I'm done sending money to any charity.
dreher
Member Posts: 8,883 ✭✭✭✭
My wife wanted me to send in $50 to a children's charity. So I did. I decided to send $50 to The Wounded Warrior charity. So I did.
My thoughts were that children and wounded vets can always use additional support.
Not anymore. The only place I will "donate" money in the future is through my church.
Both of these groups have sent me bushel baskets full of letters often containing "presents" in the effort to get to send them another check. 100% they have spent every penny of the $50 I originally sent them, if not more, trying to get me to send them more money. Sorry people. I sent you that money to try and help in some small way but instead you pissed it on trying to get more of my money. This has happened multiple times over the years so I am done with any type of direct mail charity in the future.
From now on it is personal charity work only. Neighbors or church members who are sick or recovering from some ailment/operation will get food dropped off. Like microwave breakfasts and dinners. Hit Wal-fart, spend $50 and take it out to the people, walk in, put the meals in their freezer for them, ask what can I do to help. Maybe empty their waste paper baskets, take trash out to the curb, do dishes or vaccum etc. I've been doing things like this for several years now. It's very rewarding!! I feel good about doing good and aren't inundated with junk mail.
Rant over!!
Comments
Everybody needs to see the Lord, sometimes with skin on. Keep doing good works brother.
"Remember this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should do as he has decided in his heart — not reluctantly or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Just be glad you can give.
That is exactly why Judy and I switched our cancer shoot from the American Cancer Society to a locally administered fund that allocates 100% to those in need. No advertising costs, no paid administrator, just volunteers putting the money where it will do the most good. Bob
Sadly most charities use paid fund raisers now who take a significant percentage of the haul, when inquired why in the world they would do that they claim they get more money taking a few percent of the fund raisers haul then doing it on their own.
I like direct charity. I see someone down on their luck and without judging that they may spend it on booze or drugs I give a gift. One fellow laughed when I did and said man I'm doing great I was just sitting here on the curb with my stuff waiting for my ride! I laughed to and said well keep it or give it to someone else!
I have no problem helping someone,as long as they are trying to help themselves.
WW is a scam. My wife worked for them for a while she quit in disgust.
I only send money to animal shelters like the DELTA shelter and maybe a few bucks to St Judes for kids. Red Cross is garbage too.
There is a lesson to be learned here,
Charitable giving is a good thing only if done anonymously.
Made the mistake years ago sending a check with my info on it. Took years before dozens of phone calls, hundreds of emails and regular mail box filled with solicitations ended.
When they say they wont pass your information to others: Dont believe a word of it. These people are as trustworthy as MSNBC or CNN
Nothing more valuable than doing it anonymously. Ran a mobile home in the state trader paper yrs ago. Was giving it away to a needy family.. no realtors or resale folks need apply. Took a lot of calls and met approx 100 people that was parked along the road and inside my mobile home park. What a mess. Showed the home first to a woman who worked for a resale mobile home company locally. I ran her off and said the ad was specific. Then the next older couple came in. Their children wanted them to move on the farm in which they had a space ready to go. I gave it to them. Went outside happy as all get out only to get cussed out by the people waiting in line. Some even ask if I had anymore homes in the park to give away. That is approx when I lost my cool and told them all to get the heck out of here. Next home later I gave away I interviewed on the phone, and met them without anyone else around. Lesson learnt.
I don't have much money but St; Judes , Salvation Army local chapter and local animal shelter for food for the critters that should never be put in that position if OWNERS would take the precautions of spaying and neuter but that's another story.
But YEA, inundated with that stuff almost daily.
“…, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:…”
A very old book
I really like this one:
Same here... I wonder if they sell the personal information to other groups. Its a shame...I've limited my donations to a few local, and the Salvation Army. When I got on the bus back in 1968 to go to Basic Training, the Salvation Army people handed me a small bag with tooth brush and other small items. I always put money in their kettle at Christmas time.
We give a few hundred dollars to the local food bank 3 or 4 times a year. A week or so later we receive a very modest thank you card. They've never tried to solicit further donations. That's one of the reasons we do it regularly.
dreher posted;
...........................Both of these groups have sent me bushel baskets full of letters often containing "presents" in the effort to get to send them another check. 100% they have spent every penny of the $50 I originally sent them,.............................
Does the NRA do that?
Around here, in the smaller communities,the local churches and volunteer fire departments go all out doing fundraisers for folks in their communities with cancer and such . That always gets my backing as do local charities
My local animal shelter would only give me a cat if I would keep it in the house. Ive had a cat in my shop for years. Well, shelter, you lost a donator.
I stumbled across this website: https://www.charitynavigator.org/
They review charities to weed out the scam ones and the ones who keep 90% of donations to pay for more fund raising. I used it a while back to donate for hurricane relief. Found two similar-sounding charities ( a usual tactic) one of which was a scam and the other legit. Gave anonymously to the good one.
used to carry a folded up $50 or when times got better $100 bill in my wallet, if I came across someone who really needed it I would just hand it to them, I had a truck driver at work do this to me when our house got flooded and would not take the money back later, he said someone had done it to him years ago and to just pass it along when I could afford to, this stuck with me and I have passed it along many times.............
Politicians are even worse. If you donate to any politician, any party, anywhere, you get on the begging list of dozens of others, all of which promise to fix the problem once elected, if you will just donate to them.
There are three I give to with any regularity any more.
My church, which runs a food pantry and hosts a clothing and stuff exchange (no money involved).
The Union Gospel Mission in downtown Spokane. I see real results from the work they are doing.
and SAF.org one of the few no-compromise gun lobby orgs. that are making a difference fighting legal battles.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
I read in the past that most charities gobble up 90% of your donation and only 10% goes to the actual need.
I agree with keeping you donations for what ever cause private.
Some good candidates might be St Jude's, Shriner's Hospitals, and reputable children's homes.
A fellow near here was selling off his firearms and such some time ago. He worked for Samaritan's Purse.
Every time he sold 5,700.00 worth he donated it to them to build a church in some non-Christian place.
5,700.00 was the cost of the church.
I'm happy to send you two or three.
CharityNavigator ranks the Rafiki Foundation at 93%, and that squares with how I've seen them run their charity over the years.
They ALL sell your info, it's one of their major ways to collect $$$$$$. Some even put money or stamps in the envelopes to get you to open them. Every couple of months, we go buy $100 worth of dog and cat food and drop it off at the local pound, and donate CASH to several charities we have picked to support, no personal info supplied to them.
Sounds like the same tactics of the Negotiated Rights Association...
I have never gotten a "followup" of any kind after donating through Charity Navigator's Anonymous Donor program. Not even from CN itself. They seem to scrupulously follow their privacy promises.
My only charity spending is on myself and my collection. I'm selfish like that.