posted to my blog:

please do not ask me to donate to your burningman fundraiser. i am barely able to make ends meet for myself, much less afford to go to the burning man, or to donate to this non-cause. i know it means the world to you, and you can't understand why i feel this way, but there are more worthwhile efforts that i would rather promote and donate to (besides making a living wage myself). like p:ear: www.pearmentor.org for instance.

in considering whether or not to donate to a cause, i have to consider that i have very limited resources of time and money, so does your cause fit one of these criteria:

1. is it a worthwhile cause; who or what does it benefit, and what sort of impact does it have on me or greater society?
2. how will donating to said cause benefit me? do i get to split proceeds? do i get to be seen by a wider audience than i already have? does it make me feel good to help out this cause?

if i there is not a satisfactory answer to these questions, then the answer is no. i would really rather make the place i actually live in more livable, not give time and money to your vacation.