Do you donate to charity?

[Strat]

Do you donate to charity? Which one(s) and why? If you don't, why not?

[sandy]

Yes, I donate to families I know who are in need>>>why because I can and it is the right thing to do

[GCS1103]

Most of my donations are to animal charities. I do that because I love animals and they need us to protect and care for them. I do make donations to a few "human" charities too.

[D-Day]

No, not anymore.

Because what I have found is that a significant proportion of the money that gets donated to large charitable organisatiions never ends up reaching the intended recipients.

A good % of it goes to paying the salaries of (quite highly paid) CEO's, other execs, managers, and (of course) cutting through ridiculous beurocratic red tape obstructions.

I know this because I worked for a few of them when I was younger snd more naive.

The degree of inefficiency and wastefulness that is inherent in some of those organisations (when witnessed first hand) is almost unbelievable... if only you knew.

Nowadays, I prefer to help out in other (more direct) ways.... by volunteering my time and labour to help local community projects instead.

At least that way I know exactly how my "donation" is being utilised.

... and I also get the added benefit of seeing the fruits of my labour/donatiion and the effect it hss on individuals/communities first hand.

[Grumpy Cat]

I'm currently donating monthly to Make-a-Wish, but I question where my money goes...

They pay fundraisers a not-inconsiderable amount (around £1.50+ minimum wage and bonuses) to "recruit" people on the street- to the tune of £8 a month, which is what I'm paying.

Their target, I learnt, is to sign up only two people a day = £16 a month in return for hiring someone, and paying them around £7.50 an *hour* to stand around in the streets doing this. How the hell does that make sense? Even me, with my god-awful mathematics skills can see that this doesn't add up.

[SKAWF]

i stopped donating to the big charities, when i found out that they keep the money, bank it, and use only the interest for charitable purposes.
also i dont like multi million dollar/pound advertising campaigns..

also i dont like the fact that these days, they dont want you to give them £10 or something...
they want you to set up a direct debit so you can pay them every month.

what about cancer research?

THEY ALREADY KNOW HOW TO CURE IT!!!!!!!!!,

or the NSPCC (national society for the prevention of cruelty to children)

would that be the kids abused by the elites or the RC church?

or how about famine relief in africa?

a place where population control is rife!

so erm.....


no i dont.


i would happily donate to animal rescues though.!

[Heartsong]

Yes, I do give to charities. Every January my husband and I determine how much and to whom we will give during the following 12 months. We live by the 3 S's: Save some, Spend some and Share some.
All of our charities are local and known to us. We give about 4% of our income.

[modwiz]

Like many of the above, knowing about charities and their administration is like watching sausage or laws being made. When I used to walk the streets of NYC I would make sure I had a lot of singles (dollars) on me so I could give one to the many homeless who would ask for spare change. With rare exception, all would bless me. I do not walk past a Salvation Army pot without putting something in it. Again, more good wishes and blessings. I see someone standing in the cold, not wearing designer clothes. It is unfortunate that the sweet spot of heading a charity attracts the types that it does.

We need manageable communities again where we can take care of our own and not have to count on others to do what we no longer have the time for. Our kindness is admirable. Those who exploit it are not. It's all part of the plan until we wake up.

[skippy]

Good idea Strat, let's create the Avalon Charity Fund and donate to charities of our choice. Can you set up the project and communicate the wire account to transfer the money?

Skip

[astrid]

Mostly to friends whenever they need, and in all different ways.
Charity begins at home, etc.

At least i know where the resources are going, with big name charities,
who knows..

[DoubleHelix]

Bravo guys.. some great reasons as to why I believe people shouldn't donate to charities.

I was once apart of a non-profit organisation where I saw some great things being done for the community. However, I also witnessed one of the bosses stealing money on a regular basis; later down the track she got canned and the police laid charges.

My personal opinion is that it's a little slack to donate money. You have no idea, nor guarantee, that your money will make it to the intended recipient. If you would like to help, then the best way to do it is in person. Everyone wins that way.

I give money to the homeless when ever I get a chance, I know it aint much, and it won't solve their situation, but it may put some food in their stomach.

[Lancelot]

Cancer Research has to be the biggest fraudulent charity on earth. They take billions of peoples hard earned cash and do nothing to help the cause only line the pockets of their own employees and the pharmaceutical companies.

[astrid]

These days it's also coming back the other way, as I'm slipping more into a
practitioner type role, and It's taking a bit of getting used too.
But giving is one thing, its a two way flow, and you have to
allow people to give back, if they so choose so that the cycle of transformation is a complete one.

Just my 20 cents anyways..

[Kimberley]

Interesting question... I have given a lot in various ways over my life time. Currently I support those in need that I know personally and do not give to tax deductible organizations any longer because I know so many others that are in need that I know personally.

And when I give I do not expect anything in return, however the universe always returns through other various ways!!! And I am so very grateful to be able to give and to receive abundantly!

And I also give often to street people...and they most always say god bless you to me also!

Much love to us all!!

[DeDukshyn]

I put in a couple hours of volunteer work down at the local Mustard Seed this last Thursday .. real help for real people I don't have to worry whether my "time" was being used appropriately or not!

[WhiteFeather]

I give to the street walkers and I also Donate my Human/E.T. Blood. Its very affordable and It has 12 to 22 different types of ET Signature Species Imprint Mixtures In It. Its nice to help out our Star friends here on Planet Earth. And its nice to share. Remember this TV Commercial, God Im getting Old.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=a3HeyqXESOg

An Added Bonus Video, LMFAO

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NYzt1rEBx5Y

[Tesseract]

I donate to World Vision (WV) [actually this thread reminded me to do so - thanks], one option is that you can donate to pay for a specific critical asset (like a goat or share in a clean water scheme) so you can know what the money is being used for. They also have a fairly low percentage of money that goes into administration costs. Technically they are a Christian charity, I did look around for a non-religious charity at one point, but the ones I found were not using the money where I wanted it to go. So I put my (non)religious views aside and stuck with WV.

I also support Wikileaks and Wikipedia, the value of both can not be overstated IMO. The Wikileaks banking blockade can be bypassed by donating here https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/ This was recently set up by Daniel Ellsberg, John Cusack and others. The banks and governments conspired to shut down WL financially - glad to see the people are fighting back.

[Nenuphar]

I donate to small organizations, mostly related to animal welfare and nature conservation. These two causes are near to my heart. I particularly adore animals, and have always had companion animals in my life. I also like to donate things like food, toiletries, and clothing to the local food bank, transition house, and Salvation Army. I know people who use the services of all these organizations, and I know people who work/volunteer at two of them. I am confident that my donations are being put to good use there.

I very rarely donate to big charities related to illness or medical research, despite my family being effected by M.S. and heart & stroke problems. I am not interested in funding administrators and huge advertising campaigns. The business of cancer, in particular, drives me nuts. Certain forms of cancer have practically been branded by immediately identifiable combinations of colour/flower/slogan....it almost seems like one will belong to a special, exclusive club if one develops specific forms of cancer. It is also too profitable for many of these organizations *not* to find a cure for the diseases they claim to want to fund research for.

For me, this 2012 review/analysis of 100 Canadian charities in MoneySense magazine was enlightening and helpful. It rather confirmed what I already felt at a gut level.

http://www.moneysense.ca/the-2012-charity-100/

.

[Vitalux]

It tends to be more sporadic and impulsive with me.

On Thursday I gave a $100 bill to a homeless man that was begging for money by the side of the road.



He thanked me and then ran away with a huge smile.

That $100 bill I was going to use to pay for my membership at the YMCA, but I figured I would skip a month to make someone else feel good.

[sigma6]

charity begins at home