Do you give money to "charity" ?

I caught a thing, just the other day, where a GFM sort of outfit actually had a rider stating that they can't guarantee all the money will go to who ye intend, or be used for what ye intended.

Can't slap up a link as it's just something I saw out the corner of my eye while reading stories.

No personal experience of GFM type set ups. I'd sooner send money direct to who ever concerned me though.

Charridies? They ask? They don't get. I'll not pay for their chuggers.

Used to. But since scandals started I only give to the Red Cross at times of appeal (100% of Red Cross admin costs are met by the government which means 100% of donation gets used for the intended benefit).

Also buy toys for the local woman's aid shelter at Xmas.

I think it depends a lot on how you donate.

If you donate to random collectors then you may never know how much of your donation will reach those you intended it to.

If, however, you make a conscious decision to donate a fixed amount to a specific charity (or more than one) on a regular basis then you can research that charity to establish the admin costs and then set up a standing order to that charity's bank account. It doesn't have to be a large amount. If it's a regular donation, it all adds up.

That's what I do with one particular charity. I do intend to choose a second charity and do the same.

People donate to charity collections for many reasons - one of them being guilt. I no longer feel that I should donate to collections that I encounter in the street as I'm already doing my bit (I still do donate sometimes, though).

If a collector calls to my house in the evening (which is something that really annoys me) I simply tell them that I donate monthly by standing order and don't donate at the door.

Of course, none of the above stops you from ad hoc donations: collections for the local school or sports club in your local supermarket; a couple of Euro to a homeless person on a cold night. They all count too.

I don't donate to "charity", but I do donate to a number of local charities. None of them have a CEO, none of them even employ paid staff, they are run entirely by volunteers. And the work that they do is amazing.

Tom05 wrote: »

I think "charities" are some of biggest scams going.


Over 80% of the money they bring in can go into "administration" before they even give out a penny to the people that need it.

If someone from a "charity" asks me for money the first question I ask them is how much their CEO is being paid.

When they tell me the salary of the CEO I say to them "you must be joking your asking me for money when your CEO gets 140k".

A far better solution to having "charities" would be to give money directly to the people that need it. With the likes of gofundme etc.

I used to think more or less the same thing, then I watched this TED talk and now I'm somewhat conflicted. It's about a quarter of an hour long and well worth a watch.

https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong

I think in the case of Dan Pallotta, what he says is true - you pay the big bucks to get someone who has the skills to make a real difference, there are people out there who would like to help and who have the skills and education to make a real difference, but at the end of the day why should they sacrifice their own families future to do so when they could be earning big bucks elsewhere. There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to do well for yourself and your family.

However I still reckon he's the exception rather than the rule, most times when I hear of a CEO on huge money I just think scam, possibly scamola.

As for myself I have 1 direct debit that comes out every month to a childrens hospice, two words that shouldn't even go together. Apart from throwing the odd fiver into a collection box or signing a sponsor card in work every now and then I don't really give anything more.

We sponsor a child through a charity, and we checked them out before hand. They do spend a percentage of the donation on admin costs of course but they score very well with websites who give reports on these things.

I may get piled on, but I work for a charity.

I get a decent wage (I'm not CEO!), it pays the mortgage and the bills.

I'm doing what I love, using my skills to effect change.

We don't collect money from the public though. Never have and I sincerely doubt we ever will.

I urge everyone who is thinking about donating to a charity to look them up, check them on the regulators website, look at the financial statements (they should have them on the CRA site and their own site, but if they aren't there ask for them), there are lots of good charities out there that are doing a lot with quite a little.

99% of the charities I know are so keen to prove their worth and demonstrate transparency. We hate what the scandals have done, that's not what we got into the sector to do. I could be making a lot more money if I had stayed in my original career path, or if I moved out of the sector, but I won't.

I donate to 2 different charities. One is a children's one, the other is a hospice. The children's one I did some research on how the money is spent through the accounts etc and I didn't see anything that raised concerns for me in terms of salaries etc.

In regards the hospice - I know that the head does not take a salary at all and that there are only a couple of admin people who are fully employed, the rest are volunteers. The nurses, doctors and social workers are paid for by the hse.

murpho999 wrote: »

What is a highly paid CEO?

€130k is not that much money for a CEO who probably brings in a lot more money and services.

People need to get over this idea that charity work should be voluntary.

Not promoting the excesses of CRC before people say it.

I think people make the assumption that you are literally paying the persons wages when you think you are paying for health treatments for kids etc. That must be galling if you don't think it through like an investment.

If a charity is getting say €100,000 a year in donations, and take on a CEO or fundraising manager that costs €50,000 a year but within that year triples their donations, then that's arguable a very good deal. Even taking the salary into account they've multiplied their income by 2.5, meaning more than double to service can be provided. It comes down to value.