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Charity Donation - The Moral Dilemma
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Sometimes you see a graphic ad and feel compelled to make a donation, however, just wonder how much will actually reach the intended recipient and how much will go in admin costs.
Can't seem to find any official guideline on how the funds should be split.
Do you donate and what would your criteria be?
Would you do any research about the charity or just give in the hope that the money is used as you hope it would be?
Would you give to someone on the street or in a shop with a collection box.
If it's a large donation, would you want publicity?
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I tend to donate to charities that are, or have been ,relevant at some point to my life or those close to me so I'm swayed more by life events than media advertising. |
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No I don't want publicity.
Yes I put in street boxes occassionally ( small amounts )
The amount that goes to the people is 100% more than would go if you opt not to give ( I love stats )
If I am giving regularly out of my salary or through my bank account then I check the charity out first.
I change my charities every two years.
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Random fact of the day:
For every charity tv advert only 1% of the people watching will pick up the phone or go online and donate as a direct result of the advert. |
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By *iamp86Man
over a year ago
preston |
I have two charities I've made a regular commitment to and stick with those with regular monthly payments
Makes it easier to decline when accosted in the street or outside supermarket and asked to make a donate to other charitable causes - if I feel strongly enough I'll make a single donation when I feel ready
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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My aunt works for a very small charity which funds a rehab centre for brain damaged children in our town, they barely scrape together enough per month to keep it running. This is partly down to 'advertising', I wonder how much charities such as Oxfam and Shelter put into their marketing campaigns. |
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By *emmefataleWoman
over a year ago
dirtybigbadsgirlville |
I dont give to doorstep collectors, i dont give to street collectors apart from the Salvation Army at Christmas, i have three charities i give to direct, i chose the charities carefully, i also volunteer for one charity , i do cake sales and do my bit that way. |
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"My aunt works for a very small charity which funds a rehab centre for brain damaged children in our town, they barely scrape together enough per month to keep it running. This is partly down to 'advertising', I wonder how much charities such as Oxfam and Shelter put into their marketing campaigns. "
Enough to make them household names and to bring in as much as poss to help those that need it. |
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I have monthly donations got out by direct debit to 2 charities after being affected by the good work both did.
I reseachered them both first. I dont like giving money to folks in the street, but i'm a cynic like that |
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By *icketysplitsWoman
over a year ago
Way over Yonder, that's where I'm bound |
There isn't an absolute guide on what the admin costs should be but you can see all registered charities on the Charity Commission web-site.
Remember that all charities have overheads, they have to pay for heat and light and salaries (where they have them) and all of the other things that you and businesses have. Some of that is affected by yearly donations, grants and contracts as the percentage will go up on those must pay and fixed cost items if donations are low. The more that is received helps to ensure that more go to the intended recipients and not spent on trying to raise money.
If you are a tax payer and gift aid is available you should also gift aid your donation as it adds 24p for every £1 you donate.
Whenever you see a claim that 100% goes to the beneficiaries then it is worth checking out how the overheads are met. Some are lucky to have a donor or income generation to enables this, Children in Need has the licence fee picking up the tab, most don't have this and the claim will not be correct. Charity accounting is tricky, not as straightforward as business accounting, as some things don't count as charitable expenditure (governance costs, for instance) but the heat and light to run a project would.
If you really only want to give where every single penny of your pound goes to the beneficiary then the only way to truly do that is to give a person with the need you are addressing the money in their hand and trust they will spend it to improve their lives. |
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By *phroditeWoman
over a year ago
(She/ her) in Sensualityland |
I worked for a charity and accounting is indeed quite different, as it involves relying on public funds and donations etc.
I personally support a charity for young and one for elderly people on a regualr basis, and when I occasionally shop at M&S there are always charities who offer to do your packing, whether it is Help for Heroes, the Scouts or whatever so I let them do my packing and donate something.
I do agree that to really know where monies are going I guess you have to follow what Lickety said... in my case my own children sometimes present to me as a needy "charity" |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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There is an issue that the bigger a charity becomes the more complex it becomes to run it. To see the salaries, vehicles, living accommodation, employee benefits etc. related to organisations like Save the Children in developing nations is very uncomfortable.
But then sometimes it's only those very large international charities that are capable of taking very quick, life saving action.
There aren't simple answers, you just have to make sure you're happy that the charities you support are best doing the things you're supporting them to do. Personally I choose to mostly support causes directly.
TV adverts nearly always put me off ever supporting a charity. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I say forget the moral dilemma
But only because there are a number of pitfalls associated with most methods of charitable contribution other than donating your own time supporting the effort at the front line….
So unless your in a position to give your time or can spend some time targeting direct needs by researching and funding the procurement of the vital resources that are required supporting and providing the front line work …
Be assured no matter what method you choose for a financial donation, it will help those in need and be gratefully received on their behalf….
Every penny counts even though sometimes a lot of pennies must also be spent to do it...
But without them little or nothing gets done.!.
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We asked for donations instead of flowers at my dads funeral for the itu and got a personalized letter back from them saying what they would be spending it on, it was done through the hospital charities |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I mostly agree, except that not all charitable work is as effective as it could be. And so if you're concerned about how your money is used it is worth taking a little time to look at how a charity works - particularly as there's nearly always a choice between more than one charity to support any cause. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I volunteer a lot of my time (6 hours absolute minimum a week) for a charity, but as nobody is dying, and no animals are being hurt, people don't see us as a charity. I'm not in a position to donate money to charities but I do sometimes donate 'things' to my charity (not claiming back money for paper, printer ink etc) and I also give up my holidays to take my kids away.
It makes me feel so much better seeing their faces when they're given opportunities they otherwise might not have had, than if I gave £1,000,000 to a charity I have no connection with. |
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I was looking up charities the other week, well i was looking up one in particular, but it is unbelievable how many rely on public donations just to keep them going. All of them do such fantastic work, the government should be embarressed |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I volunteer a lot of my time (6 hours absolute minimum a week) for a charity, but as nobody is dying, and no animals are being hurt, people don't see us as a charity. I'm not in a position to donate money to charities but I do sometimes donate 'things' to my charity (not claiming back money for paper, printer ink etc) and I also give up my holidays to take my kids away.
It makes me feel so much better seeing their faces when they're given opportunities they otherwise might not have had, than if I gave £1,000,000 to a charity I have no connection with."
And there can be no better donation. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I was looking up charities the other week, well i was looking up one in particular, but it is unbelievable how many rely on public donations just to keep them going. All of them do such fantastic work, the government should be embarressed"
The very last thing most charities would want is to be reliant on any Government. We should instead be proud of the general public - it's one thing this country can genuinely be hugely proud of. |
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By *icketysplitsWoman
over a year ago
Way over Yonder, that's where I'm bound |
"I was looking up charities the other week, well i was looking up one in particular, but it is unbelievable how many rely on public donations just to keep them going. All of them do such fantastic work, the government should be embarressed
The very last thing most charities would want is to be reliant on any Government. We should instead be proud of the general public - it's one thing this country can genuinely be hugely proud of."
The rest of the world turns up here to look at how charitable giving, volunteering and regulation works. We often look to America on how to get people to donate. The models are very different.
Most of the 170k+ registered charities operate at under £50k a year, very local neighbourhood ones often have well under £10k a year. A tiny percentage get most of the money. If I asked you who they are you would be able to name them all. Most government money comes in the form of contracts rather than grants and goes to approximately 18,000 charities and social enterprises. More often than not now this is on payment by results which leaves charities in a very precarious position.
Local authority support for charities and community activities has been hit very hard with the cuts. When faced with making their own youth staff redundant or cutting a charity youth scheme and making those people redundant they have difficult choices to make.
I'm touring the country looking at charities and how they are coping over the next few months and an interesting picture is already emerging. |
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By *B9 QueenWoman
over a year ago
Over the rainbow, under the bridge |
I have one charity I give regularly to every month by dd. I give to no other.
And I really resent being 'mugged' in the supermarket every week with either box rattlers or children being used to guilt-trip me into allowing them to cram my shopping into flimsy bags for a donation.
I always say no thank you. |
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