The business of charity

[Scarey]

I have never given money to charity.I get snotty when i'm asked for two dollars at the till of various stores when i'm checking out.I'd bet someone, somewhere had marketing done that shows people are more likely to give if they are put on the spot. I've always believed that many of these charities are money fronts and little else, ESPECIALLY the bigger ones.Hard journalism is a good thing.Very good article.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/13/us/worst-charities/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

PS I have volunteered at various organizations at the "street level".Corporate charities are as far from that as you can get.

 

[elmo]

Stores collect the money and give it to a charity...then take the tax break and make themselves look like a good corporate citizen when they are actually giving your money, not theirs. Don't ever give at a store.

 

[Art Mann]

Excellent article. Occasionally CNN gets things right. No surprise this time, in view of Tampa Bay Times and Centre For Investigative Reporting leading the way.

I rarely give money at the till. But for years I have donated to United Way through payroll deduction.

Also, from the time my son was an infant, I have donated to World Vision in his name to support a Third-World child, actually several of them over the years, always a girl since I believe their lives are even more grim than that of boys.

 

[yolosohobby]

i dont like all of the clipboard kids on the Streets soliciting donations. Too many are flip and make snide remarks under their breath .

 

[Petzel]

I used to donate and sponsor a little Indian girl through Plan International (formerly Foster Parents Plan) and supported her from the age of 5 to adulthood. I felt very good doing that. That's the only way we can help people............one person at a time. Here $30 buys nothing but in 3rd world countries, it can mean the difference between life and death for these poor children.

 

[Rockslinger]

i dont like all of the clipboard kids on the Streets soliciting donations.

A citizen can't walk more than 3 blocks now without being asked for money.

 

[rld]

I have never given money to charity.I get snotty when i'm asked for two dollars at the till of various stores when i'm checking out.I'd bet someone, somewhere had marketing done that shows people are more likely to give if they are put on the spot. I've always believed that many of these charities are money fronts and little else, ESPECIALLY the bigger ones.Hard journalism is a good thing.Very good article.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/13/us/worst-charities/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

PS I have volunteered at various organizations at the "street level".Corporate charities are as far from that as you can get.

I have given a lot of money to charities and had a lot of fun doing it. Last weekend I did the Ride to Conquer Cancer. It is a very efficient charity and well worth supporting.

You need to be picky about which charities to give to, but to suggest the bigger ones are particularly inefficient, in many cases is not true.

 

[rld]

I used to donate and sponsor a little Indian girl through Plan International (formerly Foster Parents Plan) and supported her from the age of 5 to adulthood. I felt very good doing that. That's the only way we can help people............one person at a time. Here $30 buys nothing but in 3rd world countries, it can mean the difference between life and death for these poor children.

While the idea is good, charities based on sponsoring specific receipients tend to have higher advertising and administrative costs than those that don't.

But your comment on how far the money goes explains exactly why most of my charitable giving is aimed overseas.

 

[gudnite]

Very little of your money actually gets to the people or cause. The big charities CEO's earn big $$$ plus big bonus thats were most of your money goes. The managemnet staff also does very well,so maybe 25 % of every dollar goes to the cause. I only give to the Sally Anne . They do the most with the least..

 

[rld]

Very little of your money actually gets to the people or cause. The big charities CEO's earn big $$$ plus big bonus thats were most of your money goes. The managemnet staff also does very well,so maybe 25 % of every dollar goes to the cause. I only give to the Sally Anne . They do the most with the least..

Some big charities have bad ratios but very few. The Sally Anne is a huge charity in North America, but neither the largest nor the most efficient.

In fact the largest charity in the US is listed as one of the five best by Forbes and is more efficient than the Sally Anne and not involved in the same political struggles.

 

[LuxeLadyAmber]

A helpful link: http://www.charityintelligence.ca/

 

[Prophet]

I love how you guys let an American news article tell you what to think about charity in Canada. Charity Intelligence does medicre work at best and leads with a lot of assumptions that need to be understood and sometimes challenged. What most people who criticize never clearly explain is how they think any organization is supposed to deliver on mission without spending on operations including raising money. I suspect there is a direct correlation to those who think government can pave roads without collecting taxes, either.

 

[gdurham]

I give to a number of charities. But I like to choose the charities I support. For this reason I never feel bad about turning someone away at my door, on the street, or at the till.

I will say that the next time I get asked at a cash register I am going to make a note to send an email to the company. I think that is complete BS for a company to solicit charitable donations from thier customers.

 

[TeasePlease]

I love how you guys let an American news article tell you what to think about charity in Canada. Charity Intelligence does medicre work at best and leads with a lot of assumptions that need to be understood and sometimes challenged. What most people who criticize never clearly explain is how they think any organization is supposed to deliver on mission without spending on operations including raising money. I suspect there is a direct correlation to those who think government can pave roads without collecting taxes, either.

There's plenty of evidence of charity frauds in Canuckland. There's a reason why the CRA has been targeting charities in recent years. The issue isn't that charities spend money on operating costs, it's proportionality.

 

[thumper18474]

We have 5 sponsored children thru World Vision...and have gone over to actually meet 2 of them.. after jumping thru security hoops mind you... our 33/mo. per child is met with an inkind donation of 4-5 to 1
The money does not go directly to your child but to an ADP(area development program) in the childs area, it helps build schools, clinics and provides the necessities to enable the entire area/village to thrive. there may be as many as 10-20 sponsored children in a particular ADP..so do the math.
we always thought that when these charities show a child in need on TV....they pick the worst of the worst to pull at your heart strings and purse strings.. but not true !I have seen it first hand in my travels.....the difference between a charity sponsored area and one that isn't is scary!...healthy children in one and dying children in another area only a few Klics away...is disturbing but that's the reality of it all...the money you send doesn't get side tracked...
less that .05 on the dollar goes to admin. costs at WV.....

MY .05 cents

 

[freedom3]

We have 5 sponsored children thru World Vision...and have gone over to actually meet 2 of them.. after jumping thru security hoops mind you... our 33/mo. per child is met with an inkind donation of 4-5 to 1
The money does not go directly to your child but to an ADP(area development program) in the childs area, it helps build schools, clinics and provides the necessities to enable the entire area/village to thrive. there may be as many as 10-20 sponsored children in a particular ADP..so do the math.
we always thought that when these charities show a child in need on TV....they pick the worst of the worst to pull at your heart strings and purse strings.. but not true !I have seen it first hand in my travels.....the difference between a charity sponsored area and one that isn't is scary!...healthy children in one and dying children in another area only a few Klics away...is disturbing but that's the reality of it all...the money you send doesn't get side tracked...
less that .05 on the dollar goes to admin. costs at WV.....

MY .05 cents

I feel a bit bad now. I cancelled my sponsored child when I saw the nice World Vision building in Mississauga. I assumed that's where my money was going.

 

[Prophet]

There's plenty of evidence of charity frauds in Canuckland. There's a reason why the CRA has been targeting charities in recent years. The issue isn't that charities spend money on operating costs, it's proportionality.

I'm quite aware of how the CRA acts in this matter. Even a basic understanding would show that the charities under fire are not the major ones doing the best work. High profile doesn't correlate with corrupt activities in my opinion.