OT: A Funny thing happened on the way home today

[Suicide Junkie]

On the other hand, if you donate to PBW, over 95% of the money will make it.

[Atrocities]

Suicide Junkie said:
On the other hand, if you donate to PBW, over 95% of the money will make it.

And its all for a good cause. I wish I had money to donate, to PBW and SE.net. (Along with being able to buy some Shrapnel Games.)

[Randallw]

There is an ad here for the Salvation Army asking for help for the farmers stuck in a drought. Putting aside for one moment that it is marked as a community announcement, Why do they get away without having to pay?, I find it offensive because it is basically saying "Donate to us, we're better than the other charities". I would think all charities would be the same, it defeats the purpose of being generous if they are being stuck up and saying they're better than everyone else.

I consider charity to be intrinsically self serving anyway. I'm a cynic, and apathetic, in the classical Philosophical sense, and to me giving to charity is just a way of making yourself feel good by thinking your better since you give stuff to people. No one does anything without a reason. If you don't get anything out of it then why do it at all.

[Makinus]

Possum said:
Most organised charities pass less than 50% of the money they collect on to the intended recipients, with the rest eaten up by huge salaries for top administrators, while most of the buttwork is done by unpaid volunteers. And if you think that sounds bad, remember that some charities pass only 10% of donations along to the needy, with 90% eaten up by huge salaries for their top administrators.

These days, I live by the adage that "charity begins at home".

Yeah, you´re right, the only charity you can be sure to reach the intended persons is the one you do yourself... One of the supposed "charities" that makes me angriest is the ones organized by "evangelic churches" here in Brazil, where the majority of the money (if no all) ends with the "church" and not with the poor people that needs it...

And the worse is that the heads of these "churchs" flaunt openly that they are rich, using expensive limos, small jets, living in mansions, where the poor that needed the money only get worse...

BTW: i put "evangelic churches" in quotes to differentiate the ones i´m talking about from the real and proper evangelic churches that, while smaller in number than the fake ones, are very respectable institutions and do several community services...

but not every charity is "rigged" like the ones told here, i particulary find nice the charities done by the freemasons, where members of the "lodge" contribute to a "pot" every session and at the end of a certain period (normally six months), a needy family is chosen and, at night, a member of the lodge puts the money at the door of the family (or someplace where the head of the family will easily find) and
leave without revealing to the persons that received who left the money, (they normally only leave a note, whitout signature, saying that the money is to help the family in these hard times)

It´s gestures like these that makes me have still some hope in humanity... even if 90% of the other "charities" are not...

[Baron Munchausen]

Atrocities said:
I gave up feeling guilty about finding money and keeping it a while back after years of finding money on the floor while doing floor maintenance for the big red S when I was a teenager, and putting it into the charity jars. Then one day I saw the store manager empty those change jars into a bag and then put that bag into his brief case. Since then, I have seen many of the "Trusted" store manager of many big red S stores steal that money. It was free money to them so they just took it. I have NEVER dropped another penny into those charity jars any where! In retrospect, I am very happy that I do not work for those corrupt, lying, chickens**t bastards any more. The big red "S" can kiss my fat white butt.

Um... did this 'charity jar' list a known charitable organization as the benficiary? It was it just a taped-on label that said 'charity' on it? If so, then it's just a scam (apparently common to this grocery chain) rather than a stain on all charity. If people drop money into a jar without knowing who it's supposed to be for, they are freely giving it away. Definitely a low-life trick, but technically legal. If you saw someone using a major name to solicit donations and taking that, then you'd have grounds to call in law enforcement.

[Baron Munchausen]

Suicide Junkie said:
On the other hand, if you donate to PBW, over 95% of the money will make it.

because PBW is a charity where adminstration is closely integrated with the implementation. And the donating community can see the results themselves. More points for 'small is beautiful'... and efficient, and accountable, etc.

[Baron Munchausen]

Randallw said:
There is an ad here for the Salvation Army asking for help for the farmers stuck in a drought. Putting aside for one moment that it is marked as a community announcement, Why do they get away without having to pay?, I find it offensive because it is basically saying "Donate to us, we're better than the other charities". I would think all charities would be the same, it defeats the purpose of being generous if they are being stuck up and saying they're better than everyone else.

I consider charity to be intrinsically self serving anyway. I'm a cynic, and apathetic, in the classical Philosophical sense, and to me giving to charity is just a way of making yourself feel good by thinking your better since you give stuff to people. No one does anything without a reason. If you don't get anything out of it then why do it at all.

Well, the Salvation Army is much better than many other big-name charities. They are efficient enough that the US Government, and especially what used to be FEMA (what is it called now?) are studying them to try to make government disaster relief more efficient. So while it's true that there is lots of corruption in the charity system, it's not totally corrupt.

[Atrocities]

The only charities I will, and have, donate too:

Salvation Army
The Humain Society
Meals On Wheels
Good Will

[Randallw]

My father works for Meals on Wheels. I think it's part of his government support. He onced roped me in to helping. Anyhow, have you ever eaten any of their food? It may well be different elsewhere but their food is the worst thing I have ever eaten that wasn't so just by what it was. For example I despise yoghurt and apricots, they will make me sick just thinking about it, but Meals on Wheels food . Their potatoes taste as if they were rotten before they cooked them. Perhaps they get Freeze dried somewhere and they don't thaw well. I spat it out and quite simply refused to eat it. I would rather starve than have to eat it.

[Renegade 13]

The only charity I give to is the Charity of Me. Call me a self-centered bastard, but I work hard for my money and will not willingly throw it away!