You know..
You guys make a good point. I think that Cory Doctorow has the best idea on this. I think I'll simply remove the charity idea, and go with a simple sliding scale ($1, $2, $3, etc..) with a suggestion that you give an equal amount of time/money/whatever towards a good cause.
That way I also don't have to deal with people feeling guilty about giving me nothing, or people feeling guilty about my choice in charity.
Heck, I could do both. Who cares
The goal of writing is to be read. Afterall.. most authors until they make it "big" have other careers.. and as much as I like writing, I love what I do for a living.
Back on the original tack..
If you ask an author whether they'd rather be paid or read, they'd say read. That's not to say they don't want to be paid.. and that you should rip them off.. but in my instance, I have a number of copies of Chronicles of Narnia. I don't think, were CS Lewis alive, he'd be upset that I have an illegal ebook version. Frankly, between the Extended Edition of the movie, the fact that my entire family will pay $10 per person + popcorn and soda for the kiddies in the second movie, and the random rebuying they'll do of things.. an ebook collection doesn't really hurt the Lewis Estate.
I wish we were in a society where information could be free, and you could trust people to pay for what they value an item at. And I think plenty of authors will go by that mentality.
However, until that day comes, I'll go with a case by case basis.
Personally, though? Copyright should end Ten years after the death of the author. I know, I know.. families of popular works must make a living.
But be honest. How many families of popular works out there REALLY and TRULY own the rights 40+ years after the fact? They don't.. big business does.. and that's not the point of the copyright law.
Just my opinion.