The television is full of adverts for charities asking for donations, but I do wonder how much of the money does really help? I used to do secret shopping for a company and we had to test some charity workers in the street to see how they approached you and how they behaved. The fact that they can afford to pay a marketing company to do this comes from donations (and it was well paid) makes me think that donations aren't being used effectively.
I'm really cynical as to the motives of all these "charities" sprouting everywhere, to be perfectly honestly. Their intentions aren't always honourable. I hate how ""in your face" they have become nowadays; they're in your supermarkets, all through the malls, on your TV with heart wrenching stories, on your phone harassing you and putting you under pressure to donate etc . My mother-in-law used to donate to one that will remain anonymous (ahem!) when one day she received this call out the blue, pressing her for more money! There was a lot of toing and froing, until she had enough and cancelled her standing order. Also, a few years ago in England I watched a BBC documentary on how charities really spend their money....pretty worrying stuff!
I rarely donate money unless there's a beggar in front of me asking for a bit of alms. The thing is, charities will never give anyone - neither the giver nor the receiver - justice. They seem to foster dependency usually to the detriment of the giver. What's necessary is to empower individuals. Of course, you can share some of your resources if you want to but you also have to let the receiver know that he or she can be more than this. That one day, even a receiver can climb the ladder and be a giver too.
I used to donate when I had a good paying job, but not anymore mainly due to the fact that charities take most of the donations. I rather give my hard-earned money to a needy beggar or local community service, than give it to some financially undisclosed charity organization(s). However, I would donate to charities if I am given a verified accounting sheet showing exactly where my money went to where and whom, and it must be up to 50% or more.
I always feel good when I donate money to charities or organizations, but I haven't been able to do so lately. I long for the day when I'm rich so I can donate a lot of money to so many causes. It's actually something I dream about all the time. The best part is that I'll be doing it because it's something that I've dreamed of doing for a long time, so it'll definitely be a dream come true.
I stopped donating to charities when I learned that they spend less than 70% of the money donated for "charity" work. Where does the rest of the money go? Into some rich man's pocket. Charity organizations are out to defraud kind-hearted people who feel they have an obligation to help those who are less fortunate. It's much better [if you must] to do some good in your community rather give your money to a huge charity organization that will do nothing for anyone [slight exaggeration but you get my point].
Especially at Christmas, giving your time is worth more. I used to help out in charities and both my parents volunteer in shops as they feel it actually helps versus donating money. Of course they need money, but more and more, these charities are becoming businesses and organizations. They should be run like a business with good accounting, but not-for-profit, is misleading as many do make profits that they channel into other things, like buying a new building or vehicle.
Wow Theo, you took the words right out of my mouth. I strongly believe that they ARE really like businesses now. I was shocked to find out a couple of years ago that the ones you see in town (this is in reference to the UK); the ones who chase after you, flirt with you and flatter you are actually on a very good wage! apparently higher than the UK average!
They are called 'chuggers' after charity muggers, who approach you in the street and they get £12-15 per hour. They have targets too, so it's a sales job. When I had to mystery shop them I was paid £20 and the marketing company must have been paid more, all paid for by the charity in question. I know that they need donations, but people know how and where to donate without phone calls or letters through the post asking for more. It puts you off, so I stopped all my direct debits because they kept asking me to increase it! Pressure is not charitable.
I stopped donating to the large charities for that reason too. I'll give someone on the street a couple of bucks or a sandwich or feed a hitchhiker lunch. Or I'll donate to something I believe in and actually use, like Office of Letters and Light or Wikipedia. I also occasionally lend money on Kiva because it makes me feel good. So far, I have always gotten repaid and can then direct that money somewhere else.
I have only donated used clothes to charities, and my mom used to give money to the church during Mass. I distrust charities in general, because I know that it's not entirely transparent how they use the money.
I'm very skeptical of the big charities that have lots of manpower because I too am worried that they aren't able to spend as much on just passing on the resources that were donated to them. I'd much rather just help out a smaller entity that I can better monitor and also whenever I can I try to be involved more by being there physically so I can see exactly how the money is being spent.
I am also skeptical even though I wish that the money goes to where it is supposed to go to and not in the company's/institution's own pocket. Of course, there are people in other parts of the world who need our help but there is no guarantee that the money you donate will get there. This is a dilemma! It is best if you do some research on the company/organization beforehand. Other than that, I would just go by trusting your intuition when giving your donation. There are other ways to donate. Not by money but with clothes and sending out prayers to all those people in this world who need help!
We have a kind heart, particularly my husband who is over generous sometimes. But we never give contributions to charitable organizations because we have heard of anomalies. When the strong typhoon hit the province of Leyte which killed thousands, we gave money to people we know especially to the family of our former housemaid whose house was destroyed. We shouldered the expenses for the roofing and part of the wall. Sometimes there are beggars knocking on our gate. We do not give to beggars because as they say, giving fish will make them eat for a day but teaching them how to fish will make them eat for their whole life.
I donate money to a number of charities, but what really gets to me is the amount of people who bang on my front door trying to guilt me into giving them money, I'm not exaggerating when I say that I get three or four a week and I have to be quite aggressive to get them to go away.
To make safe donations is always better to give it to local ONGs or International recognized Institutions with decades of experience helping the needy in several parts of the world. Is wise to questions the motivations behind a carity campaign that pretty much looks like a profit driven marketing campaigns. But they would also do it in that way to gather more people to their cause. I guess the best way to find out is to get involved with them.
We only give to local charities that we know how the money is used, and even donations at church are often the same. We used to go to one of the churches that belonged to a special denomination, and most of the money that was put into the offering plate at our church was sent to the church headquarters to use as they saw fit. Again, it was the same as charities keeping the money and the top few getting paid well, and not helping the poor as it should have been. We asked our pastor if there was any kind of offering that would be used just for him and our little church (which was just a tiny church in a small town). He said if it was marked as "special offering for the pastor", then they kept it there and used it for the church's needs and their own. After that, we never marked our tithes as tithes, we marked all offerings as special for the pastor, so we knew there and how the money was being used.
I like to donate to Red Cross and play freerice.com and go to hungersite.com to click to help internationally too. There are many good charities to donate to like the tried and true ASPCA, Red Cross, libraries, so you can know that your donation will go to a good cause and you are not being scammed.
