Do any of you make contributions to charity organizations that keep sending you mails? They keep sending me stuff and I feel guilty if I don't rise to the call, so I do chip in my part occasionally. However I also hear from people that the mojority of the funds is used to run the organization instead of helping those that the money is intended for. They can hide the flow of the funds pretty well even when the accounts are published. So do you guys do it or are there better ways to make sure the money gets where it is needed most?

thanks

 

I know a good bit about this so here's the scoop.

To answer your last question, it is best to give to a local charity whose work you are somewhat familiar with. That's your best insurance. Campaigns like CFC and United Way are an easy workplace-oriented way to give but they chew up about 7% and won't let the charity get in contact with you (although that's starting to change.) Still, they are not bad.

The repeat mailings definitely have a net gain in funds for the charity. That's why they are done. There is a little bit of science to this. But you shouldn't feel guilty if you don't contribute and the appeal shouldn't be aimed at your guilt. You should feel proud if you do make a gift. That's what it is, a gift.

The thing to remember is that most charaties aren't in the business of raising money. They're in the business of using donations to further charitable activities. The activity came first, the fundraising arose to persue it.

That said, almost all cash register change boxes are scams and what the Red Cross has lately been criticized for has been going on for decades. Boy Scouts omit gay people and the Salvation Army spent tens of thousands (of donations) to lobby for the right to discriminate in employment. It's best to know your charity first-hand.

 

I donated my Civic last year to Charity. I think the one I went to was a big scam. My civic was fixed up and I saw it on the street. The removed exhaust, roll bars, wheels, and accessories. I was pissed. The guy I took it to just pocketed the money himself. I should have known when I went to the guys tiny house which he rented out a closet size room to two exchange students to get money from the goverment.

Totally sucks that there are these kindsa ppl

 

Go to the IRS website and find their list of
Charitable organizations to see if the one you want to give to (like your car s2k fan) are listed. Then at least you will know if they are a qualified charity. You still won't know how well they spend their money, but there is probably a website somewhere that ranks charities by the % that actually goes for the need, vs. overhead.

 

It's not a 100% list, but it is rather comprehensive - you can start at the CFC (Combined Federal Campaign) website. They list all the approved federal organizations and the percentage of fundraising and administrative costs as a percentage of total revenue.

Here's a link to the website: http://www.opm.gov/cfc/

...and a link to an Excel spreadsheet with the percentages of admin costs (the CCHRPCT column): http://www.opm.gov/cfc/01-lists/2001-CFC-N...TABASEfinal.xls