These are some short blurbs and links for organizations I support, I'm involved with, or that I'm simply interested in. Having said no more than that, here's a list of causes I support financially:

• The Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, also known as Shakespeare on the Green. You can reach them (Mike Markey, at least) via e-mail at NEShakes@creighton.edu or by phone at 402-280-2391.
• The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, mainly as a memorial to a friend who died when she was only 16, in 1987.
• The Planetary Society, founded by the late Dr. Carl Sagan. The Planetary Society supports efforts to develop space travel and human exploration of space. This was all supposed to be Science Reality by the time I reached adulthood, but obviously isn't. I consider this a vital investment in the future of mankind.
• The National Space Society is similar to the Planetary Society, but primarily promotes the development of a spacefaring civilization. We're talking colonization, here. If not the final frontier, it is, at least, the next. I wanted to be a part of it...I guess now it'll be helping to make it happen, rather than living in space, myself. I still dream.
• The SETI Institute. The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is one of the most important endeavors ever undertaken by anyone. The SETI Institute is one of the biggest proponents of The Search. Another group intensely involved in SETI is the SETI@Home project at Berkeley. It's a way of spreading out the work of a signal-processing-based SETI search so that anyone with a computer can contribute. If you don't, already, download the screensaver and start by joining our Heimdall Linux team.
• The Archaeological Conservancy. Besides exploration, another major interest of mine is conservation. While the following bullets deal with preserving wildlife and their habitats, the Archaeological Conservancy seeks to preserve sites that serve as a record of our cultural heritage -- the history of civilization -- and thus appeals to another interest of mine: archaeology.
• The Nature Conservancy purchases important wilderness sites in order to protect them from later development and destruction.
• The National Parks Conservation Association naturally exists to help maintain and expand the National Parks system for future generations. The difference between visiting a park today versus 20 years ago is frightening. Things could go either way in the next 20 years, but the NPCA is working to keep the experience as positive for the next generation as it was for ours.
• The Student Conservation Association enlists the aid of college students in conservation efforts by the National Parks Service by funding intern programs.
• The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy advocates the conversion of disused railways to public trails for use by runners and cyclists (and I am both!).
• The Environmental Defense Fund is probably best known for lobbying MacDonald's to switch from using environmentally-unfriendly styrofoam to biodegradable materials as packaging for their fast food. Support their efforts to protect the environment so the earth can keep supporting human life.
• The World Wildlife Fund works to preserve biological diversity.
• The Natural Resources Defense Council also works to defend the environment and the wildlife within it.
• National Geographic. Well, how could I not be fascinated by this stuff?