Comments on: 5 Reasons to be Skeptical of Charities

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 02:33:41 +0000

As the VP of a small 501C charity organization, my advice is to check out the charity to which you’re donating, thoroughly. Ask who their beneficiaries are; how much of the money is actually sent to the beneficiaries and how much is paid to the officers (in our case, that’s zero – we’re all volunteers).

By: mIKES

mIKES — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:44:25 +0000

Volunteer your time *at* a charity. Sweat equity.

Second Harvest Food Bank in Nashville will be happy to keep you busy for a good cause.

By: Bicycle Bill

Bicycle Bill — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:06:27 +0000

I live in a metro area of over 65K and the weather is starting to cool off now, so I’m beginning to see these moochers at the same stoplights at the same corners; you know, the ones with the cardboard signs about “will work for food” or “unemployed/please help”?
(It’s interesting, btw, that they weren’t there when the temps were in the 90s….but I digress.)

I’m thinking of printing up some facsimile single-sided $10.00 bills — not actually duplicating the face of real US current, just close enough so that it might look like a real ten-spot when I hand it to them out the window. Then, on the back would be a message along the line of “fall’s coming; take some of the money you’ve already been given and buy a rake. There’s enough people out there willing to pay you to rake their leaves. You’ll actually be accomplishing something, and you’ll stop cluttering up the highway.”

As Ben Franklin once wrote, “The Lord helps those who help themselves”.

-”BB”-

By: patrickg

patrickg — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 05:58:30 +0000

This article is pathetic and incredibly ignorant, even for the internet.

Real charities – not the semi/il-legal outifts you describe are very strict about how much money can be spent on anything other than aid. The figure is usually less than 10%.

The other points are equally moronic. It’s like writing an article called “Why I don’t Trust Cars”, and then focussing on the dodgy deathtrap you can buy in Albania, instead of a real represenation about what’s out there, and the laws in place to protect people.

By: arfies

arfies — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:44:45 +0000

When I was in NYC this summer, I’d always see a couple people on the street shaking a cup of coins. I felt guilty passing them by, but I also didn’t want to give them money and have it turn out they weren’t actually homeless and were just panhandling. Or that they would just spend it on drugs and such.

A list of NYC’s homeless shelters are available on the internet. Not much use, since I really doubt that homeless people had internet access, and to use it at the library required a card… which required a home address. So I printed the list, wrote “They can help you much more than I can. God bless” on the back (it was true- broke college student here). My theory was if they really wanted help, they’d go. If they didn’t, I knew they were faking. It would help the people who really needed it and wouldn’t benefit the panhandlers.

Once I gave the list to a girl and her boyfriend, who were both really grateful, and I never saw them again, so I assume they were telling the truth. Another time I gave the list to a man who reappeared at the exact same corner a few days later. Now, I knew he spoke English and could read and write (his sign, and I spoke to him myself), and was mobile (he disappeared from the corner every night). Voila: panhandler.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:04:31 +0000

I have to agree with all the other criticisms of this post–what a downer! What is most disturbing about this post is the sanctimonious boasting about not giving “one penny” to the not-for-profit sector.

It’s a comfort that this blog’s readers seem too smart to give up on charitable giving due to a few bad organizations out there. Like most other comments have emphasized, you just have to do your homework before making a donation. I treat charitable giving just like any other financial decision I’d make: I try to be a smart consumer and do an appropriate amount of research before writing a check–just like I’d research purchasing a car or trading stocks.

By: Lizzie

Lizzie — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:21:34 +0000

Would you give your money to any bank that called you on the phone? Why would you give to a charity that was for a yachting race? This post uses a poor argumentation skills–picking out random examples to prove a trend. And like many others have commented, his “pocket change” theory is a joke; it does less than the 15% that the inefficient charities were giving. There are so many worthy causes to give to out there, and like anything, it just takes a very small amount of research. This post is very disappointing, if for nothing else than it’s poor reasoning, poorer research, and generally snarky attitude. Thumbs down, Mr. Mercer.

By: Hypatia

Hypatia — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:55:49 +0000

I like giving to Child’s Play (childsplaycharity.org) which is run by Penny Arcade because you can pick what you want to buy and what hospital you want receiving it. It makes me feel more comfortable getting the receipt and knowing exactly what my money is buying and where it’s going.

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:20:34 +0000

I too fear the wateful, top heavy charity. I usually look to http://www.charitynavigator.org for background as well as financial info. They provide a breakdown of the money as to where it goes (operations vs. actualy charity work). You will suprised by the number of charitys out there that are run rather soundly. It is worth a look.

By: motorkitty

motorkitty — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:01:33 +0000

I have found the best way to donate blood is to go to a HOSPITAL sponsored blood drive. They keep all the blood for their own blood banks so you know it stays in your own community. Also, if you donate platelets only, you can donate more often.