Do You Research Charities Before Donating?

What is true is how much united way takes as overhead. I discovered this when my work offered to match any donation to my favorite charity by 50% through the United Way. Sounded like a great deal, until I researched and discovered that unless I donated to just a few options, the charity would actually receive LESS money than if I just donated directly! I can't confirm how much the "special" charities actually received, but I believe there was some benefit. But again, the United Way took a huge cut of the donations.

Hi S.,

I don't know where you got your figures for this charity as it is completely untrue. Less then 5% goes to unicef? Crazy as that is so untrue. 91% goes to the cause for Unicef. Also 1.2M to CEO? That is also untrue. 472K goes to the CEO, although a lot, if you compare to other CEO salary at this large of a company it is comparable. Don't believe everything you hear. I could say that Obama is not a US citizen but really do you believe that is true? Anyways I think yes you should definitely research charities. Most are good but some are corrupt.
Snopes is an awesome site to find out the facts.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/charities.asp

Yes. There was a Wash Post article recently about how many big name charities use third parties to collect donations and how much of the money is funneled to the third party and not to the people. I support smaller charities with less overhead and more local causes. I know if I donate $50 to our local soup kitchen it's going to their hardworking staff, the food they use or other services for the men and women that come in. It's not going to some suit in an office somewhere. People sometimes come by asking us to Save the Bay or whatever and I refuse to even listen to them. Do you have materials? That I can keep and research on my own? No? Good bye.

I donate only to local charities that I can see. Help your neighbor first. The large "corporation" charities can get help from rich people who want a large name attached to them or companies that usually only donate to a known charity. Normal people like us should be supporting our local charities.

My exception is that I do "donate" to the LA County Zoo and Discovery Science Center. Yes the make money but the annual membership lets me into these places for free for my kids so really, I'm just trying to get in free. I would do the membership even if it wasn't a tax write off because both places offer more than an annual membership to Disneyland as a place of learning. Please don't harp on the cruelty of zoos either. I've seen cruelty and this is not Sea World where it's about exploited animals for show. This is a research facility for wildlife conservation.

Wow! If that was true, it would be disgusting!!! However, it's not true!! More research should be done before spreading rumors!!

However, she does make a nice salary which, in my opinion, is a little high considering it's supposed to be a charity she is running.

I try to do research and only donate to the charities I feel good about. We have one of those big donation bins right here in town for a particular charity - I did some research and couldn't find anything good about them; needless to say, I didn't donate - and it doesn't look like they're getting much from anyone else either!

I don't really have much to donate, but when I can, I usually donate right here to our local food pantry; that way I know where it's going and it stays local!!

Good question!!

S.:

Yes. I do. If I get a phone call, I ask them how much of the money goes to the charity...if they are paid for their time or if it's volunteer...

UNITED WAY - 15% or more is for overhead..

Use this tool as well.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.vie...

As for salaries? I think your number is off - I think she "earned" about $500K - which is still a large sum of money...

Yep!!!

Although, quite frankly, I support sky high salaries for for those running things. Why? To keep good people in charge. If you don't pay top notch, then you cannot attract top notch AND when someone comes up / you get top notch by accident... They get poached. Strong, capable, CONTINUOUS leadership is invaluable. (Changing CEOs etc. often is as detrimental as coups in nations... There are always periods of chaos.)

I don't know any particulars about UNICEF as its not one of 'mine'.

Something I DO know, though... Is that one needs to keep researching. One of my favorite leaders makes money hand over fist. They also come from money & have no need of it. Keep researching, however, and one will find that 80% of their post tax income goes directly into the charity, and the other 20% funds endowments/scholarships through their alma mater nearly every year. I wouldn't care if they kept all of it, though. It's just a bit of a giggle / frosting on the cake. I wouldn't like them any less if they came from a blue collar background and kept all their money for their family.

I do. And one of the best ways to investigate is to be involved or know someone who is. I have some financial skills, so I tend to volunteer at the finance level of non-profits. I love donating to local non-profits, including my town's Boys and Girls Clubs. I donate to my parish's local aid group. I give to food banks. And I always donate to local volunteer drives (scouts, sports, etc.) if they are donating a service or offering to sell me something (which I usually don't buy, but I give a donation).

Edit: As a supporter of our local United Way, when I was on a payroll, I wanted to clarify about their overhead. Most United Ways use @ 15% of donations to administer receiving donations, allocate staff to review the charities they send money to, allocate staff to present to businesses to recruit/thank employee campaings, and to actually provide some services directly to the community. Our local United Way provides a resource call line (dial 211) and a lunch site.

Yes, i carefully research charities that we make donations to--i check them out on charity navigator and also review their financial statements to see what they are spending money on and how it relates to their goals. I like to give locally so I can see the money at work in my community. We also give to our church and have funded special local projects in the community. But we also support some large non-profits that we have a connection with--development fund at a college, medical/research charity that gave support to a family member. I hate phone solicitors who call- I always ask if they are paid or a volunteer. Right now on the internet and facebook there are a host of rumors going about some charities. Do your research please before you spread more incorrect information.

Absolutely!!!
It's public information how much of each dollar goes to overhead costs (including salaries, etc).
It's also a really good question to ask annoying telemarketers!

Honestly, for me, I'd rather do the charity work myself. Volunteer at the local pet shelter, Headstart program, food drive/bank, Habitat for Humanity, or even Big Brothers/Big Sisters programs. It's actually more rewarding to actually see the outcome of your efforts. There's never any guarantee your money is being used as you want it to be, unless the receiving charity allows you to make that request. In most cases donations go towards advertisements, or calling centers to get more donations!

I usually only donate to charities that I have a personal connection to (PTO, local children's hospital, etc). My son also has a complex congenital heart defect, so I do a lot of volunteer work with the American Heart Association.

I don't do a lot of research. Most of the charities I donate to are local.