Charities, which do you support (1 Viewer)

[johnp10]

Just looking at the legion's accounts. Last year they raised 141 million. The total cost of raising that money (including wages) was £34m. Its a massive organisation with a lot happening so it sounds like a pretty reasonable ratio to me.

When we see "staff costs" we immediately picture a few fat cats taking massive salaries.
In the case of RBL, among other services they provide which need professional rather than amateur input, they run six care homes offering varying degrees of medical care.
Not cheap.

RBL gets my support.

 

[funflair]

I will be honest and say I have not read the whole thread BUT we do support various charities that are close to home Cancer, Alzheimers and MS but they are all greedy and after you give then £10 they want £20 and if you give then £100 they want £200 or £400 even when you ask not be contacted they come back with the emotional blackmail.

Years ago I entered a cardboard canoe race down the the River Dee from the Serpents tail into Llagollen town if anybody knows it, we were sponsored and one of the guys at work said he was sick of sponsoring people as the money always went to these big charities and big salaries and why does nobody do something for the kid's place in Eston (close to us) so long story cut short hopefully we made some money and bought a new carpet for the place. what I am trying to say is sometimes its easier to know where your money is going if you go direct.

Martin

 

[MillieMoocher]

What puzzles me is RNLI and Air Ambulance are charities. I would have thought any decent country would consider these to be basic minima for it's citizens.

And that applies to many other charities, like the armed forces one, we send them out to get shot up and then dump them !!!!

I had the same thoughts about air ambulance, and was speaking with a knowledgable fund raiser for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance about it.

He said that they didn't want to be part of a government funded organisation as the level of rules and red tape they have to comply with, targets they be forced to meet etc would be a nightmare as well as be a massive cost.

Not sure how true this is, but looking at the waste in NHS and other government bodies sounds reasonable to me...


Back to the OP, I have long been aware of the high expense levels incurred by major national charities, so have for about 20 years only supported small local charities where a modest contribution makes a real difference as opposed to your £10 getting lost in the £millions raised every day.

My only exception to this is anything to do with supporting injured servicemen. Happy to support that cause at any level!

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[Minxy]

5 bar gates.
Wind blockers.
AND websites.

You must be an alien.

... you forgot 'tree surgery' (cause hubby doesn't like heights and I'll quite happily scramble up the ladders and the tree itself), camper van fettling, DIY ... oh and just to show I'm still a girlie ... I do all the ironing too!

 

[lorger]

I think Lorraine must work for these charities as she spends 110% of my income .

When I ran my first marathon I used just giving for donations until I found out they charge, so if anyone is doing charity events use Virgin giving page can't remember the official name but 100% of you donation goes to your charity who then spend it on wages

My dad started working on a voluntary basis for our local food train to keep him busy (he's missing mum since she passed this year) were they deliver shopping to the elderly ( my dad is 76). They are always in the paper getting awards for their good work and this is why my dad went there. That's when I discovered they actually charge the elderly £4 per delivery no matter if it's a full shop or 2 items, if they could use internet they'd be cheaper going to asda for delivery. Anyway dad has left after 8 weeks of really hard work due to the fact the paid employees are lazy Sod's which he told them before leaving. That's what what happens when your self employed for 50 years

 

[magicsurfbus]

I pay a membership fee to one charity, make monthly donations to another, and from time to time I donate boxes of surplus stuff from my auction buying at Age UK's back door or at the local Hospice shop. I also go in the front door and buy stuff from their shop and from other Charity shops. In all honesty we don't do much active fund raising but we plan to donate 5% of our estate to charities of our executors' choice when we snuff it. My late mother did the same.

A while ago I found an unusual LP recording of the opening meeting of the Elvis Presley Fan Club UK in the 1960s. Unfortunately their guest of honour was Jimmy Savile, so after I sold it on eBay I donated all of the proceeds to Barnardo's That way my conscience and the buyer's were clear.

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[Hollyberry]

Lend with Care. My original investment from years back is repaid, then loaned to the next entrepreneur. I choose the person or group to lend to.
Knit-a-square. Very tiny South African charity with no big wage earners. Direct help goes to kids.
And a charity that's not a charity but an enabler. ---- 52 Lives, run by a lovely lady called Jaime. Absolutely no overheads, what you give goes to the person you choose.

 

[Abacist]

We no longer support The Donkey Sanctuary when we learnt that the founder was taking a 6 figure salary.

 

[Hollyberry]

Forgot the Dogs Trust. Pay an annual donation and they will look after my dogs if I die before them.

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[Bailey58]

We no longer support The Donkey Sanctuary when we learnt that the founder was taking a 6 figure salary.

The Founder, Elizabeth Svendsen, died a few years ago and from what I can find her salary in her final years was approaching £100k, not exhorbiatnt when you considre she devoted her life to the cause. I take your point since then when the new CEO is taking twice that but sometimes you need to pay the money to get the money. My £50 a year will not increase and I'll continue to ignore their Christmas card sales and raffles.

 

[Tom A]

I'm a great believer in charity begins at home but I'm running Manchester Half Marathon in October and hopefully next years London Marathon to raise money for this charity.

http://www.thecarlyfund.co.uk/

I'm lucky enough to work with Trevor,(he's the man in the middle of the picture), and you couldn't meet a more genuine caring person.
Trevor and his wife Sheila, have dedicated there life to raising money for Victim Support but they have a condition that all funds raised go directly to counselling services and not to pay wages to charity executives.
It's a bit early yet but here's a link to my Justgiving page in case anyone would like to sponsor me for the Manchester run.

<Broken link removed>

 

[Gromett]

I send second hand items and clothes to the Salvation Army and will always buy a war cry etc when they come round.

The only national charities I will ever give money to are Cancer Research UK and RNLI.

Locally I always look out for the Air Ambulance tins wherever I am.

As for bosses pay, I think £100-£150K is reasonable for a boss of a multi million £ organisation. They do need decently competent people and if they want them they have to pay them other wise they will just go work for normal business. I can't criticise that much to be honest.

However I want to see at least 80% of the money raised going to the cause they are raising it for.

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[Spanishsteve]

On FB I follow a group called something like 'WalterMittyHuntersClub', it looks out and exposes people who claim to have been in the military or special forces, or who wear uniforms and medals which they are not entitled to do.
They occasionally post details of charity collectors who are collecting for military personnel, but the sting in the tail is that a only a very small percentage of the money collected does go to the veterans if any at all.
They look the part in shopping centres and probably collect a fair amount of money but cream off most of it. It's always worthwhile doing some research before handing out money.

 

[Puddleduck]

RVS and MPNVoice as both have helped me and mine when we needed it. I also make donations directly to a medical research team but that is a private matter that has no place on a public forum.

The two charities I am happy to discuss supporting I support because:

RVS just by being there and serving hot drinks and selling confectionery and reading materials and other essentials for hospital patients and visitors.

MPNVoice because of the helpline - they gave me the information necessary when no one else either could or would. It meant I was an informed patient and able to get the correct information rather than the dud internet stuff which also meant I could intelligently discuss matters with my doctors.

 

[Cat53]

Tom Bowen Children's Legacy Fund is a nice one. It helps buy equipment for disabled children that have Bowen Therapy. It's a tiny charity. They purchased a garden swing for one child, paid a good percentage of the cost of a wheelchair for another.

David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust...ellies. Rescuing orphaned ellies and nurturing them until they are of an age and a mind to return to the wild. They also sponsor anti poaching efforts, and the Keyan wildlife Vet service.

British Legion.

Marie Curie

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