I'm just tired of pink stuff, and I'm blaming Komen. And I'm tired of 11 months of radio commercials for an annual race.

Then again, I do have an inner gut feeling that most cancer foundation donations are wasted though.

Campaigns last for a pre-set amount of time determined by the company (ex. company-x donates 10% of the revenue of each item sold to x-organization)

OR

the fundraising campaign lasts until the company reaches a donation cap (say,$10,000 is reached and the campaign officially ends).

NPOs don't pay or these things, it's ass expensive and legit organizations do not have the time and resources for stuff like this.

FREE FREE REE - The end

And, no - I don't work for Susan B. Komen

Let me clarify what is going on for you (since I work with things like this almost every day).

These are corporate partners (the cream cheese that you bought is an example of such a partnership). NPOs (non-profits) often approach companies with proposals to establish a partnership and run a fundraising campaign. Sometimes the companies approach npos that they are fond of. The company DONATES it's marketing/ advertising resources to the npo or the fundraising campaign. PRO BONO. FREE. The pays zip, nada.

Of course, efficiency is only half of it. Efficacy is harder to measure. I don't know how effective DAV is, but they sure spend a lot on address labels and stuff.

@AD8BC: But I will never, ever give a dime to the Susan B. Komen foundation. Because of them, I can't seem to buy anything that's not in a silly little pink container. The latest: Philadelphia Cream Cheese. In a pink container. I thought it was strawberry cream cheese but it was plain. With a pink lid. Susan B. Komen also spends all year advertising for a fundraising race. I can't imagine how many of their funds that they spend on that advertising.

Last year we gave $500 to St. Judes.

Not this year.

It seems that they come-a-begging for money every month sending me large glossy brochures and beautiful letters from Marlo Thomas that must have cost a fortune to print and mail.

We also gave to Leukemia & Lymphoma. Then they called and asked if I could stamp and mail some letters for them. I told them no, that I was busy and couldn't guarantee that I could get the job done on time. The lady said that all I needed to do was buy stamps and mail some pre-printed letters. So I said OK, and they sent me a package. Not only did I need to stamp and mail letters, I needed to call the recipients, bug them, take their donations, and sent them back. There was no way that I was going to be held personally responsible for other people's personal contributions so I sent the crap back because they lied to me.

The USO didn't bug us too much after our contribution last year so they will get more this year. And, by far, the most thankful and least bothersome charity we donated to was the American Radio Relay League, they will be getting more this year. And then, of course, the local ham radio clubs.

Folks, let's keep the comments on topic and relevant to the original article.

Discussion of gay rights / discrimination is not appropriate for an article about charity scams.

Any further comments need to be germane to the article posted here.

If you ask the person sitting on the S.A. Kettle for an envelope you will get a receipt.

For Christmas Kettles:
100% goes to assistance. I can verify that in my division as I am an accountant with them and part of my job this time of year is to ensure the the money from kettles is counted and get it in the bank.

The other drives though out the year and the general donations cover administrative costs which, lets face it, have to happen. When an organization (Profit or Non-Profit) gets so big it has to have accountants, lawyers, architects, advisers, etc etc.

I haven't seen any figures from work, but the Wikipedia page said that 84% of money goes to assistance. I don't think 16% is a significant figure to go to all the administrative costs an organization this size has to cover. There are no outlandishly paid exec's or corporate jets or any of that sort. Most of the administrative costs are to support the front line assistance programs.

@Trencher93:

If the org. can afford to pay their CEO $500k/yr, they obviously don't need my lousy few hundred bucks. Some actually are small charities - say less than $2M/yr revenue - yet they pay their founder/CEO $300k +. No thanks.

Salary is one of the key things I look when choosing what org. to give to. I also look closely at the 4 star rated ones on charitynavigator.org.

@speedwell:
I completely understand where you're coming from. However, I hardly think that listening to passages from the Bible is akin to selling your body or giving up your children.

Also, keep in mind that the Salvation Army probably doesn't snatch them from the street and force them to listen to a sermon. It's their choice to listen or not - and I hardly think they'll refuse a good meal if it means they listen to a preacher for a bit.

@bohemian: "They don't just discriminate in hiring, they discriminate in giving out charity based on sexual orientation. That puts them at the top of my blacklist."

Source for this claim about the SA discriminating in giving out charity based on sexual orientation?

@Pipes: So why don't you find that out for sure before you pre-judge?

@picardia: I hope you have a big backyard. They don't make very good inside pets.

@Eilonwynn: Agreed. I'm gay and am fully aware of SA's policies, but I still donate when I have the spare change. There's a time and a place to debate gay rights/discrimination; I don't feel that this one of them.

@bohemian: Nowadays I'm one of those "I give at the office" types. My employer will match my donations so I like to give money in a way I can actually prove later. The only exceptions are Toys for Tots (though I should check if they'll match those donations too) and if we're helping out a co-worker.

That being said, my grandfather, who was an avowed atheist and came from an atheist , once made the comment that there was no way his family would have gotten through after a fire without the help they got from the Salvation Army. It's the idea that the $2, instead of going for some silly toy for myself, might help some kid, somewhere. It feels right to me to donate.

And for whatever reason, since the economy's been tanking, I've been WAY more generous than I normally am. I think it's because I realize there are so many people out there who are worse off than I am...and one bad hit could leave them homeless/hungry/etc....

I wrote "insert cause here"

Many non-profits are hurting right now, badly, which goes DOUBLY for the people (animals/>) they provide assistance to. A lot of us are closing our doors, merging, cutting staff, or simply finding it more difficult to make ends meet this year.

@oneandone: Not implying that abortions simplify things - just that my delineation of their services was a simplification of what the org does. But abortions & lobbying are distinct from the rest of the services.

@chrisfromnl: I understand your point, and it makes me wonder what you think of a similar distinction made for contributions to Planned Parenthood. To be eligible for certain state and federal funds, they have divided the organization into distinct internal entities - political lobbying branch, general women's health services, and abortions (to simplify things). You can give a donation to any or all of the branches. They have a national reach and an enormous amount of clinics.

If you are a person opposed to abortions, but interested in providing needy women with treatment or screenings for major gynecological health issues - or providing them with prenatal care - how comfortable would you feel giving your donation to Planned Parenthood?

I had it all typed out and I did some kind of magic switcheroo and half of it was gone.

Yes $500,000 is a lot of money. But in some areas of the country, it takes a lot to live, and it takes a lot to support a family. Until we know this woman is single, and runs a charity of 10 interns, I'm not going to NOT give based on the fact that I think (but can't show evidence of) that her salary is too much. The implication that someone is overpaid without having substantial evidence to suggest that others doing a job similar to hers are not being overpaid.

Yes, 500k$ is a lot of money. No matter where you live... Amazing...

And just because you only see 500 paper socks tacked up on the wall doesn't mean the charity only makes $500. Charities get millions of dollars in donations every year, from ordinary citizens to billionaires, and there are fundraisers and other ventures to support the charity. I guarantee this charity's annual nest egg is in the tens of millions of dollars.

My husband works for a nonprofit, significantly smaller than most organizations. Even a staff of 30 handles tens of millions of dollars each year in donations. And everyone there is underpaid.

And $500,000 a year really isn't a ton of money depending on where you live. In the D.C. metro area, most people go "eh" and in NYC most people go "meh" because the cost of living takes a good amount of that salary away.

But then again, "half a million" dollars seems like a lot more than "$500,000: doesn't it?

[www.charitywatch.org]

This is a listing of the most best charities, in various categories, in terms of how much of their money they spend on their actual mission. This can be useful if you don't feel like doing research. The AIP will also send you a copy of their full ratings guide so you can see what the less and least efficient charities are.

@chrisfromnl: Actually 20% of all donations to the Salvation Army go straight to their corporate headquarters, so the money you donate isn't necessarily going to assist disadvantaged families in your own community. The S.A in my town has pretty much eliminated all of their Social Service assistance programs. Honestly I don't know what they even do anymore.

New Hampshire

Oh? And what else should they be willing to do in exchange for a free meal? Vote the way they're told to? Sign themselves into indentured servitude? Give up their children? Provide "intimate services"? Because if they aren't willing to do any silly thing that occurs to someone else, they must not be hungry "enough"?

Are you a Christian? Because your tit-for-tat, "do what we say or else you can starve" kind of "charity" sucks.

@StutiCebriones: Thousands of years of practice....man we're just getting good at it.

@kittenfoo: "I escape the holiday charity guilt altogether"

Me too, I don't give anything to charity and I sleep just fine at night.

@Pipes: If they're not willing to listen to someone preach in order to get free food, then obviously they're not hungry.

Food banks (giving out boxes of food to families) do not have any stipulations on them before receiving food other than having a valid ID as to make sure they are not abusing the system.

The Shelter I believe has supper than a voluntary service/sermon/sing before sleep.

I probably should of been more clear on Street ministries. This involves the passing out of blankets, warm clothes, hot chocolate, food etc to people who will be spending that night on the same street. They also assist women who are in human trafficking situations by getting them off the streets and into a program. For full disclosure, I believe they also pass out those small bibles, so take that as you see fit.

Just FYI, in 2007 the IRS began requiring ALL charitable donations regardless of the amount to be backed up either by a receipt from the organization, canceled check or bank statement listing the organization. So, that $10 you drop in the Salvation Army bucket is non-deductible unless you have them write you a receipt (IRS Publication 526).

This page: [answers.yahoo.com] on Yahoo Answers includes a bunch of posts of non-religious charities; surely there must be one in there that your Christian friends would appreciate a donation on their behalf...

I find strange that the USA's army doesn't hire gays. And all USA's citizens contribute to this ''charity'' with their taxes. Sad.

I also give to Toys for Tots every year.

The SA bellringers used to be everywhere. All the grocery stores, Walmart, Target and the mall. The only ones I have seen this year is at Macy's. I'm not sure if they are scaling back or if retailers realized they annoy people and might drive down sales. I purposely avoided the stores that had bell ringers in the past because I find the noise annoying.

The best rule of thumb on giving is never give unless you initiated it. That solves most of the scam situations.

@Nick1693:
It's on their website. Plus, I had a friend who worked as an external auditor for them. She had numerous stories about how messed up they are. For an example, a male Salvation Army member must marry a female member. And when they are married, both memebr's pay go to the male!

@TacoChuck: Heifer is the #1 charity I support. Great organization. I am planning on buying a water buffalo this year in the name of my entire family. We'll see what they make of that Christmas morning. (They are getting other gifts too, though.)

@CaptainCynic: I didn't notice any disrespect in the comments about the Salvation Army - just people saying pretty much what you're saying: they disagree with what that group is doing, and would rather not support them. No one is forcing anyone to do anything.

I'm a fan of Charity Navigator. The interface is remarkably clear and I enjoy the pie charts.

Personally, I've been completely turned off to Save the Children and CARE - I think their overhead is too bloated and couldn't shake the icky feeling I got after learning about how they (and some other organizations) inflate refugee numbers and manipulate local poltical situtations, sometimes inadvertantly, but often with terrible consequences. Recommended: The Road To Hell, by Michael Maren. It's about aid to Somalia in the 1990s. [www.fpa.org]

Also, it's important to differentiate between discrimination and the approval or condoning of actions. Being a Christian, I would give money to a gay person in need just like I would any poor or needy person. But that doesn't mean I agree with the gay person about their choice of lifestyle.

Although I haven't done any research, I am relatively sure the Salvation Army would feel the same. I'm sure they would give money to anyone with a need. That doesn't mean they have a moral obligation to let just anyone hold positions of authority or leadership in their organization.

@Transuranic: Thanks for the info! Guess I'll just save my spare change on the way out of the store now.

Ok, this is probably going to piss people off, but I'll never understand why people get their panties in a wad over a groups beliefs. For the record, the salvation army is a church. If you don't agree with that church's beliefs, you aren't required to support them, but please respect their right to their religious beliefs.

The same thing really should apply to any organization, like the Boy Scouts. If you don't agree with the Boy Scout's beliefs then by all means, don't join them. But this is the United States, and groups have the right to their beliefs (as do individuals). No person or group should be forced to do something that is contrary to their long-established beliefs or to change them because some other segment of the population disagrees, especially when they are based in their religion of choice.

::closes eyes and waits for the ad-hominem attacks::

Wait, so I shouldn't have written that $10,000 check to The Human Fund?

They both offer gift certificates which can make a neat gift.

@Transuranic: That doesn't surprise me. I would imagine that most Christian charities have a problem with "the gays."

I save my pennies for the Toronto Humane Society. Kitties and puppies FTW!

The more you know.

I didn't know they discriminate against gays. I guess I won't be donating to them anymore and I'll make sure my friends and family don't either.

Give to your local AIDS charities instead. (But research them first, too.)