Tag: charities

tradfems:

I’d also just like to say something that absolutely rocked my world when I heard it. Please be wary when donating to charities you are not familiar with. This is not an anti-charity or anti-donation post, but there are some not-so-honest people out there.

I used to volunteer at a cancer outreach office with some of the best women I’ve ever met. And one of them told us about a particularly gut-wrenching story and I think it has a really good lesson.

I can’t remember the organizations she listed off-hand, but she was recalling a meeting she was in once that made her stop donating to places she didn’t know about in-depth. They were talking about other cancer-related “charities”.

There are countless organizations that are absolute frauds. Some spring up, take donations, and then disappear. Others might take money and spend it horribly. Some, like Susan G. Komen, are way more corporate than they ever are charity. They are very good at appealing to empathy and getting people to think they’re helping, when in reality they aren’t doing all that much at all. Or worse – nothing.

Don’t feel bad saying no to a cashier who asks if you want to donate to a charity you aren’t familiar with. I’d even go so far as to say you shouldn’t, unless you are familiar enough with the charity. Learn about charities you’re thinking about donating your time or money to. There are some that are absolutely terrible and take advantage of people’s generosity, and there are others who actually strive to make a difference in the world.

Feel bad you can’t donate to ___ charity at walmart when you’re checking out? Go home, go to their website, read some testimonies and look to see where their money is going. If you’re happy with their operation, donate online! Many charities have online donation features now. It’s absolutely feasible to say “Not right now” and do your research and possible donations later. If anyone wants to guilt you about saying no, simply tell them that you’re going to go home and check out the charity for yourself. That’s a very fair and reasonable expectation.

When she told me about one “cancer organization” here in Canada that used the money to essentially host corporate tea parties every year and do not much else whatsoever, I learned to really make sure that whoever I’m supporting is a genuinely good charity, and that it genuinely cares about the cause it claims to fight for. Unfortunately there are too many people taking advantage, and it sucks. It really really sucks that people do these things just to get some money at the expense of charity and empathy.