Are there any legitimate charities in Ireland ?

Simon2015

From what I can see most "charities" in Ireland are basically businesses who pay their CEO's massive 6 figure salaries.

Does anyone know of "charities" in Ireland were the people running them either don't get paid or get a modest wage ?

I don't think "charities" should have the right to call themselves a charity when the people running them are getting rich off the charity.

racso1975

Look this all depends on your view point. Some people view them as a business and in some cases they are bigger then a lot of them with huge amount of employees that require the same level management as any company that size.

For me what is absolutely ridiculous is that the HSE is a charity.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Any charity that pays their CEO more than the president of the USA is not a charity in my book and I wouldn't give them one red cent. I have told Corncern collectors as much.

Simon2015

The CEO of Cancer Research UK which is supposed to be a charity gets paid £240,000 a year.

If you want to get rich it seems the way to do it is set up a "charity".

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/582911/charity-salaries-donations-Cancer-Research-NSPCC-Amnesty-Olive-Cooke

lawlolawl

They are just businesses that sell guilt relief.

SB_Part2

http://www.capuchindaycentre.ie/Capuchin_Day_Centre_2013/Capuchin_Day_Centre_for_Homeless_People.html

Sue Pa Key Pa

Well, I've given to charity all my adult life. However, I've lost faith in each & every one of them now. Terrible position to be in when there are so many worthy causes. I try to help individuals directly.

Dave_The_Sheep

Scouting Ireland (or just Scouts) is a charity. We do have a CEO but I don't know how much our CEO is paid, nor the general admin people in the head office.

I can say that the vast vast majority of the "workers" (Scout leaders) aren't paid.

Grayson

I think it was rehab that had the CEO that was paid over a hundred grand but it turns out he managed to bring in millions extra in fundraising.

the CEO of a charity doesn't just monitor the activities of a charity. If it can get extra money then it can expand the care it gives. That CEO earned every penny of his money and was worth every penny he got paid. And many more people besides him benefited because of it.

Tabnabs

Lifeboats/RNLI are a genuine charity where most of your euro goes back into the charity itself.

Grayson

btw, if I'm giving to a charity I choose either Temple St or MSF. MSF go to the worst hellholes on the planet and help people who need it the most. Temple street saved my life as a child so I have a soft spot for them.

FBWT

Tabnabs wrote: »

Lifeboats/RNLI are a genuine charity where most of your euro goes back into the charity itself.

Yep, they're one of the few charities that I trust, along with Kerry Mountain Rescue.

karenalot

Simon2015 wrote: »

Does anyone know of "charities" in Ireland were the people running them either don't get paid or get a modest wage ?

I can name at least 100 animal rescues in Ireland that are volunteer ran and don't get paid a wage whatsoever. Nearly all of them are small organisations. It's very disheartening for them too to see CEO's and staff on big money when they are breaking their backs for free purely out of love and genuine concern for the animals.

foxy farmer

Grayson wrote: »

I think it was rehab that had the CEO that was paid over a hundred grand but it turns out he managed to bring in millions extra in fundraising.

the CEO of a charity doesn't just monitor the activities of a charity. If it can get extra money then it can expand the care it gives. That CEO earned every penny of his money and was worth every penny he got paid. And many more people besides him benefited because of it.

Actually SHE was earning 240k. And is now sueing the state claiming they went on a witch hunt to discredit her. Claims she contemplated suicide over being questioned about her salary.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Grayson wrote: »

btw, if I'm giving to a charity I choose either Temple St or MSF. MSF go to the worst hellholes on the planet and help people who need it the most. Temple street saved my life as a child so I have a soft spot for them.

Nobody is doubting that any of the causes are worthwhile. It's the organisations that have let these cause down that I have an issue with

Winterlong

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

Well, I've given to charity all my adult life. However, I've lost faith in each & every one of them now. Terrible position to be in when there are so many worthy causes. I try to help individuals directly.

I am in the same boat. The only money I donate now is for local community causes.
I am sure there are good honest national charities out there but hard to know which ones are self serving and which are genuine.
Angela Kearns and Paul Kelly have a lot to answer for,

222233

i have no experience of larger charities but a lot of smaller more community focused ones.

What I have learnt about these smaller charities is that they generally start up out of sheer good will and someone hoping to make a difference. From my experience I have noticed that over time the initial reason for setting up a charity becomes less important, the tasks which the charity were supposed to be doing eg. saving shall we say dogs soon turn into administration, fundraising projects, salary questions and meetings about how more fundraising can be obtained.

Unfortunately (this is just an opinion) the person in control typically tends to be a power seeker, charities insist on paying wages in some cases 2x the amount which is spent on the tasks the charity is supposed to be fundraising for when there are MANY people dying to get involved on a voluntary basis. I noted a lot of retired people in particular would offer their experience very generously but always pushed aside in favour of someone who wants the salary.

I have moved around often to try and find a charity that sticks for me to volunteer with, sadly despite the search I felt that they were all the same - I have no doubt there are great charities out there, unfortunately with the one's I have encountered obtaining money and gaining power had become the primary purpose.

Jawgap

SVP?

Btw, any 'charity' that uses chuggers gets nothing from me - if they can afford chuggers they don't need donations.

Amnesty would be another one that's lost my support over the years as they seem to have shifted away from their original purpose - prisoners of conscience in foreign countries - towards domestic campaigning on social issues here.

kupus

Simon2015 wrote: »

From what I can see most "charities" in Ireland are basically businesses who pay their CEO's massive 6 figure salaries.

Does anyone know of "charities" in Ireland were the people running them either don't get paid or get a modest wage ?

I don't think "charities" should have the right to call themselves a charity when the people running them are getting rich off the charity.

simple answer..... Nope.

but there is local ones that do fundraising and you can see yourself where the money is going. THese are the real charities.

The others are just tax dodging cnuts, that play on your emotions.

Winterlong

Jawgap wrote: »

SVP?

.

I used to give to them every christmas as my granddad was active with them.
But then heard that they are seen as a soft touch by some people who dont need charity but go to the SVP to 'see what we can get this time off them'.

mahamageehad

There are plenty of local charities, hospices and animal shelters for one. I was involved in a lot of fundraising for about 4 years and we had a very simple way of distributing the money- we never gave cash to anyone. We paid for new beds for hospices and to get the roof repaired on a clubhouse, but after the first year or so we learned that giving cash causes trouble.

Jawgap

Winterlong wrote: »

I used to give to them every christmas as my granddad was active with them.
But then heard that they are seen as a soft touch by some people who dont need charity but go to the SVP to 'see what we can get this time off them'.

I've heard that too - but at least what's raised locally seems to get spent locally rather than disappear into some unfathomable blackhole.

s4uv3

Tabnabs wrote: »

Lifeboats/RNLI are a genuine charity where most of your euro goes back into the charity itself.

I can vouch for them, they're as decent and proper as you'll get. I work with them as a volunteer, and wouldn't do unless I trusted them 100%.

Spanish Eyes

Only the Capuchins and the RNLI for me. I hope I am never disappointed in them.

The rest of them can sing for my money, they ain't getting it.

And as for the Third World stuff, our Government i.e. taxpayers of this country contribute in the region of €700,000,000 (yes that is €700 million) PER ANNUM to Foreign Aid.

No one asks the activists giving out about our homeless etc. about that kind of money being donated from our tax receipts on our behalf do they?

And we still have cries from the likes of Trocaire and Goal looking for money for the Third World. WTAF?

Too many chiefs and they will not merge. Too bad so.

222233

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

And as for the Third World stuff, our Government i.e. taxpayers of this country contribute in the region of €700,000,000 (yes that is €700 million) PER ANNUM to Foreign Aid.

Interesting you point that out, have heard many a talk of volunteers abroad driving around in new jeeps.

Jawgap

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Only the Capuchins and the RNLI for me. I hope I am never disappointed in them.

The rest of them can sing for my money, they ain't getting it.

And as for the Third World stuff, our Government i.e. taxpayers of this country contribute in the region of €700,000,000 (yes that is €700 million) PER ANNUM to Foreign Aid.

No one asks the activists giving out about our homeless etc. about that kind of money being donated from our tax receipts on our behalf do they?

And we still have cries from the likes of Trocaire and Goal looking for money for the Third World. WTAF?

Too many chiefs and they will not merge. Too bad so.

.....which equates to 39 cents in every €100 that the country produces (even less now with the recovery gathering pace).

.....and it's more like €600m and a good chunk of it (€140m) goes as a contribution to the EU Development Co-operation Budget.

It's not a lot in the overall scheme of things and even if you threw all of it at the homelessness situation it wouldn't make a dent because lack of money is not a main driver of homelessness.

eamonnq

The charities that 'raise awareness' of issues are ones that seem a bit odd to me, they don't actually seem to help with anything as in they don't appear to directly offer any services but are solely involved in 'raising awareness'. I think most people are aware of mental health issues for example so 'raising awareness' seems a bit pointless (as in any resources should be directed to actually providing services).

riffmongous

I hope SVP are not doing anything dodgy, I know from being on the receiving end that they do a lot of good work helping people and they would be missed by the genuine cases

RDM_83 again

Don't give to the Irish Red Cross anyway, they carried out some shameless antics over the last few years, not sure what the international red crosses are like

LordSutch

Oxfam & St Vincent de'Paul.

Zxclnic

Here's some modest salaries.
Because they're worth it!

http://www.thejournal.ie/irish-charity-ceo-salaries-spending-best-practice-2659408-Mar2016/

Spanish Eyes

Jawgap wrote: »

.....which equates to 39 cents in every €100 that the country produces (even less now with the recovery gathering pace).

.....and it's more like €600m and a good chunk of it (€140m) goes as a contribution to the EU Development Co-operation Budget.

It's not a lot in the overall scheme of things and even if you threw all of it at the homelessness situation it wouldn't make a dent because lack of money is not a main driver of homelessness.

It is a HUGE amount of money no matter what way you look at it. Every year too. All through the recession too, when things were awful for a lot of people here in our own country.

Anyway, since you seem to know so much about Foreign Aid, how would you rate its accountability to us as taxpayers?

I see a lot of flowery language and verbose reports on DFA websites. I just hope its not another tinderbox waiting to explode.

If it does, the psychiatric hospitals in the country won't have any room left to put the directors into after a sudden "illness".

I am a cynic to my fingertips. So I let others convince me otherwise.

Tauriel

I wouldn't hesitate to give money to The Friends of Marymount, (Marymount Hospice in Cork), as I have had the misfortune of seeing their hard work and dedication first hand.

My mother availed of their palliative care for 2 years and spent her final fortnight in there. My mother was treated with the upmost respect and dignity and the nurses in there would do anything for the patient.

I also availed of their bereavement services and it didn't cost a thing. Marymount genuinely put the people in their care and their families first.

I try to give back to them whenever the opportunity arises. I will always be grateful and admire the very difficult work that these men and women do.

satguy

I just don't give anymore ,,, the list of CEO's on huge money just puts me off.. Most are on 100K to 150K ,, with some taking 250K ...

Spanish Eyes

mustang shelly wrote: »

I wouldn't hesitate to give money to The Friends of Marymount, (Marymount Hospice in Cork), as I have had the misfortune of seeing their hard work and dedication first hand.

My mother availed of their palliative care for 2 years and spent her final fortnight in there. My mother was treated with the upmost respect and dignity and the nurses in there would do anything for the patient.

I also availed of their bereavement services and it didn't cost a thing. Marymount genuinely put the people in their care and their families first.

I try to give back to them whenever the opportunity arises. I will always be grateful and admire the very difficult work that these men and women do.

Hospices and hospitals should NEVER need charitable funds ever.

Sorry about that, it is a basic need and a humanity that should be given to anyone who needs it from the public purse.

I too had a younger sister who died in Marymount. The care was par excellent for sure. It should be funded completely by our taxes. No charitable donations should be required for such a basic human need. To die in dignity and pain free.

You have brought up some things for me that I thought I had moved on from. Sorry, but there we are.

Jawgap

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

It is a HUGE amount of money no matter what way you look at it. Every year too. All through the recession too, when things were awful for a lot of people here in our own country.

Anyway, since you seem to know so much about Foreign Aid, how would you rate its accountability to us as taxpayers?

I see a lot of flowery language and verbose reports on DFA websites. I just hope its not another tinderbox waiting to explode.

If it does, the psychiatric hospitals in the country won't have any room left to put the directors into after a sudden "illness".

I am a cynic to my fingertips. So I let others convince me otherwise.

Relative to what we spend on health, it's a tiny amount - 0.39% of our GNP to people who have a lot, lot less than we have.

Anyway, if we're not going to do foreign aid, what about other parts of the budget? Maybe we should stop funding libraries, art galleries and museums - that would free up a good chunk of cash and a lot of town centre buildings to be used to house homeless people. How much do you reckon we'd get for the paintings in National Gallery, or for the collection of early and pre-Christian gold in the National Museum?

Tauriel

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Hospices and hospitals should NEVER need charitable funds ever.

Sorry about that, it is a basic need and a humanity that should be given to anyone who needs it from the public purse.

I too had a younger sister who died in Marymount. The care was par excellent for sure. It should be funded completely by our taxes. No charitable donations should be required for such a basic human need. To die in dignity and pain free.

You have brought up some things for me that I thought I had moved on from. Sorry, but there we are.

Oh I agree 100%.

It goes to show the lack of empathy of the Irish Government that places like Marymount have to ask the public for donations.

I have always said that the Government doesn't view the terminally ill as human beings. But instead they seem to try to put them in the grave earlier, (my mother had her medical card taken off of her because and I quote "her circumstances hadn't changed" as she remained terminally ill for a few years).

I'm absolutely disgusted with how our Constitution and our politicans view the terminally and long term ill.

Bubbaclaus

'Any spare change for the bus' is a legitimate Irish charity. They seem to be always collecting in Dublin, even during the bus strike.

Zxclnic

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

'Any spare change for the bus' is a legitimate Irish charity. They seem to be always collecting in Dublin, even during the bus strike.

That's just cutting out the middle-man.
Bus strikes don't last forever, it's called forward planning.:)

Sue Pa Key Pa

Jawgap wrote: »

SVP?
.

I genuinely wouldn't give them the skin off my.....proverbial.

Pherekydes

Touch Ireland.

TOUCH Ireland was launched in July 2003. We are trying to be different in that all the money we raise goes directly to our projects. How many times have you asked yourself when you give a donation to a charity how much of it goes to the actual project and how much goes to administration or other costs. This means that we pay no salaries and try to support our running cost and our office through a dedicated fundraising event. This allows all financial donations made by the public and other groups to go directly to our projects where they want the full benefit of their donations to go.

foxy farmer

Reading the annual reports would open your eyes. The amount of dry money in banks regardless of incoming donations and outgoing contributions is amazing. I recall one charity collecting 16million giving out 14 million and still having 14 million in the bank.
A charity shouldn't be holding onto sums like that.

Spanish Eyes

Jawgap wrote: »

Relative to what we spend on health, it's a tiny amount - 0.39% of our GNP to people who have a lot, lot less than we have.

Anyway, if we're not going to do foreign aid, what about other parts of the budget? Maybe we should stop funding libraries, art galleries and museums - that would free up a good chunk of cash and a lot of town centre buildings to be used to house homeless people. How much do you reckon we'd get for the paintings in National Gallery, or for the collection of early and pre-Christian gold in the National Museum?

Read some posts above about terminally ill people in hospices. In their last days.

The hospices need charitable donations. WTAF?

Now sorry. That is not on, if we are spending 700m on unaccountable taxpayer funds to countries that many of us have never even heard of.

I accept the issue of hospice care is close to the bone for me. But so what? I am disgusted that such places need funding from donations when the Government just pass on so much money to the Foreign Aid Budget without so much as a by your leave.

Jawgap

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Read some posts above about terminally ill people in hospices. In their last days.

The hospices need charitable donations. WTAF?

Now sorry. That is not on, if we are spending 700m on unaccountable taxpayer funds to countries that many of us have never even heard of.

I accept the issue of hospice care is close to the bone for me. But so what? I am disgusted that such places need funding from donations when the Government just pass on so much money to the Foreign Aid Budget without so much as a by your leave.

I've had relatives go through St Francis in Raheny so I've some comprehension of the unbelievable work that goes on there.....

.....does that mean we should, for example, stop funding museums, libraries, galleries and plough that money into the hospice movement?

Given the amount of EU and foreign aid we've gotten over the years do you not think it would be a bit rich for us not to 'pay it forward' now we've a bit of prosperity?

Samaris

I am a bit amused that, thanks to the topic of this thread, the ad at the bottom of the page is for Oxfam.

Simon2015

"Charities" have become a legal way of scamming people.

Spanish Eyes

Jawgap wrote: »

I've had relatives go through St Francis in Raheny so I've some comprehension of the unbelievable work that goes on there.....

.....does that mean we should, for example, stop funding museums, libraries, galleries and plough that money into the hospice movement?

Given the amount of EU and foreign aid we've gotten over the years do you not think it would be a bit rich for us not to 'pay it forward' now we've a bit of prosperity?

You made a big leap there WRT museums and art galleries and the like.

At least they are being enjoyed by our taxpayers who fund them, and our visitors.

What benefit do we get from funding things under the Foreign Aid budget?

Oh yes.... another pat on the head for the Government for contributing. Thought so.

We are now net contributors to the EU budget. That's a good thing. And we used our EU funding quite wisely I think.

Don't know if the same can be said for our contribution to Foreign Aid.

Once again, I will ask you, who is accountable for it? I cannot find any line by line audit anyway.

The_Valeyard

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

I genuinely wouldn't give them the skin off my.....proverbial.

Why?

Jawgap

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

You made a big leap there WRT museums and art galleries and the like.

At least they are being enjoyed by our taxpayers who fund them, and our visitors.

What benefit do we get from funding things under the Foreign Aid budget?

Oh yes.... another pat on the head for the Government for contributing. Thought so.

We are now net contributors to the EU budget. That's a good thing. And we used our EU funding quite wisely I think.

Don't know if the same can be said for our contribution to Foreign Aid.

Once again, I will ask you, who is accountable for it? I cannot find any line by line audit anyway.

Riiiiight, but you're willing to pass value judgments on it :rolleyes:

You seem to see our foreign aid budget as a waste, that it could be re-directed to better things in Ireland.......I'm just wondering if arts and culture (and I suppose sports) budgets shouldn't be redirected to, for example, the hospice movement? Wouldn't Farmleigh make a better hospice than government B&B?

Point being governing is about choice and prioritisation - and foreign aid doesn't give us any meaningful economic benefit relative to the amount invested, but it is altruistic and recognises the fact that this country has benefitted from huge chunks of foreign aid over the last 50 or so years.

Likewise, the national galleries and museums don't charge entry fees and soak up resources while acting as significant wealth banks - if foreign aid is economically not justified then is the money spent on the Ardagh Chalice, Carravagios and Katie Taylor?

Spanish Eyes

Jawgap wrote: »

Riiiiight, but you're willing to pass value judgments on it :rolleyes:

You seem to see our foreign aid budget as a waste, that it could be re-directed to better things in Ireland.......I'm just wondering if arts and culture (and I suppose sports) budgets shouldn't be redirected to, for example, the hospice movement? Wouldn't Farmleigh make a better hospice than government B&B?

Point being governing is about choice and prioritisation - and foreign aid doesn't give us any meaningful economic benefit relative to the amount invested, but it is altruistic and recognises the fact that this country has benefitted from huge chunks of foreign aid over the last 50 or so years.

Likewise, the national galleries and museums don't charge entry fees and soak up resources while acting as significant wealth banks - if foreign aid is economically not justified then is the money spent on the Ardagh Chalice, Carravagios and Katie Taylor?

Sorry, you did not answer my point.

Is it better to fund indigenous causes than a foreign cause that no one knows about and appears to be largely unaccountable?

Maybe you could answer that.

Zxclnic

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Sorry, you did not answer my point.

Is it better to fund indigenous causes than a foreign cause that no one knows about and appears to be largely unaccountable?

Maybe you could answer that.

That's all fine and dandy until you get to the people from the countries who can't afford to fund their own indigenous causes.
Do we, as a country, just turn our backs?