To confess I don't donate to charity

[VAVAV00M]

Not because I'm evil, I just don't trust them.

The only 'charitable' things I do is donate to church, I'm brownie group leader, help out at the local stables and students who need very hard to get but needed work experience for my line if work.

Am I going to hell?

I've just been made to feel guilty by not donating to RND by peers.

I honestly won't donate until they have a list on the website showing every penny spent and where it ha gone.

I haven't read the entire thread, so sorry if this has been said before..... I think that when good causes, eg child cancer, get posted on fb with requests to like if you have a heart, ignore if you don't type thing, then people who like, somehow feel they are giving to charity, even tho they are not, and this somehow makes them feel better.

Bottom line, surely, is that large reputable charities at the least DO use the money they receive to save lives and improve lives. OK, not all of it, and maybe some of it even goes to funding somebody's comfortable, verging on decadent lifestyle. If the thought of that galls you so much that you don't give a shit about the people in need who won't benefit because you don't donate, then that's a shame.

No I did read it in the papers.

Please re read the thread.

I mean I did'nt

This was my post and this is why I find MN tedious at times.

If you are going to comment please make sure you understand what has been said.

*My comment on minimum wagw was meant to be tongue in cheek.

But when I read that some well know charities pay their chief executives in excess of a million pounds a year I was rather shocked.

Also I did not read this in any paper is was year end results that I was involved in.*

I think its wise to give carefully to charity, you want to ensure the money is actually helping the cause rather than just paying wages etc.

I mainly stick to solely the PTA now as have a large say in how its spent and it ll goes ln the children and school. We do give to the local hospital but usually in the form of new toys or dvds etc as boredom can be rife for long term stays.

I had an excellent experience with the Wildlife Trust recently (well done Wildlife Trust if you're reading this)

I give them a monthly donation. A lady phoned up from the local branch, thanked me for having donated for a year, and said, sounding a bit embarrassed, 'look, you're already one of our larger regular donors, and we don't like to pester people for money, but would you be able to donate a bit extra for this particular local project?'. I said I'd rather not. She said something like 'I completely understand that, and we really appreciate your regular donations'. No pressure, and I'll probably donate a bit extra for another particular project that was in the magazine.

Tedious comfy? You're telling me it's tedious when you're there saying charity staff earn millions, get free holidays, bonuses etc etc then quantify it by saying it's true because you just know yup, that's tedious. I'd go as far as to say you're talking pish, utter pish, but I'd love you to prove me wrong.

Please read my posts

CONFIDENTIALITY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tedious.

Yeah right then.

Sorry -sounds like a flimsy excuse not to donate. Like people who say 'charity begins at home' as a reason for not giving to overseas charities then don't give to UK charities either.

All decent charities will post their expenditure on their website. What makes you think your donation is so special that you deserve a penny by penny breakdown?

Just admit that you're too tight to give rather than hiding behind crappy excuses...same goes for many people on this thread.

I understand it all and therefore you must understand what I know is confidential.

A charity is just a ''business' like any other.

And just like any other business, as MrsKeithRichards pointed out, their accounts are a matter of public record.

Here is a more recent article:

www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/1104344/ - November 2011
"The highest salary reported is £167,000."

Link to ACEVO PAy Survey 2011/2012

I work for a national/local charity.

I get paid a living wage. As a previous poster said, no perks, and a three year pay freeze. There is a culture of working additional hours to patch over where we don't have the resources to do what we need to achieve. Obviously we don't get paid for that.

In common with other charities we are accountable for every penny spent.

And we do quite a lot of life-changing good stuff As well by application of skill, judgement, hard work.

I am very sorry that there are untrustworthy charities out there, but there are hundreds of amazing ones too. I don't mind if people choose not to donate or donate time instead. But the lack of trust upsets me.

I've worked all round the voluntary sector in my time. I assess applicants for the main leadership programme in the sector (and they are all pretty damn amazing). My partner works for one of the major funders.

Holidays? Perks? What planet are you on??

In this context I am always reminded of the salutary and moral tale of the Chevalier Bayard in the 15th century or whenever it was. He was walking along with his squire one day and came across some ladies whom he naturally saluted in his polite and chivalrous way.

• But my lord, exclaimed the shocked squire, do you know who those ladies are that you are saluting so humbly? They are... public ladies!

-Verily, said the Chevalier, I would rather salute a hundred public ladies than run the risk of omitting to salute one real lady.

I am happy to run the risk of funding a few charity workers, paying for the paperwork and possibly even funding one or two undeserving people rather than run the risk of not doing my bit to help one genuinely starving child. The latter risk seems to me the more serious.

We don't give monthly money donations to charity however I donate all our old clothes and items to jumble sales or charity shops. I also buy items from charity shops etc. I recon over the years they have made a small fortune on my back.

I donate to charities when I choose to. I dislike being asked. Or having tins rattled at me in the street. There are certain charities I think do good work - and I'll chuck a couple of quid in a tin if I see them. Others I don't actually 'feel the love' for and resent other people trying to guilt me into donating to them. It's a very personal thing IMO. So yes...I'm sure the WWF do a fantastic job. But I don't care greatly about saving the white tiger or whatever. I'd rather give my money to the NSPCC perhaps. I think my main feeling is that there are just too many charities, all wanting money. And my budget is pretty limited.

I get really irritated by people wanting me to donate to 'their' pet cause. You might support British Heart Foundation. I might support Cancer Research. Probably for family reasons, as you/I have lost family members to this specific illness. It doesn't mean yours isn't a great charity. It just means I choose to donate to something different - and I can't afford to donate to everything.

A charity is just a business, like any other? I hate how every charity, no matter how genuine is tarred with the brush of big business.

My DPs (both in their 70s) are heavily involved a tiny, local charity. They helped found it, have found volunteers to help them, spend many, many hours every week doing the admin they need to raise funds via grants, keep grant providers happy and ensure volunteers are trained and CRB checked.

Neither they nor any of the volunteers have ever made a penny out of the charity. All the money raised is spent on funding materials/venues/creches etc. for the people that the charity supports.

They never ask members of the public for donations. They would be devastated to know that so many people see them as money grabbing con artists .

I buy the Big Issue. Wish I could do more, because the homeless are treated like scum in this country (not the UK).

In the UK I used to donate to Cancer research every so often. I ignore chuggers and am quite short with door-to-door collectors.

HillBilly, what a ridiculous post! Charities don't just help the poor - I work for a children's hospice - how do you suggest people "cut out the middle man" with our charity?

What ignorance!

HillBilly, giving money direct to the poor is all well and good but charities do so much more, often in areas of life where most of us don't even know there is a need. Some charities bring change not only to individuals but to society as a whole.

People need more than a handout. Some need expert advice, skilled listening support, regular services. Some would like a cure for cancer or better understanding of what Alzheimer's is doing to their spouse.

Oh comfy you have made me giggle, tapping the side if your nose and winking "confidentiality"

Look, if you have been working on end year accounts which hide something of that scale and the salary does not appear in the audited and published accounts ( as available to everybody on the charity commission website) then really you need to be considering that this is fraud and should be reported.

Otoh, i actually dont believe you.

Oh, and HillBilly, I know someone who thinks the same. She's a right uninformed twat and I suspect a bit of a troll stirrer.