agriculture and research into using GM foods in poverty stricken nations
• Disaster Relief
• From The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Website:GAVI Alliance, expanding childhood immunization, United Negro College Fund, Gates Millennium Scholars Program, PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), Rotary International, supporting polio eradication, Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Memphis City Schools, The College-Ready Promise, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Save the Children, saving newborn lives, United Way of King County, World Food Programme increasing small farmer income, TechnoServe, helping small coffee farmers improve crops and fetch higher prices, Heifer International, helping small farmers grow local and regional dairy markets, Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), a coalition of countries from the developing world making savings accounts, insurance, and other financial services available to people living on less than $2 a day, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), testing and promoting the use of information and communications technologies to deliver microfinance products, Achieve, Inc. and the American Diploma Project Network, assisting states in aligning high school standards with the expectations of college and career, Opportunity Online Program, multiple library systems, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, supporting the installation of public computers with Internet access, training for staff, and implementation support for public libraries, Opportunity International Inc., developing and expanding a network of commercial banks in Africa, Gateway to College, expanding a program that enables colleges to serve students who need remedial academic help, Building Changes, helping create the Washington Families Fund and supporting efforts in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties to reduce family homelessness

2 Stichting INGKA Foundation link

• Assistance to victims of natural disasters and conflicts across the globe
• health programs in developing nations'
• Education of both woman and children
• and donations to these organizations: Astrid Lindgren's Hospital Stockholm, Earth Institute, Formens Hus, Half the Sky Movement, Ingvar Kamprad Design Center, Lund University Hospital, Lilla Poonawalla Foundation, , Refugees United, Save the Children, UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, Women on Wings

3 Wellcome Trust

• "achieve extraordinary improvements in health by supporting the brightest minds"
• biomedical research funding
• support for open access in medicine and medical research
• enhancement of public understanding of medical science and history through education and the arts

(In 1995, the trust divested itself of any interest in pharmaceuticals)

4 Howard Hughes Medical Institute

• Medical research - support of and long term flexible funding for "individuals who have the potential to make significant contributions to science"

5 Ford Foundation

• Giving grants for projects that focused on strengthening democratic values, community and economic development, education, media, arts and culture, and human rights.
• creators of "Sesame Street" and PBS
• pioneer of "micro-credit" loans to the poor
• Their website (link here) lists eight core issues:
  Democratic and Accountable Government, Economic Fairness, Educational Opportunity and scholarship, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights, Metropolitan Opportunity, Sexuality and Reproductive Health and Rights, Sustainable Development
• Here is a searchable list of grants (link here)

The above Charities represent $126 billion dollars per year in Endowments, with the next 20 below them representing another $100 billion in charitable donations.
Each has particular areas of focus, changing the world in a way fitting the vision of their founders and principal officers.

6 The Church Commissioners for England  
7 J. Paul Getty Trust 
8 Li Ka Shing Foundation  
9 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation  
9 Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation 
10 William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

The founding Officers represent some of the the wealthiest billionaires of the world. Taken a a whole the worlds 1226 wealthiest represent $4.6 Trillion Dollars in net worth. To put this in perspective...

• The US Budget for 2012 is $3.796 trillion with an estimated deficit of $1.327 trillion

From Wikipedia Government Budget by Country

• Japan $2.3 trillion, deficit $413 billion; Germany $1.5 trillion, deficit $142 billion, France 1.45 trillion, deficit $216 billion; China $1.27 trillion, deficit $121 billion and so on....
• Sum total of all countries of the world is an annual deficit of around 3.9 trillion

Populations: China 1.333 billion ($952/yr per person), India 1.140 billion($235/yr per person), US 313 million ($12,128/yr per person), Indonesia 228 million ($558/year per person)...

World's Wealthiest 3.75 billion/yr per person

The foundations and people listed here represent the most powerful, thus often hold both an emotional sway over the mass at large, and a very real power to effect change at a global scale.

These are the facts...
What the resultant effects upon the world will be, only time will tell

Wealth and Morality

from the Huffington Post

The Tiger Woods display recently prompted my interest in the idea of Heroes of our time and morality.

I am grateful for historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin, who saw himself missing virtues, and spent his life obtaining them one by one. Also the many movie stars, sports figures and other notable persons that go out of their way, using their fame and fortune to help those struggling in this vast world.

In looking at my own life, I have come to terms with the fact that much of what I was taught was right and good was exactly the opposite.

This article caught me, as I have both lived a life of relative comfort and as a wandering vagabond both. It was in this shift of experience, my own suffering, that much of my empathy & understanding for those less fortunate developed.

In sending this, there is no judgement. On the other hand, it is filled more with compassion, as life seems fraught with such difficulty, stress and overwhelm, I wonder if this is more an example of a sort of moral disease with which mankind is now struggling.

Here again is a link: The Rich and Compassion with excerpts below:

Who is more likely to lie, cheat, and steal—the poor person or the rich one? It’s tempting to think that the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to act fairly. After all, if you already have enough for yourself, it’s easier to think about what others may need. But research suggests the opposite is true: as people climb the social ladder, their compassionate feelings towards other people decline.

...

But why would wealth and status decrease our feelings of compassion for others? After all, it seems more likely that having few resources would lead to selfishness. Piff and his colleagues suspect that the answer may have something to do with how wealth and abundance give us a sense of freedom and independence from others. The less we have to rely on others, the less we may care about their feelings. This leads us towards being more self-focused. Another reason has to do with our attitudes towards greed. Like Gordon Gekko, upper-class people may be more likely to endorse the idea that “greed is good.” Piff and his colleagues found that wealthier people are more likely to agree with statements that greed is justified, beneficial, and morally defensible. These attitudes ended up predicting participants’ likelihood of engaging in unethical behavior.

Given the growing income inequality in the United States, the relationship between wealth and compassion has important implications. Those who hold most of the power in this country, political and otherwise, tend to come from privileged backgrounds. If social class influences how much we care about others, then the most powerful among us may be the least likely to make decisions that help the needy and the poor. They may also be the most likely to engage in unethical behavior... Although greed is a universal human emotion, it may have the strongest pull over those of who already have the most.

Modern Day Heros

Society and Heroes
Human beings are a social species.  Though a relative minority on the planet Earth, when compared to all other life forms, we have far reaching abilities, affecting not only the fate of Earth, but now Space.

Where do we learn what is right and wrong?  Who are our teachers?  Many turn to Elders, Religion and  Institutions of learning, others to media, and the internet.

Who are our heros?
I googled Modern Heroes in images, and what appeared in the were mostly Soldiers.
What does this say about our society? A soldier is trained to kill.  Is this the definition of a hero? The same concept exists in the extremest Muslim religion.  Who and what is the the morality behind these acts? I can only question and ponder...Survival seems at the base of acts of violence, yet survival of what, of whom?  Soldiers go into war believing they are doing a service for all in their own country..

Who are our modern Heroes?
The media dominates in the Industrialized world.  While religion, school, parents and educational institutions still have an active role, movie stars, sports figures,  musicians, news-casters and politicians also actively guide society.
So who are the Heros?
A few stand out as truly humanitarian, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Prince and Princess of Wales, The Dalai Lama. In sports, where the very definition of sportsmanship embodies ethical action, a few stand out such as Michael Jordan, Magic Jhonson and Reggie White...

What promted this post is that these "heroes" seem to be the exception...

A disturbing group of studies (the Huffington Post) show that " as people climb the social ladder, their compassionate feelings towards other people decline."
What qualities are associated with wealth, and success? What are we taught by those we daily experience as parts of our daily lives?

Morality :
A code of conduct.
A system of behavior based upon the concepts of right or wrong.
Choices that insure fair play and harmony between individuals.
Morality impacts our everyday decisions, and those choices are directed by our conscience.

Is Morality Learned or Innate
Evidence seems to suggest both, morality is both learned and innate  Research ranges from brain studies to emotional responses on issues of morality ...

The idea of "Original Sin"

Christianity first embraced the concept that every child is born with "original sin"  in the 4th century BC. Augustine of Hippo argued that as all humans are children of Adam, " all of humanity inherited Adam's sin and his just punishment.^{" (from Wikipedia)}

The option not to sin does not exist." A History of Christian Thought, vol. 2, 44. The only "salvation" is through Christ... -from sunnydaylaw
This has carried on in Christian doctrine, as evidenced by statements such as;
"We sin because we are sinners; we are not sinners because we sin."

Christianity makes up approximately 1/3 of the world religions.  Where does this leave the mass of humanity? And how does this shape the minds of those believers in Christ, and their view of non-believers?

Morality and Biology
One research study found that when the prefrontal cortex is damaged, a person feels no moral compunction in sacraficing one person for the good of all, yet those with healthy cortexes felt revulsion at the thought..
A finer line might be drawn in the difference between morality and alturism.

Only questions
I have only questions. 
The eyes of mankind seem to be opening to laws of conduct gone arwy.
What is the example set by our heros of today? And who will guide the future?  

The Pope wearing Ermine Fur

Though I post this - I do not have an opinion.
I honor that many humans eat meat.  I also honor that historically, animal fur was worn to keep the body warm.
Further, though faux fur is touted by many environmental and concerned citizens, the production of many of this fake furs is extremely detrimental to the environment.  Production of synthetics is an often overlooked pollutant of our society.
Again though, I cannot but state facts, as I too participate in many activities daily that contribute to the poisoning both of my body and the earth....
So here are a few facts...

from Wikipedia: The stoat (Mustela erminea), also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel...is listed among the 100 "world's worst invasive species".
from Wikipedia: Fake fur is made from several materials including blends of acrylic and modacrylic polymers derived from coal, air, water, petroleum and limestone. Unlike natural real fur, these materials can take a long time to break down (anywhere from 500 to 1,000 years).
2008 VATICAN CITY – An Italian animal rights group called on Pope Benedict XVI to stop wearing fur out of “respect for the sacredness of the lives of all living creatures.”...
"In an interview in 2000, before becoming pope, Benedict said he opposed factory farming and the fattening of geese to make foie gras. "Animals too are God's creatures," he said, "creatures we must respect as companions in creation and as important elements in creation.""

2012 Ash Wednesday
The pope wore an ermine-trimmed crimson cape to protect him from the chilly, early evening air

Another pondering is the production of silk.  Though some humane production occurs, the live boiling of catepillars might be considered as well.