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Giving to charity
RandomEngy
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I've had a job for a few years now and I've given to some charities, including Child's Play and our local United Way, but I don't really know what the best distribution is or if there are other places where aid is more needed.
My company matches charitable contributions dollar-for-dollar so I think it's important to carefully choose where the money is going.
What charities do you give to, and why?
My company matches charitable contributions dollar-for-dollar so I think it's important to carefully choose where the money is going.
What charities do you give to, and why?
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RandomEngy on
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There's always someone more in need of food than the one you're giving money to. A lot of charity organisations have no idea what the hell they're doing. Don't ever give money to Christian organisations, chances are they're going to spend it all on teaching poor sods that condoms are of the devil. Don't expect the organisation of choice to spend everything properly, usually half of it is spent on bribing the local government.
Don't donate clothes to developing countries, chances are that your clothes are going to push a local producer out of the market and into poverty.
Seriously, the best thing you can do is donate to an organisation you can relate to, Child's Play is great to help the poor sick kids in one of the richest countries in the world, just because you're not saving lives doesn't mean you're not making a kid happy for a while.
I used to give to a small Dutch organisation building orphanages in war torn regions, but I had to stop that due to lack of funds. My parents give money to WWF and to whoever stops by our door asking for a dime. Not really much of a reason for it other than the feeling you're doing some good to the planet.
- keep it local if possible
- keep it relevant to what you can relate to (it encourages you to keep giving)
- spread the wealth
- help charities that help people help themselves
Christian/non-Christian isn't as big a deal as some people will make. If you don't believe in it, give to a secular one, that's all. The last few I gave to were:
- A theater/arts company that teaches children appreciation of theater.
- Women's shelter for battered women (local).
I try to avoid charities with heavy politics attached. The money you give most likely is a drop in the hat and just perpetuates a political battle instead of real change.
Having seen the conditions in some women's shelters, I have to say that this is a noble cause.
When they can't afford to give penniless women (sometimes with kids) toothpaste or shampoo, you know things are fucked up.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Many of them are structured around shipping heavily subsidized American grain and food to impoverished nations. This ends up helping no one, since the local farmers end up being out-competed with the subsidized American imported food and people just stay poor. (Actually, this benefits the American companies that ship the grain to Africa).
Look for aid organizations that give your money directly to local economies in impoverished nations. The World Food Programme is pretty good with this, as far as I can tell.
Bread is usually not on the menu in Mozambique, because grain doesn't really do well down there. They once gave shiploads of grain to Mozambique during a famine, the Mozambican government invested in building bakeries around the country. The Mozambicans loved this bread, because it fitted in with their usual diet. So when the aid stopped and bakeries went out of business, the population demanded that more grain should be imported and/or grown on the land. So now Mozambique imports a shitton of grain per year, just because we, the Western World, decided it was a neat idea to provide them with food we eat here, instead of what they usually eat there.
I mean, it was nice of the non-governmental organisations to help Mozambique, but they had no idea what they were doing.
WTF? Christian charities are often the ones with the lowest administration percentages ensuring donations actually go to where they were intended.
Whatever charity you're thinking of donating to, research it first. How much money actually gets distributed? Is your money actually going where you expect? Will your money get diverted to something you really don't support? Those are the types of questions you need to ask.
For instance, some people have an issue with the United Way because of the way they distribute funds leading to money earmarked for one destination actually going to another. If that's an issue for you, donate directly.
If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to message me. Yes, that includes you.
I don't give to charity because I don't think charity makes sense.
She does make some good points.
"My views on charity are very simple. I do not consider it a major virtue and, above all, I do not consider it a moral duty. There is nothing wrong in helping other people, if and when they are worthy of the help and you can afford to help them. I regard charity as a marginal issue. What I am fighting is the idea that charity is a moral duty and a primary virtue." [From "Playboy's 1964 interview with Ayn Rand"]
You know that they, unlike some charities, are using all the money they get, and they are doing real good with it.
They need to help themselves before anyone else can help them.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was so wrong!
Welfare is flawed though.
I have money. What's their problem?
^Not the correct way to assess Charity.
If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to message me. Yes, that includes you.
I think your charity dollars go much further if you spend it on economic development. Microlending foundations are good and I've also heard that charities operating in the country of Tanzania don't have their missions blunted by corrupt government anywhere near as much as other sub-saharan countries.
I can see people being hurt on the news and not bat an eyelid, but when I heard a story on the radio the other day about how a group of young boys (10-12) ganged up on a kitten and tortured it to death, that makes me want to go on a killing spree.
And trust me, had I been there and caught them in the act, not a single one of them would be alive.
And I will stand in front of their parents and say that to their faces, too.
Cruelty to animals makes my blood boil. Cruelty to humans, not so much.
I cannot explain this.
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
for reasons im not perfectly sure i understand, i dislike giving money, whether it be to a charity or even as a gift.
Everyone else just gets my money if they ask for it. I'm pretty useless as being discerning with it, I figure if they have to ask, they could do with the five bucks.
Anyway, my point is that I'm a sucker for people who put effort in what they do, regardless of what it is.
Homeless dudes who have a story to tell are always awesome. I don't like to push for it because then you feel a bit "Dance, hobo! Dance for me!" But I've bought a meal for a guy just because he was so interesting to talk to. I never really understood homeless until I'd talked to a few people like him- not physically incapable, or mentally ill or beset by tragedy, just completely disconnected
That may be, but a disturbing number of them pretty much do nothing but sabotage efforts to enable families to control their fertility*, and preach old-school fire'n'brimstone guilt. And it works really well on poorly-educated, superstitious people who also happen to be pretty hungry. Not all christian charities are like this, so as you said, Do Your Research, but it is a well-known problem so don't get defensive when people point it out.
*The absolute #1 way to reduce poverty (and maternal and infant mortality) besides female education.
Decreasing fertility rarely, if ever, will cause growth, children are a microeconomic inferior good. Growth decreases fertility.
I am also a sucker for buying cookies/pasta/summer sausage from kids who come around to our door fund-raising for their middle school or school band program or what-have-you.
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
I just had a course of this in school. You are right, it's very important for development in poor countries..
I'm the same way. Partially because, up until very recently, I rarely had "excess" money to give away. Living paycheck to paycheck all by yourself, trying to save up for college, doesn't create a huge desire to donate to charity.
But I was always a firm believer in giving your time, rather than money. Your time can't be as easily wasted as money, nor can it be as easily misdirected or misused. Giving money makes it too easy at times. I've spent several years now working on the Habitat For Humanity project; somewhat because I have a bit of a background in construction, but also because there's nothing like watching a deserving family move into a house that you put a shitload of work (or a bare minimum, for some people) into building.
Plus there's the added benefit of meeting the family, and getting to say "Yeah...ignore the concrete puddle on your living room subfloor. My bad."
Honestly, I didn't research it, but I believe in what they do. Some quick googling has not come up with any criticisms of the CCF that I can find, but I didn't really look. If you guys want to 'correct' me, feel free.
Anyways, The Cat, I balked at the assertion 'chances are Christians are going to teach the poor sods that condoms are the devel' as well, not because it doesn't happen, but because that statement gives the impression that most do it and so you shouldn't support any of them.
Well, dismissing all Christian charities is a retarded idea. I suspect that you'd get defensive if someone said that all women just want to find a rich guy to take care of them. It is a well known problem.
I used to spend a fair bit of time doing charity work and often the Christian organizations were the most dedicated and transparent. There's money going around in the Red Cross, things can be expensed, etc. With many church based charities, if money needs to be spent to deliver donations, it comes out of somebody's pocket, not the donations. Catholic Charities USA directs over 95% of donations to programs, which is good, but if you don't like what they're doing, don't donate. Like people, each charity is different. Choose carefully where to spend your time and money.
If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to message me. Yes, that includes you.
I don't contribute to them currently, but I'd like to second Doctors Without Borders as a noble cause.