A while back we had a thread on what charities you give to - lots of great suggestions, good causes and money well spent. But with the smooth comes the rough, with the efficient comes the hapless, with the hard working comes the half arsed. There may also be causes you feel are about as worthwhile of donation as a fund to set up a Beer n’ Bacon stand in downtown Mecca.
Which would fall under this category for you, where you would tell a friend if they ask “Give your money to a better charity.”?
I might donate to open a bacon stand in Mecca. I feel Darwin needs a hand now and then.
Over the years I’ve changed my mind on the Boy Scouts.
They can have any policy they want, it’s a private club. But I’m not going to pay for it any more.
Should have added in the OP I’m particularly interested if you have any inside info on the topic (i.e. how much campaigners get paid) or have had your fingers burnt by a particular charity.
Wouldn’t give a dime to the Susan Komen Foundation. Reasons ranging from the amount of cash going towards breast cancer research vs other cancers/diseases, their attacks on other charities they perceive as infringing on their trademarks and the whole Planned Parenthood jump into conservative politics. Even if I wanted to donate specifically to breast cancer research, I’d find a better charity.
I argue against the “I won’t give to an organization with a highly paid CEO” argument all the time, but Charity Navigator’s formula there is really interesting. For those who didn’t click through, it’s:
Large, well-run organizations with a lot of moving parts need talented leadership, and talented leadership is expensive. I get sick and tired of the “but they’re a non-profit!” line of BS - but when you’re talking about a highly paid CEO at a small non-profit that doesn’t need strong leadership, then it’s a very valid concern.
As for the OP’s actual question (sorry, I’m off my soapbox) I give to homeless causes, but I do not give to homeless organizations that do not play well with others. That’s usually shelters that have a religious requirement for their guests, as that is usually a sign that they’re not part of the local homeless coalition, don’t/can’t accept public funds, and are therefore likely to not be participating in a larger cooperation of service providers.
I don’t donate to the United Way because I dislike their come-at-you-through-your-employer tactics, especially back when they used to distribute pre-printed donation forms with one of the numbers identified as “Your Fair Share” or some such manipulative bullshit.
Ditto! Every year we have weeks of United Way e-mails and posters and bullitens and my workplace wants us all to pass last year’s total contribution by X%.
Then give us all an X% raise, becuase in case you haven’t noticed the cost of living has gone up so I am effectively making less wealth.
I don’t give a flying fuck what the charity is, if they are asking me to donate a dollar at every damned register I pass through when I’m shopping, they are getting nothing from me.
In general I avoid any charity that claims to increase ‘awareness.’ Advertising for theemselves is the main goal of those types of charities, IMO, and public awareness of disease is just a byproduct that allows them to claim to be charitable. So the organization IS the charity that gets the money, which they use to advertise for more donations.
I also don’t participate in fund raisers for schools. After school stuff like sports or band are okay, but not school sponsored ones. My thinking is along the same lines as above - the admin soaks up so much money, it’s sick. And I resent every kid being made to participate, like little beggars for a school.
Yep. I declined year after year, in the face of much open pressure, mainly because the primary beneficiary at the time was ACS.
When the uncounted billions given to cancer research start having some result besides printing prettier brochures asking for more donations, I’ll chip in.