Bad Charities

[rawhide]

I give to either our Church's orphanage fund in Ensenada, Baja California or Salvation Army.

 

Spent a weekend at the orphanage and loved looking at all of the children and their smiling faces. We took a bunch of presents for Xmas and had to hide them in all the different vehicles so they didn't get confiscated by Mexican Officials at the border. Their theory is if they confiscate all the gifts we will buy more in Mexico, and of course they will probably take them home to their kids. Wonderful world.

 

I think the Salvation Army is also a charity that does good work. And their CEO doesn't make too much money either.

[NUance]

Didn't want to start a new thread and this seems like a good spot for this:

 

http://openchannel.n...r-and-its-legal

 

Goodwill Industries, a multibillion-dollar company whose executives make six-figure salaries, is among the nonprofit groups permitted to pay thousands of disabled workers far less than minimum wage because of a federal law known as Section 14 ©. Labor Department records show that some Goodwill workers in Pennsylvania earned wages as low as 22, 38 and 41 cents per hour in 2011.

 

"If they really do pay the CEO of Goodwill three-quarters of a million dollars, they certainly can pay me more than they're paying," said Harold Leigland, who is legally blind and hangs clothes at a Goodwill in Great Falls, Montana for less than minimum wage.

 

 

I understand there needs to be some incentive to hiring a disabled worker, but they have to be able to live on their wages...

In some instances the "job" is created more for the benefit of the person than the company. It gives the person a sense of responsibility and being needed. I don't know this to be the case in all instances. But I know a family with a special needs daughter in her 20s. The family is very grateful for the "job" they created for her.

[Junior]

Speaking of bad charities:

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/05/exclusive-pro-troop-charity-pays-off-tea-party-cronies-instead.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheet

 

 

Move America Forward calls itself the nation’s “largest grassroots pro-troop organization,” and has recruited a bevy of Republican luminaries, including former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney, to support its efforts.

Yet an examination of its fundraising appeals, tax records and other documents shows that Move America Forward has repeatedly misled donors and inflated its charitable accomplishments, while funneling millions of dollars in revenue to the men behind the group and their political consulting firms.

In several instances, the charity has taken images and stories from other groups and from veterans themselves without permission to use in fundraising appeals.

Last year, Move America Forward even solicited funds by claiming a partnership with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the largest hospital for wounded service members in the country. No such partnership existed, Defense Department officials say.

The charity’s funds and other assets also appear to have been used to subsidize three conservative political action committees, records show.

[Stumpy1]

I donate to UnitedWay and a local non-profit. My work is huge into donating as the guy that started the company is the Chairman of the Board for UnitedWay.

[carlfense]

Loves the troops. Loves em.

[BigRedBuster]

I'm surprised to see some of these charities on the list. They are not the fly-by-night organizations that I would expect.

 

_#4__American Breast Cancer Foundation_______5.3%

#23__American Foundation For Disabled Children__0.8%

#32__American Association of the Deaf & Blind____0.1%

 

 

Most of the 50 paid less than 5% towards their stated charitable work. Only two of the fifty paid more than 10% (both ~ 11%). That's just criminal. There's a special warm spot in hell for the folks that do this sort of thing.

Make sure you are thinking of the correct name. Many of these get away with it because people think they are donating to a different charity than what they think. For instance, people will donate to "children's wish foundation" thinking they are donating to the "Make a Wish Foundation".

[NUance]

 

I'm surprised to see some of these charities on the list. They are not the fly-by-night organizations that I would expect.

 

_#4__American Breast Cancer Foundation_______5.3%

#23__American Foundation For Disabled Children__0.8%

#32__American Association of the Deaf & Blind____0.1%

 

 

Most of the 50 paid less than 5% towards their stated charitable work. Only two of the fifty paid more than 10% (both ~ 11%). That's just criminal. There's a special warm spot in hell for the folks that do this sort of thing.

Make sure you are thinking of the correct name. Many of these get away with it because people think they are donating to a different charity than what they think. For instance, people will donate to "children's wish foundation" thinking they are donating to the "Make a Wish Foundation".

 

 

You make a good point. That's pretty evil to come up with a similar name to dupe folks into donating to a shame charity.

 

======

 

And holy necro bump! That post is from 14 months ago.

[Hooked on Huskers]

Every year I studies United Way campaign pamphlet. This pamphlet lists a thousands of charity donations including overhead (basically ripped off percentages). The best overall charity was Catholic Relief or something like that .... practically no overhead moneys. Thus I picked Catholic Relief. I hate "overhead".

 

No I'm not a Catholic.

 

I was surprised numerous cancer and children charities was among the 50 bad charities. Thanks Junior.

[LukeinNE]

Charity Navigator is your friend. Religious charities linked to specific churches also tend to be pretty good, as are many umbrella charities, like the United Way.

[zoogs]

 

Wow - I'm stunned that the 5% of money going towards actually helping people is a thing in the real world, too.

 

Approached in person, one charity manager threatened to call the police; another refused to open the door. A third charity's president took off in his truck at the sight of a reporter with a camera.

[Junior]

Another bad charity:

 

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/08/als-group-moves-to-trademark-ice-bucket-challenge-viral-sensation/

 

 

Unless you've been living in a sensory-deprivation chamber for the past few weeks, you've heard of the "ice bucket challenge" being shown off on all types of social media. People get buckets of ice water dumped on them in order to encourage donations to the ALS Association, the foundation that supports research and care for those living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a muscle disease that's also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

It's impossible to know exactly what makes something like the ice bucket challenge go viral. Whatever the case may be, the sensation been an incredible benefit for the ALS Association. Yesterday, the group said it has raised $94.3 million since July 29, compared to just $2.7 million during the same time period last year. That's nearly 35 times as much money.

It's great news for a worthy charity, but the cause has led to an unfortunate legal move. The ALS Association has filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office seeking to trademark the term "ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE" for use in charitable fundraising. If successful, that would allow the ALS Association to stop other charities from using the phrase for their own fundraising.

[Minnesota_husker]

Thats why i give all my extra money to Charity, the stripper.

 

 

Charities are so hit or miss and with how social media can be so deceiving, you just dont know where your money goes. It is very sad, but also think that something like the Better Business Bureau could step in and put regulations on what you need to donate to be considered a charity.

[Junior]

Thats why i give all my extra money to Charity, the stripper.

 

 

Charities are so hit or miss and with how social media can be so deceiving, you just dont know where your money goes. It is very sad, but also think that something like the Better Business Bureau could step in and put regulations on what you need to donate to be considered a charity.

 

The BBB doesn't really have any legal authority. Government regulations would have to take care of that.