KNOBLER, Alfred, November 21, 2007, age 92. A graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, he had a long and happy career in the Gift and Glass Industries as owner of Knobler International, a gift-importing firm, and The Pilgrim Glass Company. He had a lifelong interest in issues of social and racial justice, and endowed scholarships for minority students at Virginia Tech as well as the Alfred Knobler Journalism Fellowship at The Nation magazine. He was a devoted benefactor of and volunteer at PS 42, the Bronx elementary school that he attended as a child … . Donations in his name may be given to the Center for Constitutional Rights and/or organizations opposing Bush Administration policies.

As you can see above, Alf Knobler even turned his New York Times obituary into a fundraising opportunity for the causes he believed in. As fellow New River Free Press volunteer Susan Anderson wrote me when she sent me the clip, “Absolutely Alf!”

For years, Alf Knobler gave the Free Press a large annual check that amounted to about 6 to 7 percent of the publication’s thrifty budget and he sat down to share a potluck dinner when he was in town. Alas, the Free Press closed shop in August after 24 1/2 years and Alf died three weeks ago.

As the holidays grow near, thoughts turn to gift-giving. Global Exchange just sent me an e-mail “Aim for More, Not Less,” touting fair trade, recycled and organic products for the holidays:

Achieving more of what we want in this world, fair wages for workers, education for all our children, clean air and water, is not just about making sacrifices. You can carol your way through each December, holiday spirit and all, without forgoing the gift-giving and cookie baking that make the holidays such a special time.

Here in the New River Valley, we can engage in retail as activism. See the article, I’ll Have a Green Christmas, about local businesses that sell green and recycled products. I’d like though, inspired by Alf, to add another gift idea that can increase social justice, improve governance, and promote environmental quality. Why not donate to a group working toward these goals in someone’s honor?

Below you’ll find my list for holiday giving. If your recipients have access to the Internet (whether at home or in a library) you also can buy a certificate from JustGive.org and allow your recipient to “Have fun donating to a good cause.” The 3 percent transaction fee for any nonprofit listed by GuideStar is less than the group might pay to Visa or MasterCard, if you donated directly, using your charge card. It’s also less than the 4.75 percent charged by GuideStar itself, through Network for Good. You can also use JustGive to create a wish list to let your friends and family know which charities to fund in your name.

Those who’ve read my writing know where I stand on mountaintop removal. (I’m ag’in it, thanks for asking.) The following public interest law groups underwrite citizen suits to stop the Bush administration’s rollback of environmental protections that has aided Big Coal in its demolition of our mountains:

Appalachian Center for the Economy & the Environment engages in precedent-setting litigation strategically designed to protect the environment and the health of communities. The Center also conducts research and analysis, and advocates for a sustainable and just economy for the region.

Earthjustice has filed to enforce the Clean Water Act and fought Army Corps of Engineers permits for mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia.

Southern Environmental Law Center has taken on the fight against a proposed new coal-fired electric plant in Wise County, Virginia which would add to harmful air pollution in the region, increase greenhouse gas emission that cause global warming, and accelerate mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. The Southwest Virginia citizens’ group partnering in the fight is Wise County’s Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS), which also fights to stop the destruction of communities by surface coal mining, to improve the quality of life in the area, and to help rebuild sustainable communities, with organizing help from the Sierra Club’s Environmental Justice Project in Southern Appalachia.

Then there are the folks working to protect the Constitution in the face of warrantless surveillance and the evisceration of habeas corpus, for instance.

Center for Constitutional Rights works on cases including illegal detentions and Guantanamo; surveillance and attacks on dissent; criminal justice and mass incarceration; corporate human rights abuse; government abuse of power; racial, gender, and economic justice.

Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington engages in court cases and issues reports such as “Homeland Security for Sale.”

Electric Frontier Foundation, among other cases is suing AT&T for conducting illegal domestic surveillance for the NSA.

OMB Watch provides information on what the federal government is doing. It formed in 1983 to monitor the workings of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), but now works to increase transparency and accountability; ensure equitable regulatory and budgetary processes and policies; and protect active citizen participation.

Project on Government Oversight investigates corruption and works for solutions.

And don’t forget the alternative nonprofit media, which serves the watchdog function that the mainstream media has often abandoned:

Democracy Now offers radio and television broadcasts and free transcripts of interviews with those who know their topics, such as Jack Spadaro on the Sago Mine disaster or Charlie Savage on President George Bush’s use of power.

Center for Media and Democracy publishes PR Watch, Sourcewatch, and Congresspedia.

World Security Institute operates the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, which provides travel expenses for international reporting on underreported stories.

And besides money, nonprofits can also use your volunteer efforts. So don’t be timid with your time. And while several national groups were mentioned here, there are an abundance of good causes nearby as well.

Beth Wellington is a poet and journalist living in Newport, Virginia.