Do ANY online charities do what they say they are going to do?

In My Humble Opinion
1

This is a very compelling web site and idea.

I’m going to dig as far as I can to see if A) This is for real science, and B) If this organization is for real.

I’m so suspicious of online scams and faux charities, that any urge to do some good for my fellow personkind is usually squelched entirely by the fear of fraud.

Anyone know of charities that are in fact exactly what they purport to be?

2

There are tons of resources out there to confirm the veracity of charities. The very website you linked to has, under the “Financials” link, a number of redirects to everything you’d need: their 501(c)(3) paperwork, their Charity Navigator page, their GuideStar page, and a number of other details.

At the very least, become more aware of Charity Navigator and GuideStar. They’re not perfect tools, but they’re extremely useful to start out with.

3

Missed the window…

I was at a conference last summer where one of the keynote speakers was the creator of the Soma Water filter, which is sold in charity: water’s store, and of which a sizeable portion of the profits go to the charity (Soma is a for-profit business, but heavily invested in cause marketing). Great product, great cause.

4

Glad to hear this in particular.

IMHO, the next world war will be waged over potable water. Not land.

5

If Guidestar doesn’t have the information you need, know that the 990 filing of a charity must be made available to the public in some way. It is legitimate to make it available on request only. They may also be providing other information.

The 990 is a tax return and not exactly designed for the layman, but it should give you an idea of where money is going.

Keep in mind that nonprofits have a startup phase like most businesses. While the intent may be to have 90% of donations go to their charitable function, there are expenses to get the nonprofit started - legal fees if nothing else - so that a new nonprofit may need a little slack that you wouldn’t give one with a longer history.

As for the next world war: you must be a romantic to think that we’ll fight over something practical like water. I’m fairly certain the next world war will be the result of either stupid posturing or religious/political ideology.

6

This is EXACTLY why I don’t donate to ANY charity, no matter what the circumstances! :smack: