Wary of Charity....You Should Be!
Charity...it seems like almost daily I get an email, direct mail, or phone call...even an inbox on my Facebook account to contribute to some charitable cause I have never heard of. This is not to say that the cause is not worthy or worthwhile, yet how I am I to know without doing the homework? I mean....am I really going to make a trip to a 3rd world country or even Southeast Raleigh for that matter to see if my funds are going to good use, or any use at all?
I recently had such an experience that caused me to examine the whole "come and give for charity" thing more closely. Da Hubby and myself attended a function to raise funds to build a school in a 3rd world country. A noble cause. Upon arrival we were instructed to make out our checks directly to the homeowner, as their employer would match the funds received that evening. We started to leave then, decided it would be in poor taste, so we wrote out our checks, had 1/2 a glass of wine and "ghosted". As a brief aside, I now know where the local "Real Housewives" live, so Andy Cohen...give me a call.
A few days later I discussed the matter with a friend who is a retired attorney and law professor. This friend who has also run several non-profits proceeded to tell me this violated quite a few laws on may levels. Moral here: if you gut says don't go....don't go!
I read in the local paper recently that the annual Race for the Cure is short about one million dollars in donations from last year. Reason....Obamacare...unemployment...lack of interest...new findings concerning mammograms? Could be a combo of all three...or it could be that the word is out on how much the CEO is taking paid to manage your donations.
“Fundraising is an extreme sport!”
― Marc A. Pitman, Ask Without Fear!: A Simple Guide to Connecting Donors with What Matters to Them Most
As always...xx.DT
I recently had such an experience that caused me to examine the whole "come and give for charity" thing more closely. Da Hubby and myself attended a function to raise funds to build a school in a 3rd world country. A noble cause. Upon arrival we were instructed to make out our checks directly to the homeowner, as their employer would match the funds received that evening. We started to leave then, decided it would be in poor taste, so we wrote out our checks, had 1/2 a glass of wine and "ghosted". As a brief aside, I now know where the local "Real Housewives" live, so Andy Cohen...give me a call.
A few days later I discussed the matter with a friend who is a retired attorney and law professor. This friend who has also run several non-profits proceeded to tell me this violated quite a few laws on may levels. Moral here: if you gut says don't go....don't go!
I read in the local paper recently that the annual Race for the Cure is short about one million dollars in donations from last year. Reason....Obamacare...unemployment...lack of interest...new findings concerning mammograms? Could be a combo of all three...or it could be that the word is out on how much the CEO is taking paid to manage your donations.
“Fundraising is an extreme sport!”
― Marc A. Pitman, Ask Without Fear!: A Simple Guide to Connecting Donors with What Matters to Them Most
As always...xx.DT
As a fundraiser, I would suggest people look at Guidestar to check out the charity. There is all sorts of information listed there from the top 5 salaries, to the investments, to the organization's I-990. Charities are also rated as the fundraising ratio, which should be less than 25% of the total raised. Anything higher is a HUGE red flag, and in reality, it should be a lot lower.
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