In his State of the Union address this week, President Bush repeated a request he made in May to double funding for global AIDS work. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), enacted in 2003, is now treating 1.4 million people in 15 focus countries around the world.

While no one argues over whether PEPFAR funding should be renewed, some say doubling the funds may not be sufficient. While Democrats wish to triple the funding to $50 billion, David Bryden, spokesman for the Global AIDS Alliance, said the figure should be closer to $59 billion.

Other issues also cause controversy among PEPFAR recipients and members of Congress such as requirements to allocate one-third of prevention money to abstinence programs. Other provisions block funds from groups that perform abortions and that aid prostitution. Outside of Democrats’ opposition to these provisions, others worry that the focus on AIDS could drain resources for other health care needs.

World Vision, a Christian relief and development organization, receives more than $150 million from PEPFAR grants now implemented in 14 countries. Director of corporate communications Dean R. Owen told WoW the organization focuses on caring for vulnerable children and especially those who have lost parents to AIDS.

Owen agreed that $30 billion does not meet global resource requirements that would ensure universal access to treatment, care and prevention by 2010: “Regrettably, the President’s request . . . is a doubling of the original bill in 2003, but not of current appropriations.”

He also explained that when PEPFAR was initiated, “prevention measures were narrowly focused,” and AIDS treatment did not focus on wide dissemination of drugs. The requirements helped distribute treatment effectively and support behavior change programs. This is necessary to accomplish World Vision’s goals of slowing the progression of the disease and also preventing its transmission, “something that will only be achieved in the foreseeable future through behavior change.”

On MSN Money, Matthew Plowright cautions charity gift-givers to do some research before they buy a goat for a village in Africa this Christmas.

Charities like Oxfam, Christian Aid Ministries, and World Vision offer Christmas gift catalogs for people who want to purchase a goat or build a beehive for villages in need. Two environmental charity groups argue that the gifts are a cynical gimmick that is doing more harm than good. World Land Trust and Animal Aid say that in drought-drained areas, a cow or goat can deplete farmland and drain the water supply. An indignant Christian Aid counters that they work with local organizations to determine community need and only send cows where there is enough water for them to drink.

The debate raises the question of how consumers can evaluate the effectiveness of the charities they support. Several organizations track the transparency and financial efficiency of charity organizations, but they only evaluate how well the charities manage their money, not the charities’ effectiveness. Oxfam is among Charity Watch’s top-rated charities. Ministry Watch gives World Vision a four-star rating for financial efficiency and bestows five stars on Christian Aid Ministries. Charity Navigator gives World Vision, Oxfam, and Christian Aid excellent ratings.

Jill Lacey, editor of Capital Research Center’s Compassion and Culture newsletter, told WoW it is often up to donors to research the effectiveness of the charities they support. She tells donors, “Think narrow and deep.” Find one organization that reflects your passion and your view of human nature, and then do deep research. Make phone calls, ask questions, and invest yourself in their work: “Don’t just give of your money. Give of your time.” When you do, Lacey said, “You’re going to care. You’re going to care enough to ask the right questions.”

The National Retail Federation predicts consumers will spend $74.5 billion in the 2007 holiday season. Has Christmas become little more than a national excuse to indulge our collective spending compulsion?

Imago Dei, a Portland church, began the Advent Conspiracy to restore the meaning of Christmas “by worshipping Jesus through compassion, not consumption.” It has four goals: worship more, spend less, give more, and love all. Last year, 5 churches participated and raised $100,000 by making gifts instead of buying them. This year, 600 churches have already signed up to participate and an additional 500 churches are participating through the World Relief Organization, which is using the Conspiracy for its Christmas campaign.

In the spirit of the Advent Conspiracy, here is a diverse (but not exhaustive) list of organizations that give life and hope to people who need it most.

1. Angel Tree is an affiliate ministry of Prison Fellowship that provides Christmas gifts to children whose parents are in prison. Donate money online or organize a program at your church.

2. World Vision, a humanitarian organization, has an online Christmas Gift Catalogue. (Last year, my sister bought me a portion of an “easy-care” alpaca for a Peruvian family, and this year, I’ve been eyeing a share of a camel for my grandma.)

3. Restoration of Israel is a Messianic Jewish organization that provides material support for Jewish people making Aliyah (traveling) to Israel. You can donate cash, goods, services, or…trees.

4. Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry is a domestic Christian ministry of farmers and hunters who are “transforming a renewable, God-given resource into food for the hungry.” The ministry pays meat processors to butcher donated deer and elk to feed the hungry. You can make financial donations or you can donate a deer yourself!

5. If you do purchase gifts, buy from organizations that put 100% of the profits into the people and communities they support. Cultural Designs by Kate is a Lebanon-based organization that teaches women the skill of jewelry fabrication and then employs them. Select from over 200 one-of-a-kind designs online. Rahab Ministries supports Thai women who leave the sex-trade. The women make the greeting cards and jewelry that you can buy through the online bazaar.

Cyclone Sidr’s 180 mph winds have stirred up twenty-foot tidal waves, ripping apart the low-lying coast of Bangladesh and forcing 1 million people from their homes.

The cyclone is the worst to hit Bangladesh in ten years and has claimed over 3,000 lives so far. Sattar Gazi, a farmer who lost six family members, told the Telegraph, “I am afraid that the rest of us will die of hunger.” Officials echo his fear, saying the death count may climb to 10,000 by the time relief workers can travel over fallen trees and across washed-out roads to remote areas.

Dean Owen, director of corporate communications for World Vision, told WoW that relief is slowly reaching these areas. World Vision helped 20,000 people to shelter and is planning a $600,000 relief effort for 100,000 families. It has given rice and sugar to 2,500 families and is putting together seven-day emergency relief packs of water, rice, potatoes, sugar, oil, salt, blankets, mattresses, clothing, oral re-hydration salts and candles. Vince Edwards, Bangladesh national director, said when the storm passes, World Vision staff “will be going out to assess the damage and the needs.”

The damage includes crop destruction and the needs will include long-term hunger aid. Telegraph says that in the areas hit worst, winds leveled 95 percent of the rice crops and prawn farms. In 1974, nearly a million people died after floods washed away crops, but Edwards said the government’s better-prepared disaster management units will lead to a lower death count.

Owen called the crisis “an opportunity for us to demonstrate Christ’s love to those we serve.” Other Christian agencies are lending a hand as well. Ekklesia reports that the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB) helped move the island of Moheshkali into one of CCDB’s 44 cyclone shelters. Christian Aid supports their efforts and the work of four other organizations providing medical help, food, and cash to evacuated communities.