I have to ask: do Canadians have an option to Save The Grizzlies?
(I'm speaking of wild Grizzlies, of course, not the domesticated house Grizzlies that many Canadians have as pets)

5 replies

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fantomesq

@Trai_Dep: My favorite Canadian Grizzly sign:
[www.outdooroddities.com]

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RandomHookup

@fantomesq: Troy Hurtubise just laughs at that sign: [en.wikipedia.org]

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Trai_Dep

@fantomesq: OMG.
\"Grizzly bear shit has bells in it and smells like pepper.\"
Just SO awesome, especially placed at the end.

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nbs2

@Trai_Dep: Why do you want to save them? Not only are they poorly run, but they moved to Memphis years ago.

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nbs2

@Trai_Dep: Why do you want to save them? Not only are they poorly run, but they moved to Memphis years ago.

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RedCatLinux

That's always bugged me about charities. The ones that don't note what percentage of donations actually get used for the cause and not overhead/management bonuses.

I tend to stick with the ones that state it up front. Everything else just seems like the purchase of a warm-fuzzy feeling.

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thesadtomato

@RedCatLinux: There's no such thing as management bonuses in the non-profits I have worked at. More like \"everyone takes a 2-4% pay cut so no one loses their job and the director takes (yet another) pay cut.\"

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squinko

I think that making sweaters out of polar bears would defeat the purpose of saving them in the first place.

6 replies

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H3ion

@squinko: They can protect themselves. The Second Amendment preserves the right to arm bears.

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Trai_Dep

@squinko: Wouldn't poking and prodding a polar bear with knitting needles be cruel to the bear? Sometimes their fur is matty and tugging at it would sting!

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pecan 3.14159265

You keep your hands off Knut!

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Applekid

@squinko: Save them so you can make more sweaters out of them in the future?

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The Porkchop Express

@Applekid: actually, if we did make sweaters out of them, they would probably be as safe as possible. well not at harvest time, but the makers of the sweaters would certainly keep the population safe.

and damn those would be some warm sweaters.

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rocketbear79: threadkiller

@Applekid: Your post is an affront to bears everywhere, including this one. :p

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theblackdog

@rocketbear79: threadkiller: He's right though, save them and fatten then up and you have even more sweater material to work with.

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jivesukka

That usually doesn't sway my judgment when I am buying an item either. If I can get a clear cut amount and more information, I would give it thought but that is rarely the case.

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Trai_Dep

Alternate advice would be to buy embedded charities that have specific terms. The Apple RED program is quite specific (as are others, I'm not hyping Apple, but they come to mind).
Sometimes people need an easy option to give that might otherwise escape their notice.

2 replies

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Pink Puppet

@Trai_Dep: So much this. Blizzard is selling a little trophy pet for WoW characters where five dollars of it goes to Make-A-Wish.

Is Make-A-Wish a charity I give to? No, but I get something nifty and Make-A-Wish gets five bucks. And they get another five bucks every time another tiny pixel-pet obsessed geek buys one, too.

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pecan 3.14159265

@Pink Puppet: That's pretty cool. Blizzard is tapping millions of gamers. It reminds me of Penny Arcade's annual toy drive.

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Applekid

Can't trust polar bears with their cash. They ignore all the advice about investing and instead blow it all on fish.

2 replies

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Covertghost

@Applekid: Fish and blow man, fish and blow.

It gets lonely up there.

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RandomHookup

@Covertghost: Actually, all the lady polar bears end up with all the cash *and* the fish.

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ARP

So to try to create a typical example: you may buy a product that donates 10% of its proceeds to a charity. The charity in turn spends 40% (with 60% being administration) on the actual cause. So, if you bought a charity product for $100.00, you might have given just $4.00 (or less) to actually help that cause.

1 replies

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FatLynn

@ARP: Less than that. Proceeds are not revenues.

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Ben Popken

The problem with donating to polar bears is they always try to game the float and end up losing in the fish exchange arbitrage.

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GitEmSteveDave_RockinLabCoat

I prefer the three polar bear Neptune shirt. Even better than three wolf moon.

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pecan 3.14159265

Someone in the \"hospital bills family\" thread mentioned St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and how 100% of proceeds goes to the hospital. I'm browsing their shopping site right now, and it says very c learly at the top that it's 100% of proceeds after all related expenses. So that means that after they break even. This makes total sense, and I appreciate that St. Jude disclosed that right up top very clearly.

I have no problems with my charitable giving going toward payroll or administration costs - these places need to keep their doors open so they can continue doing the things that I am giving money for them to do. I have a lot of friends and family who work for nonprofits, so I understand that. I would certainly not donate to organizations with a history of improper spending, but for ones that I have personally researched and vetted for myself, I have no problems with my money going toward administrative things. It's not as romantic as knowing your money went to buying shoes for the homeless, but you are helping someone keep their job.

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RedCatLinux

@pecan 3.14159265: It's the 'improper spending' bit that gives me pause. Charities do need to function, but some of them seem to function along the lines of banks happily handing out bailout bonuses.

This is why I never had a problem giving to the Red Cross. They can have as much of my blood (within reason!) that they like, and I know that somewhere out there, it's helping someone.

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squinko

@pecan 3.14159265: \"I would certainly not donate to organizations with a history of improper spending...\"

I never give to United Way simply because of all the scandals they've had over the years. I don't understand how they're still in business.

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bunnymare

@pecan 3.14159265: Agreed. And I can't believe you have already been on the St. Jude catalog and looking so fast!

We were there for 6 months - they didn't charge us a penny for medical care, chemo, brain and kidney surgeries. They take care of housing for patients and families. They give people $100/week for groceries. No cable, phone or utility bills when you are in their housing. St. Jude is just....the most incredible example of human kindness and generosity on the planet.

To do all of that - doctor salaries have to be paid (and they need to keep top talent), nurses, administrators, and all kinds of jobs. But it all goes to help the kids, whose families' pay nothing. I saw ONE bill, for ONE surgery that was $106,000. We weren't even asked to pay $1 of that. Okay, now I AM crying!

So, seriously, thanks for giving and thanks for considering the catalog, and for bringing the discussion in the other thread here, too.

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pecan 3.14159265

@bunnymare: Ha, not only am I still there, I have about $50 of stuff in the cart already. My charities of choice usually involve medical or research-related fields. I very much believe in supporting scientific research, particularly medical.

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GitEmSteveDave_RockinLabCoat

@pecan 3.14159265: They have labcoats there?

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Pink Puppet

@pecan 3.14159265: I'm right there with you. I have the warm fuzzies from supporting medical research and helping kids and knocking out my holiday shopping for my nephews.

You just can't go wrong there.

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mizike

Alot of charities sell their own products (ie., not through a partner) so you know they'll get the cash that way. Mind you, you still need to research the charity to make sure 80% of the profit isn't going to \"Administrative Fees\" which is much more common than most people think. Buying Greenpeace calendars at Christmas time is always a safe bet.

Also, on the subject of charity, if you're too poor to donate to charity you can still give your pocket change to the homeless. It's a small thing for you but a big thing to them and the people on the street do really need it especially now that winter's (almost) here.

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larrymac thinks testing should have occurred

Polar bears eat ring(ed) seals, almost exclusively, not fish. They also enjoy dancing -> [www.flickr.com]

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bunnymare

I avoid \"share of proceeds go to X\" campaigns like that. Honestly, in the hypothetical here, I would deliberately choose Sweater A (with no embedded giving). Not because I hate bears, but because I am skeptical and I believe the claim is more marketing hoopla than actual charitable giving.

My exception to that is when the charity that is supposed to be receiving the funds endorses the campaign. Last year, when my (now deceased) daughter was a patient at St. Jude's, they posted on the St. Jude website about a number of campaigns where purchases (for example of Crayola products with the \"color of courage\" crayon - omg I'm going to cry thinking about it) would result in a corporate donation. St. Jude would show you all the companies that had these programs, and what donations would result.

So, unless it's brought to my attention by the charity recipient AND I know the terms, I avoid these things. Particularly because, for obvious reasons, all of my charity donations go exclusively to St. Jude's.

2 replies

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pecan 3.14159265

@bunnymare: Don't cry! Then I'm going to cry, and then whoever posts after me is going to cry, and you get the idea...

I'm shopping at the St. Jude shop right now, and the prices are incredibly reasonable. Certainly a generous portion of my gifts are going to come from the St. Jude shop, and I will also be making a donation this year.

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bunnymare

@pecan 3.14159265: You are the BEST. My daughter Vivienne is an angel, but she thanks you. We have a friend, a little girl, who just went back to St. Jude last week after relapsing. And I am just imagining your contributions being used to care for her, which is a nice (tear-drying) feeling!

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AD8BC

I'm getting a little bit sick of the Komen campaign turning everything pink... Granted, I am against breast cancer but I am also against buying a pink container of Philadelphia Cream Cheese... unless it's strawberry flavored, of course.

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babyruthless

@AD8BC: you might be interested in this:
[thinkbeforeyoupink.org] which advocates for asking critical questions (like how much of my donation is actually going to \"fight\" breast cancer) and to call attention to companies who are nominally against breast cancer, but also do things to promote it (like using hormone-laden milk)

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The Porkchop Express

@AD8BC: yeah, why can't they just put the little ribbon on it?

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

This makes me wonder about all those pink items that seem to be for breast cancer.

I don't buy those items.. not that I'm *for* breast cancer, I'm just *against* pink.

2 replies

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pecan 3.14159265

@Kimaroo - Fortified with Kittydus Purrularis: I really wanted some of the pink stuff, but my problem was that it seemed like everything had the Komen logos on them. It's awesome that the proceeds went to the Komen foundation, but I really didn't want a logo on everything.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

@pecan 3.14159265: What pink stuff are you looking for? I can fwd you links to things I run across that I don't want. LOL.

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Conrad

Most large company charities pocket a majority of their earnings. Either that or they spend the money on functions to advertise their charity. A lot of the money for Breast Cancer Research, goes towards events not research, and the same can be said for Relay for Life.

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WraithSama

Reminds me of when Starbucks had a thing where for every cup of coffee they sold this one day, a nickle would be given to some charity. Didn't sound terribly charitable considering the price of their coffee.

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babyruthless

@WraithSama: Starbucks also had a thing where if you went in and said that you had done X hours of volunteer work, you would get a cup of coffee. I can't imagine anyone who would say to themselves, \"I'm usually a selfish git, but I can get a [tall, brewed] coffee that retails for $1.50 if I do five hours of volunteer work. Where do I sign up?\" I meant to go get my cup of coffee, but I also do a regular shift at a Ronald McDonald House, so they wouldn't have changed my behavior (plus I feel like a tool going in and saying \"I saw a thing on Facebook that said you'd give me a free cup of coffee.\" I'd rather there was a coupon I could print out and bring in, even if it was the same thing--bring this coupon in and tell us you did 5 hours of volunteering, and we'll give you a free cup of coffee!)

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pecan 3.14159265

@babyruthless: My college required volunteer hours from each person starting with their sophomore year. You had to complete 25 to 30 hours each semester and if you didn't, you were in big trouble cause you would have to do 50 to 60 hours the next semester. If you were delinquent for two semesters, you got into huge trouble with the head honchos.

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Jamfish

Big props to CharityNavigator for slogging through the bad apples to bring us the good ones! However, the polar bears tell me they are doing fine.

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Propaniac

Zero is a percent!

A similar thing that bugs me is when there's a cap on how much money the company will give to the charity. Like a few years ago, McDonald's had what was clearly a multi-million-dollar ad campaign with the Williams sisters, hyping that if you bought some McDonald's product, McDonald's would donate some of the money to a good cause. But there was fine print in the ad that McDonald's would only donate up to $10,000. They probably spent more than that each time they ran the commercial.