[ccrider]

First, let me say that I am not opposed to contributions to wherever you choose to make them. It's your money, time, etc.; your decision. However, now, when I pick up my mail, on some days 4 out of 5 pieces of mail are requests for money. Can't turn on the TV without being bombarded with requests for money. Like most people, I can afford a certain amount of my budget for this, and my question is: Is it better to spread your money around, making smaller contributions to more requests, or to make much larger ones to a few requests. Just trying to get a feel on how other people in The Villages feel.

[Stu from NYC]

Everytime we make what we think is a one time contribution to a charity they will thank us by asking for more every few weeks.

As a result most of our mail is from about a dozen charities we have given donation to and probably will not do so in the future.

[retiredguy123]

I recommend using the websites "Charity Navigator" and "Guidestar" which provide reviews of charities. You can set up a username and password for both sites, which will give you access to the IRS Form 990 that charities need to submit every year. Although, reading these forms do not always tell you much about the charity. They are very vague. I like to check the salaries of the highest paid people who manage the charity. For example, the charity "Wounded Warriors Project" has at least 10 very highly compensated officers. The CEO makes more money than any military officer has ever made in the history of the country. That is why I would never donate to that charity. Also, if you search "wounded warriors" you will find that there are thousands of other charities who are using a similar name, a common practice in the charity business. It is also important to read the charity's mission statement because the charity may not be doing what you think it is doing.

My biggest complaint about charities is that it is very easy to get the IRS designation as a tax deductible 501c3 charity, but there is no IRS requirement to have any efficiency at all. As long as you spend some money on your charity's stated mission, it is legal. So, theoretically, you can raise $10 million in donations, but, if you only spend $100 on the mission, the IRS doesn't care. In my opinion, picking a good charity is more important than how you spread the money around.

[Rainger99]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Everytime we make what we think is a one time contribution to a charity they will thank us by asking for more every few weeks.

I usually donate once or twice a year to my favorite charities. However, once you get on their list, they bombard you with repeated requests. Some charities send requests out 2-3 times a month. I don’t know anyone who donates to a charity 25-30 times a year. Because of this wasteful solicitation, I have actually cut back on some charities figuring that if they have that much money for solicitation, they must be doing pretty well!!

[Nucky]

Tunnels To Towers is the latest charity that I'm interested in. I sent them a note via email to let them know that the first time they mention me increasing my donation that they will be on the naughty list and dropped immediately.

I got a very nice and thoughtful personal letter guaranteeing me that that would never occur. About a week later they asked for more. I really like them so I gave them a second chance. It worked out just fine.......that was nice months ago. All is well.

[retiredguy123]

I thought I had successfully escaped the college donation phone calls. But, yesterday, I actually got a phone call from the University of Florida, where I got a Masters degree more than 40 years ago. Go figure.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Nucky

Tunnels To Towers is the latest charity that I'm interested in. I sent them a note via email to let them know that the first time they mention me increasing my donation that they will be on the naughty list and dropped immediately.

I got a very nice and thoughtful personal letter guaranteeing me that that would never occur. About a week later they asked for more. I really like them so I gave them a second chance. It worked out just fine.......that was nice months ago. All is well.

It looks like Tunnel to Towers is a good charity. Charity Navigator gave it a 4 out of 4 star rating. I also read their latest Form 990 from 2020. None of their officers received any direct compensation, including Frank Siller. They received revenue income of about $114 million and spent about $48 million on their most advertised program, which is building smart homes and paying off mortgages. Not bad.

[Remembergoldenrule]

Those able to give to charity should. Please make make sure your money is actually getting to those you intended to help. Never give to someone calling or soliciting on someone’s behalf. Give directly to the organization. You make the call. Anyone in a basement can say they are with x organization and take your credit card.
If you want to help out classroom teachers ( regular Ed, special Ed, music, pe, low income ect) this site gets 96% to classroom Teachers submit projects/supplies they want to fro in their classroom.

DonorsChoose: Support a classroom. Build a future.

You can even find specific school in specific state.

DonorsChoose.org | Charity Ratings | Donating Tips | Best Charities | CharityWatch

3 Websites To Check To Be Informed Before Giving To Charity

Charity Check Up: Know Where Your Money is Going

[gbs317]

There are three T’s in charity, it is Time, Talent, Treasure. This is meant for all that can do what you can, if you don’t have the time or the talent then use your treasure, remember this all is if you are able. Now that being said why look to national organizations to donate when right here in your local neighborhoods we have people who are hungry, children with no coats or shoes, schools that need books, etc… you get the picture. If you can join a local organization like the Knights of Columbus, Lions, or Rotary Club that can guide you with your abilities all the better. We all heard of BOGO’s. My wife still thinks she’s feeding a family of five so we give to the local food pantries. I’m writing this not so people can knock one organization over another or one charity or another but let’s help starting in our own backyard and work our way out. My mother use to say “do the best you can with what you got”.

[Cobullymom]

Originally Posted by ccrider

First, let me say that I am not opposed to contributions to wherever you choose to make them. It's your money, time, etc.; your decision. However, now, when I pick up my mail, on some days 4 out of 5 pieces of mail are requests for money. Can't turn on the TV without being bombarded with requests for money. Like most people, I can afford a certain amount of my budget for this, and my question is: Is it better to spread your money around, making smaller contributions to more requests, or to make much larger ones to a few requests. Just trying to get a feel on how other people in The Villages feel.

This is a great charity and has done a wonderful concert here at the Villages in the past, and Gary keeps nothing from the donations personally and they give back almost 90% of the donations. Make a Donation | Gary Sinise Foundation

[Sandy and Ed]

Originally Posted by ccrider

First, let me say that I am not opposed to contributions to wherever you choose to make them. It's your money, time, etc.; your decision. However, now, when I pick up my mail, on some days 4 out of 5 pieces of mail are requests for money. Can't turn on the TV without being bombarded with requests for money. Like most people, I can afford a certain amount of my budget for this, and my question is: Is it better to spread your money around, making smaller contributions to more requests, or to make much larger ones to a few requests. Just trying to get a feel on how other people in The Villages feel.

Good questions. We give once each year in December. We do not “round up” at the check out at stores and we do not donate at stores. Our donations are in our name, not store name. We do listen to tv ads and yes, “St Jude” and “Tunnel to Towers” and “Shriners Hospital”, etc took their toll on our emotions and receive a little something. My biggest concern is how much of our dollar actually goes to the needy and how much goes to “administrative” expenses. A bit of a quandary, no??

[thevillager1988]

This is one of the most helpful TOTV posts ever. I learned a lot. Thank you.

[Papa_lecki]

I run a non profit that provides housing assistance to veterans in Philadelphia.

First, look at the financial statement called “statement of activities” - it shows you the percent of costs spent on admin and fund raising. If that percent is above 7 to 10%, its not a well run charity.

Don’t worry about the directors not getting paid, most charities have that. Most non profits have volunteer boards. If the executive leadership is NOT getting paid, that is bad, you want talented leadership, just like a for profit company, leading strategic decisions.

Most charities would prefer a larger donation vs many smaller donations. So dont feel bad about giving to more money to fewer charities.

If you are getting bombarded with donation requests from a charity, its not well run (those messages cost money). You might be getting monthly emails about their impact (i.e. who they are helping).

[Mrmean58]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Everytime we make what we think is a one time contribution to a charity they will thank us by asking for more every few weeks.

As a result most of our mail is from about a dozen charities we have given donation to and probably will not do so in the future.

Now that's solid reasoning. Give money to a charity you believe in and then punish them for sending you too much mail. If you ran a charity wouldn't you go back to those who have donated in the past?

[Janie123]

Originally Posted by ccrider

First, let me say that I am not opposed to contributions to wherever you choose to make them. It's your money, time, etc.; your decision. However, now, when I pick up my mail, on some days 4 out of 5 pieces of mail are requests for money. Can't turn on the TV without being bombarded with requests for money. Like most people, I can afford a certain amount of my budget for this, and my question is: Is it better to spread your money around, making smaller contributions to more requests, or to make much larger ones to a few requests. Just trying to get a feel on how other people in The Villages feel.

We give to 3-4 charities + our church each year with our larger donations. I found that large charities have lots of local presences running as their own 501c3 where you can meet the local staff. For example Habitat for Humanity is huge but they have local 501c3’s all over the place that report up to them. HFH here in TV has Lake Sumter Habitat. I personally met the leaders there and then I felt good about my donations. Here in TV is a HFH club that fund raises and builds their own homes for the actual local HFH organization. Donations to the local org can be redirected to the club for the local home build.

Charity Navigator will show you all the local options.

Then there is the time component. HFH has everything from building houses to retail assistance at the restores. That is worth a lot of $$$ as well and building houses helps with my lack of exercise burning calories. The house building also gives you a chance to meet directly the new home owners and hear their story… that part brings tears to everyone’s eyes. Then there are food banks where you could do things like take your kids or grand kids to say Sam’s Club or WalMart with the list of items the FB needs and take the items to the FB and let the young ones see how charity works. All these options I use avoid money going directly into a black hole and I am able to more closely see who is getting the money.

We also use a Donor Advised Fund which allows for better tax planning and also shields our home address from the charity eliminating all the garbage mail.