When Trevor Rotzien was working in Saudi Arabia right after the first Gulf War in the early 1990s, he witnessed how many people around the world, particularly women, lack the opportunities he’d always taken for granted. “If you’ve been exposed to other people’s pain in front of you, then there’s a sort of satisfaction of empathy when you give to a very specific cause and you know that your donation made it to that cause,” said Trevor, who started making donations through Jolkona right after our launch and has been a regular contributor since then.

As part of a series featuring Jolkona donors, I spoke with Trevor about his philanthropy and his experience with Jolkona.

Trevor Rotzien

Among the projects you support through Jolkona, which are particularly meaningful to you?

One that struck me pretty powerfully was the one where you could pay for the tuition for an Afghan girl for $40. What struck me was how trivial the cost was — it was just shockingly affordable. And it would cover the basic education of an Afghan girl for a whole semester. It was one of those social value propositions that it was almost repulsive to think of not doing, because when you start translating something like that into other units of value, like how many lattes would that be, you’re embarrassed not to support it.

What do you like most about donating through Jolkona?

I’ve experienced the large charities where you donate and it’s more or less a black hole — there’s no feedback, no validation, and there’s certainly no proof. And then there are rumors in the media about what percent of donations get burned up in administration and so on. One thing I love about Jolkona is that it takes away the mystery — everything is up front, everything is connected, the feedback is solid.

It’s also the speed, which satisfies the attention deficit of most people these days. And it’s easy, so there are very few impediments to giving. I like the fact that there are multiple paths [on Jolkona's website] to the donation, and none of them are very long.

What would you like others to know about Jolkona?

Three things: trust is possible, because the information is made available. So forget about any reluctance you’ve had in the past about giving.

And the other point, which is maybe more important: I think a lot of people don’t start giving because they think it’s expensive. But when you browse the projects that Jolkona supports, they range from five dollars to hundreds of dollars. The nice thing is, regardless of how little you have to give, there’s a project for you to give to. Believe me, it’s very satisfying to know that, if I can make just a little payment each month, there’s somebody across the world that has a huge benefit.

And third, regardless of what country you’re trying to help, Jolkona does offer projects both in the US and around the world, so geography’s no excuse either.

Trevor Rotzien lives in the Seattle area and is a product manager for Satori Software. A serial hobbyist, he is currently learning an obscure Chinese kung-fu style from a guy who doesn’t speak English. You can follow Trevor on Twitter @trevorrotzien and track the impact he’s making through Jolkona by viewing his social portfolio.

An interview with featured donor Mehwish Jalal

In the coming weeks, we’ll be bringing you the stories of Jolkona donors from all walks of life. Our first interview was with Mehwish Jalal, who started a tradition of donating to charity for her daughter’s birthday.

What motivates your giving?

I have donated to charities since I was in high school from my earnings in part-time work. In Islam we have a responsibility to practice zakāt, or almsgiving — charitable giving by Muslims based on accumulated wealth. It is considered a personal responsibility for Muslims to ease economic hardship for others and eliminate inequality. Giving to those who are less fortunate is something my parents instilled in me as a young child.

Tell me about how you raised funds for Jolkona projects for your daughter’s birthday.

My daughter Amaya turned one last year, and for her birthday party we didn’t want any gifts, any gift cards or money for Amaya, because with God’s grace, we have the ability to get her whatever she needs. I wanted this to be a start for her to realize how lucky we are to have what we have.

So for her first birthday, I asked everyone to donate money to Jolkona. Nadia, Jolkona’s CEO, gave me a couple of organizations that were in need of aid. I went on the Jolkona website, did my research and printed out information about the different projects. I had a table set up at the birthday party with information on the different organizations, along with a box for people to drop cash or checks. I had also informed my guests of this project in the party invitation, along with links to each organization to which I intended to donate. Some of my guests donated directly on Jolkona’s website.

People were quite generous. I probably raised about $600 to $700 dollars. As Amaya grows older, I can tell her that, instead of her receiving clothes and toys for her birthday, we raised money to go to someone who really, really needs it.

I’d like to make it a tradition for Amaya to donate money for her birthday every year. Just to teach her what it’s like to be in our situation versus other children who lack simple necessities such as food and clothing.

What do you like about donating through Jolkona?

I like the fact that it’s very convenient and trustworthy. The screening [that Jolkona does] is very important, because you want to make sure that your money is going to a legitimate organization. Even though you see charities on TV or you hear about them on the radio, you don’t know how reliable they are. So this is why I trusted Jolkona.

I also like the fact that you get updates on whether the program you donated to has been completed or who it impacted. You get a personal experience with who you’re donating to.

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Mehwish’s story shows that, with a little creativity, anyone can raise funds for causes they care about. You don’t have to have a lot of money, or even a lot of time. What creative strategies have you used to raise money for charity?

If you’d like to be a featured donor, please contact allegra.abramo (at) jolkona (dot) org.

Mehwish Jalal is a marketing and graphic design professional in the San Francisco Bay Area. When she’s not busy caring for her daughter, she indulges her passion for interior design. Every week she attends an Islamic-focused women’s group that tries to enrich what they have learned about religion from their parents so they can pass it on to their own children and others outside of the Muslim community.