This is a great idea, IMHO.
A minor administrative suggestion: in threads where there is some ad hoc attempt going on to aid a fellow Doper, could the mods possibly update the OP with a link to the post or posts in the thread containing the how-to-help info?
Take Bearflag70’s thread about his daughter’s terminal condition. Somewhere in those 9 pages is at least one post that contains info on how to help him out. I haven’t had time to read the thread from start to finish, and I haven’t been able to locate the key posts either.
His email is in post 219 for paypal donations. (Sorry I don’t know how to link to a specific post…)
I would be very weary of giving anyone money unless you can personally verify their story. As hard as it is to believe, people will make stuff up about everything. From terminal illness to job loss to foreclosure, it’s all too easy.
People will start threads about weird subjects and you have to wonder, is this a REAL problem or is someone got a kinky fetish and is getting off by presenting their fetish as a problem at work or whatever.
Printed words have power. People think, well if someone went to all the trouble to write it down it must be real or have truth to it.
And for every online person you see needing help there are “real” people in your community just as bad off.
This is not to say don’t help, by any means I’m not saying that. Just make sure you verify what you’re given to first.
On one hand organized charities are better at handling money but they too often miss the people that fall through the cracks. Or they just seek publicity. It’s much easier for an organized charity to solicit money through little kids then adults. Everyone gives to little kids but not to the adults.
Just say use your common sense
Last year I called catholic charities for help with bills, and they said unless you have a job, we aren’t going to help.
I called the salvation army for months and never got through to the person i was told to talk to, never had my calls returned. This May i got an agency to pay half of our gas bill, but that left 300 still due and theres another shut off notice. Face it, there is no help for most.
I think it is better to keep this anonymous - both the fact that some are donating, and the actual donations. Perhaps open a PayPal account from the Mods where money can be donated and then forwarded on to the person.
I am going through some “stuff” now, but I am sure I am not alone. At what point does a few dollars help? Will it buy a home in foreclosure? Doubtful. Will it pay a few bills? Maybe. Will it mean a difference in starving to death or living? Paying for medical attention? Rent? Tuition? New PlayStation? Six pack of beer?
The problem is you don’t want to turn away from those who need help, but you also don’t want to turn the board into a new version of “Queen For A Day”. For those of you who don’t know, this was a TV show in the late 50’s where three women would tell their hard-luck story, and only ONE would get her dream - usually a washer/dryer, some money for her kid’s operation, or whatever. The other two women got nuthin’. It came down to who had the saddest story, and who could express it best - regardless of who actually needed it most.
So, if there is a Doper you know, or care about, and they post a thread about “stuff” they are going through now, and you would care to help out - either with money or job tip or whatever, that is a very GOOD thing. I just think that individuals should have a place where they can contact a Mod, or PM the Doper and do this privately.
Creating open threads where people donate money, no matter how well-meaning and deserving, leads to others feeling left out, or others trying to get in on the action.
In my opinion, this opens up a huge can of worms and turns into a pyramid scheme of sorts. The first ones get lots of donations (large and small), but as time goes by, those who come in later asking for help found the cow had been milked and feel like they have been rejected/ignored by the rest of us who might now be tapped out financially, or overwhelmed by the number of requests.
Keeping everything anonymous (including even the fact that someone might be getting donations) makes it more of a generous, one-time option that nobody needs to know about.
You have to be careful. I’ve see two cases of people taking money in the name of charity on online forums. This guy stole over $180,000 for "charity raffles’: http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=20988 He pleaded guilty.
There’s another case where I don’t think charges were filed, but a guy collected money for a “Musicians Relief Fund” and the consensus seems to be that he ran off with some of it, or at least refused to account for it: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=459748&highlight=charity+musicians
I have been surprised at how helpful and outgoing people are here.
About five years ago I got so fed up with the amount of abuse and misuse of charity that I had seen that I made a promise to myself to make my giving up close and personal. That has meant more of my time and effort than sending off a couple of bucks here and there but when I am directly active in giving I can see the results of my generosity in action and it’s been really satisfying to me.
I do want to plug my new method of giving and volunteering. Being there and doing make for a rewarding experience. If we all gave more in our communities I think it could make a most positive difference.
Nonetheless, more power to you folks whose trust and patience hasn’t run out yet!
If we did do this, how exactly would it be determined who the “needy” are?
I dunno about the rest of you, but I’m not in the habit of talking about private things on an internet message board. I’d feel truly weird/attention whoring if I did that. I can’t be the only one that feels that way. I imagine there are quite a few who are needy that no one here ever knows about, simply because they never brought their troubles to the board.
Also, what’s the threshold? Do they have to be in danger of homelessness to qualify? What if it’s just a $5000 medical bill they can’t pay? What if they could pay it if they tell junior he has to skip a semester at college?
Honestly, it doesn’t really seem fair to help some and not others, where the only real “criteria” is who complains the loudest. I think it could lead to a lot of resentment, too – the board rallies around person A who has $5000 in medical debt, but doesn’t even think about person B who hasn’t been able to pay the mortgage in 3 months. It turns into a popularity contest.
If we could find some way to make it even somewhat fair, I think this would be awesome, but short of having an administrative panel of some sort, I don’t see how we could do that.
How about the “personal resources and how to maximize them” thread? You know - how to eat cheap, buy cheap, budget, etc. Should we start something like that?
Well, OK, but I was asking about starting a thread on the Dope, not looking for links elsewhere. But thanks, I’m sure I’ll be reading that site, too.
I think that’s a great idea. Let’s make a thread full of resources and ideas, with links to other resources and ideas. Keep it stickied and easy to find.
Individual dopers with specific needs, and those who want to help them, can keep doing what they’ve been doing. PMs and private help is the way to go - we don’t want to make this place into a charity club. I would rather keep it how it’s been, with mod approval necessary for an “official” appeal for help, so we don’t have dozens of new guests signing up to tell their sob story in hopes of a handout.
A general “self-help” thread is smart and would surely help a lot of people. Like the “How to protect and clean your computer from malware” sticky in GQ - useful for most of us, and those who have more specific needs can still ask their questions in their own threads and get more targeted help.
Well that’s why I posted the link above – as an example of one way SD could go – create a FORUM for tips and advice and questions. A single thread becomes too burdensome to wade through after a time. And unless people check it regularly, how would anyone who had a specific question/problem know there was a new post about it in an ongoing thread?
All you did was post a link - it wasn’t clear you were suggesting the creation of a self-help forum within the SDMB.
Now that I know what you were getting at, yes, I think that’s also a good idea.
Unplug my dishwasher? Turn off the AC? Cut off the cable? If you ever had these things to cut off, but not much use to me personally, I’d have sold them by now anyway! 
I still think the thread is a good idea though.
COULD we start a self-help forum? Mods?
I think a self-help sticky in MPSIMS could be a good thing – but I don’t know that an entire forum would be self-sustaining.
Y’all can start this at any time.
Thanks.