[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Ele201

I just went on Charity Navigator and in less than 30 seconds signage popped up, asking me to donate to Them!

Another website you can use is "Guidestar". They also rate charities. I read a lot of Form 990's which is the annual required IRS reporting form. The Form 990 rarely includes enough useful information to evaluate a charity, but it does tell you how much money they receive and how much they pay in compensation to those who manage the charity. The problem with 501c3 charities is that there are thousands of them and they are very easy to set up. And, the IRS doesn't care how inefficient a charity operates as long as they provide some assistance to the approved mission. So, a charity can raise millions of dollars, but only spend a few hundred dollars on their mission. Another problem is that when a charity becomes popular, hundreds of new charities are created with a similar name which many people mistake for the original charity.

[Lyarham]

Originally Posted by Normal

Time and time again viewers get bombarded with the ASPCA commercials with animals freezing and sad music playing while begging for money to warm the sad animal pictures on the television ad. I am an animal lover, but the ads go beyond absurdity. The deception is major.

What is the salary of the CEO of ASPCA? By Zippia Expert - Dec. 17, 2022 The salary of the CEO of ASPCA is $852,231 per year. They are also entitled to $276,00 in bonuses and benefits in the amount of $47,859.

What bothers me most is older folks get their heart strings pulled on to donate to a CEO that makes more than they might make in their entire lifetimes. Be aware if you donate to charities, check out the administration fees and expenses.

Know which CEOs are giving BMWs to their children with bows on them for Christmas and which one’s actually work for their charities prosperity.

Great article. So many people get duped by these commercials

[GNXGuy]

I always wondered why the cameraman and others filming the freezing animals don’t untie them and get them to safety. what a scam

[banjobob]

I am tired of seeing the pathetic commercials of the poor Jewish holocaust survivors also

[CCristella]

$19/mt for an animal…$11/mt for a Veteran

[Two Bills]

In UK the RSPCA has been taken over by political/social activists, mainly vegans, who sole aim is to ban all meat and animal products, hunting, fishing etc.
If a few sick/injured/stray/abused animals get rescued along the way, that is a bonus, but classed as a drain on funds.
Our support and donations stopped many years ago.
We only support local rescue centers now.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by banjobob

I am tired of seeing the pathetic commercials of the poor Jewish holocaust survivors also

Me too. But, I wonder why people are allowed to make tax deductible donations to a private charity that, apparently, only benefits people who have no connection to the U.S., are not citizens, and have never been here.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Lyarham

Great article. So many people get duped by these commercials

Yep. Dogs and kids. Two foolproof ways to raise money. Unfortunately though a lot of that money gets misused.

Remember back in the 70s and 80s, and those TV commercials featuring kids looking to be about five or six, standing amidst a fair bit of squalor, staring into a camera while a disembodied voice assured us that "x" amount of money donated will feed l'il Rosita for a month? Where Rosita lived was never really revealed though it was assumed it was somewhere in Central or South America. Often the disembodied voice urged regular (monthly) donations, which would assure that Rosita, or whichever kid was assigned to the donor, would supply the donor with regular letters letting the donor know how much their money was helping, updates on their lives, etc. You could even get a framed picture of the kid you were funding.

There were legitimate charities doing this kind of thing. Save The Children for example was a reputable (though annoying) charity that actually did help. But there were knockoffs that didn't. One lookalike "charity", Feed The Children, ended up being investigated for fraud. There were others as well who were adept at separating gullible people from their money but not much else.

We try to donate directly rather than going through intermediaries. That way we KNOW that the money we're giving isn't going to fund some CEO's lavish life style but rather to the people and organization actually doing the work.

[Veracity]

///

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Always check Charity Navigator when you're thinking about donating to a charity.
Charity Ratings and Donor Resources | Charity Navigator

My mom used to donate thousands to dozens of "charities" every year, because she was put on a list after donating to a single "charity". Once they got her money the first time, they knew she was good for a lot more, and her name/address was sold to listing services.

"Oh but OBB daughter-dear, look, they sent me these greeting cards that they make by hand! The money is going to benefit children at St. Joseph's Indian School!"

No mom - it isn't. St. Joseph's is a tiny 200-student Catholic boarding school that gets around $51 million PER YEAR from donations. The children depicted in the letters you get don't exist, and the crappy cards you buy are mass-produced in another state in a big print-shop on sub-standard semi-matte card stock. The dream-catchers they give you are made in China.

These "save the puppies" and "save the poor Indians" and "save the starving kids in 3rd world countries" organizations are mostly what's known as "poverty porn." It is very carefully produced and created to tug on the heart strings of well-meaning but easily-fooled people.

If you want to really help unwanted animals, go to the local shelter and volunteer, or buy some pet food and save your newspapers and bring it all over to them. They need those never-read sections of the Daily sun to line the cages.

Well said, though to be fair, that Charity Navigator gives the ASPCA an 83% rating and says that 75% of what is raised goes to help animals (well, that may include education which may or may not be accurate about the mistreatment of animals), 20% to fundraising, and just under 5% to administrative costs.

[Haggar]

Originally Posted by banjobob

I am tired of seeing the pathetic commercials of the poor Jewish holocaust survivors also

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews gets a rating of 85% on Charity Navigator. It is a fact that many of the survivors of the holocaust are poor and without assistance would not survive.
They are dwindling in numbers The average age of these survivors is 85 yo.

Sorry you find it pathetic!

[oneclickplus]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Always check Charity Navigator when you're thinking about donating to a charity.
Charity Ratings and Donor Resources | Charity Navigator

My mom used to donate thousands to dozens of "charities" every year, because she was put on a list after donating to a single "charity". Once they got her money the first time, they knew she was good for a lot more, and her name/address was sold to listing services.

"Oh but OBB daughter-dear, look, they sent me these greeting cards that they make by hand! The money is going to benefit children at St. Joseph's Indian School!"

No mom - it isn't. St. Joseph's is a tiny 200-student Catholic boarding school that gets around $51 million PER YEAR from donations. The children depicted in the letters you get don't exist, and the crappy cards you buy are mass-produced in another state in a big print-shop on sub-standard semi-matte card stock. The dream-catchers they give you are made in China.

These "save the puppies" and "save the poor Indians" and "save the starving kids in 3rd world countries" organizations are mostly what's known as "poverty porn." It is very carefully produced and created to tug on the heart strings of well-meaning but easily-fooled people.

If you want to really help unwanted animals, go to the local shelter and volunteer, or buy some pet food and save your newspapers and bring it all over to them. They need those never-read sections of the Daily sun to line the cages.

I have trouble with even the ones that charity navigator rates as "good". Take the "International Fellowship of Christians and Jews" ... Yael Eckstein makes almost $600,000 / year as CEO. She only wants $25 for a box of food for starving Jews in Russia ... now Ukraine. How many people are not eating due to the excess salary she draws from this charity. She can't survive on $200,000? The difference ($400,000) represents 16,000 people who gave $25 for a box of food ... all of which went into her pocket. No thank you.

My wife and I make it a point to help locally and personally. 100% of what we do or donate goes to the needy party. There is no middleman. That's how I sleep.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

Well said, though to be fair, that Charity Navigator gives the ASPCA an 83% rating and says that 75% of what is raised goes to help animals (well, that may include education which may or may not be accurate about the mistreatment of animals), 20% to fundraising, and just under 5% to administrative costs.

According to their 2020 Form 990, the president received compensation of almost one million dollars, and 12 other employees received between $250K and $400K each in compensation. And, the charity paid out about $65 million to independent contractors for "donor acquisition and engagement". By contrast, the Tunnel to Towers charity pays no compensation to any of their managers, including the president.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by oneclickplus

I have trouble with even the ones that charity navigator rates as "good". Take the "International Fellowship of Christians and Jews" ... Yael Eckstein makes almost $600,000 / year as CEO. She only wants $25 for a box of food for starving Jews in Russia ... now Ukraine. How many people are not eating due to the excess salary she draws from this charity. She can't survive on $200,000? The difference ($400,000) represents 16,000 people who gave $25 for a box of food ... all of which went into her pocket. No thank you.

My wife and I make it a point to help locally and personally. 100% of what we do or donate goes to the needy party. There is no middleman. That's how I sleep.

I agree. The president of the Wounded Warriors Project is a retired military officer, but he makes more money from the charity than any military officer has ever made in history. The president of the Tunnel to Towers charity receives no compensation at all. Both charities have a mission to assist disabled veterans.

[Caymus]

Doesn't the Salvation Army have the lowest compensation for major charities?