Landmark Legal Foundation

5) Private School Voucher Programs

I am optimistic that school choice advocates will assuredly win the war for K-12 excellence one day, but meaningful choice will be diminished if small private inner city schools have not survived to that point. Private individuals can do much to fund private voucher programs in the meantime. The unmet need is astonishing.

6) Operation Blessing Relief & Development

Only two international relief and development organizations were on the ground in Banda Aceh, Indonesia within 24 hours after the Tsunami hit. This Evangelical Christian organization was flown in by the Air Force of the Muslim government and immediately established field hospitals equipped with generators, mosquito netting, and mopeds as well as doctors and nurses fluent in the local language. As the Indonesian government understands, one need not be an Evangelical Christian to appreciate the effectiveness and efficiency of this exceptional organization.

7) Chabad on Campus

When a Chabad Rabbi and his wife open a campus Chabad House they are making a lifetime commitment. As Western civilization and the traditional Judeo-Christian values of our American heritage are increasingly subject to defamation and demonization, it takes a lot of courage for students to stand against predominant campus trends. With unflinching moral clarity and unconcerned with passing fads, Chabad is able to take a stand and effect change at a fundamental level - both on campus cultures and in the lives of individual students.

8) Charter Schools

In the K-12 battle of ideas, this requires some footwork for a longterm strategic payoff. Contact charter schools in your region and offer them a “restricted donation” to purchase Education Next subscriptions for every teacher and administrator.

9) Student Essay Contest

A shrewd end-run around fortress academia: advertise in your favorite college paper to provide cash awards to encourage student readership of specific books anchored in classical liberal thought. My first choice would be Nobel Prize winner F.A. Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom. To make your expenditures tax deductible, arrange to pay this through an agreeable non-profit.

10) ABSOLUTELY NEVER, EVER, EVER WRITE AN UNRESTRICTED CHECK TO YOUR COLLEGE ALMA MATER AGAIN.

Finally, for the friend or relative who has everything, consider making a charitable gift in their name.

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! And may your taxes be light!