Last night my oldest daughter and I were making a care package to send to an Indian Reservation. She had purchased a lot of new makeup and other items that she hoped would be popular with young women. We were talking about how it is certainly possible to live without most material goods, but that small treasures can really make life so much more enjoyable. Makeup for a young girl can be very important and I'm sure that her gifts will be very appreciatively received.
The most important criteria for a charity is that it has an extremely high money in to money out percentage. I am not interested in donating money to someone’s salary. Now, that does not mean I require that a person take a vow of poverty, but I do require a high level of efficiency. Usually, I have more time than money so I try to be as generous with my time as possible. Some of our favorite charities are the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, American Indian charities (numerous), and our local food bank. What are some of your favorite charities?
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been more on the receiving end the past few years...
but we have a great food bank here in town and teh extra clothes go to goodwill... my folks volunteer once a month at a soup kitchen in their area..
i'm of the belief that time is just as important if not a more important thing to give too - as there are a lot of people who give material good and money, but not a lot of people to staff the places giving the aid out....
i would love to do a little work for habitat for humanity but they are too far away and i have a job where i don't have vacation days so time off is difficult...
When times were better
we used to buy a smile or two through smile train every year. Now things are tight, but I have two really nice Lands End winter coats that have hardly any wear and they're going out to the local "Care & Share" store in town--where I know somebody who needs a good deal will get them and a place that does good work will benefit. I think knowing I can still do a little something for others makes me feel good.
coats are more important than people realize
about 10 years ago I had a very moving experience while volunteering one afternoon at my local Salvation Army. A guy about my age came in and started looking through the coats that were available free of charge. I'm a bit on the small side and he was too and just could not find a coat. He was becoming very exasperated and finally grabbed a very large flannel type jacket and said, guess this is my winter coat. I walked over and said, if you can wait 15 minutes I'll be back with a coat that will fit you. I raced home and brought him back a winter coat of mine that I had meant to donate. Now, years before I had developed the habit of leaving a few dollars in my coat pockets at the end of every winter. The next winter when I put on the coat I would invariably find the money (which I had forgotten about) and feel like a real fat cat. I know, it's a silly habit but it always made me feel good to find a couple of bucks in a pocket. An unexpected treat like a cookie in your pudding. So, when I got back he was still there and tried on the coat. It fit perfectly and he was very appreciative. He put his hands in the pocket and pulled out a few singles that I had left in there. He said, oh, this is your money. I said, nope, it's not mine, it was in your coat and it's your money. He teared up and walked out before he became emotional. I probably didn't tell this right but it was such a small thing and it had such an impact on him that the rest of the day I really felt like a fat cat. It's a tough world sometimes and if we can help others we should.
oh...
I still managed ten bucks to the ACLU. heh~
Morning sartoris
I actually worked with Habitat for about a year after Katrina was living in Nashville and we worked on an entire subdivision for missplaced people from mostly the ninth ward it was pretty cool to see the appreciation expressed. Maybe I need to do something like that again it's good for the soul.
that's fantastic Feral Man, what a commitment on your part
That is just incredible. Do you have pictures of the projects you were involved in down there? That is just begging to be posted. Please share some of your experiences with us since I'm certain it was a life changing experice for you. Really impressive of you and a testament to your spirit.
I don't really have a favorite charity.
I just contribute to things as they pop up. For example, I'm doing a run/walk for Huntington's Disease this week.
Huntington's Disease is horrible
Good for you. Huntington's is an 'orphan' disease and is just horrible. Really important to raise money for the orphan diseases and try to make people aware of their existence.
It is.
One of my friends is organizing the grad students in my department to participate. I haven't spoken to her about it, but I assume that she has some personal connection to the disease.
As someone who has spent an entire career in nonprofits
I have to say that I simply cannot fathom the sentiment I see frequently expressed that "I don't give to salaries".
Nonprofits are, by definition, almost exclusively service industries. And service = salaries. Services don' t get delivered unless there are people to deliver them. People not just with skills but also with commitment and dedication. What's wrong with them being paid for their efforts? I can assure you that, with relatively few exceptions, they aren't being paid too much money. In most cases they aren't being paid nearly what they are worth. God knows I'm not, and never have been.
Not being willing to fund the salaries of the people doing the work and delivering the services says something very sobering not just about the value they hold in the eyes of society, but also the value of the people they serve.
I don't want to fund certain salaries, either. I am VERY picky about the nonprofits I donate to, and I don't donate to nonprofits where executive salaries are [what I consider to be] bloated and unjustified. But funding the hard-working people who are out there in the trenches delivering the services? You bet I'll donate to support them. You freakin' bet I will.
I agree with this statement:
If the report on the charity shows that half of the donations go to paying staff, that's not acceptable.
I am in favor of someone getting paid what they're worth. If the head of a charity gets paid like 300K, I have no problem with that as long as they deliver. If they're good, smart, intelligent, have the skills to bring it home, then why not pay them a high salary. Otherwise, they'd be making more in the private sector based on their skill and results level.
But if a charity is bringing in millions or thousands, and close to or the majority goes to staffing, nuh-huh, I would never contribute to them.
you misinterpreted my statement
I am not interested in giving my money to a charity such as United Way that has a history of carrying too high of administrative costs, especially in the form of overpaid executives. I'm sorry if you feel differently, however, my most important criteria for a charitable organization remains a very high percentage of money in to money out. If an organization wants to carry a lot of staff that is their choice and it is my choice to not give my very limited (exceedingly limited) funds to such an organization.
I had a job when I was much younger where they
asked me as an employee how much I wanted to donate to that organization, which would automatically be taken out of my paycheck.
Even as a young stoopid kid, I was a rebel. I said, no thanks, I donate to other good causes, I don't want to donate to them.
I was literally intimidated into doing so. I wanted to keep my job, I of course needed the money, I was ordered in to a few meetings. (Maybe I'm embellishing the number of meetings, as I can't exactly remember.)
I know of at least two, but now it seems like more. Anyway, my supervisor, their supervisor, their supervisor, all the freakin' bigwigs ended up in the last meeting trying to smart-ass grin and cajole me into contributing.
I had no earthly clue what was going on at the time and hated it all. Geez, I didn't want to contribute, what's the big effin' deal?
I gave in to the intimation and agreed to contribute 50 cents a week.
It took me a while to figure it out, but their goal was to be able for the company to say that everyone in the company donated to that organization.
I really felt dirty.