Do you give to charities?

[SnakespearesSis]

I give to local charities only, one happens to be where I volunteered for years, so I know exactly where the money goes.

Regarding charities, I have a theory. If they can afford to advertise on TV and radio, especially using celebrities to appear or do voice-overs, if they pay their top staff 6 or 7 figure salaries, if they hoard money, if only a small percentage (e.g. 5%) goes to the people or animals that it's supposed to help, then this charity (or foundation) does not need my money.

There are, of course, some great charities out there, many are small, local, and in even greater need than the well known ones, so it's always a good idea to do some research before you give money. Donating saleable goods to charity shops is always good, as is buying goods there when you can. Donating to food banks is also a good option, please check sell by/use by dates of any food given.

 

[Notothefakes]

I give to local charities only, one happens to be where I volunteered for years, so I know exactly where the money goes.

Regarding charities, I have a theory. If they can afford to advertise on TV and radio, especially using celebrities to appear or do voice-overs, if they pay their top staff 6 or 7 figure salaries, if they hoard money, if only a small percentage (e.g. 5%) goes to the people or animals that it's supposed to help, then this charity (or foundation) does not need my money.

There are, of course, some great charities out there, many are small, local, and in even greater need than the well known ones, so it's always a good idea to do some research before you give money. Donating saleable goods to charity shops is always good, as is buying goods there when you can. Donating to food banks is also a good option, please check sell by/use by dates of any food given.

I always buy food to donate to food banks. I don’t like the idea of routing through my cupboards and giving food I didn’t deem good enough for myself or with a short shelf life on it.

 

[SnakespearesSis]

I always buy food to donate to food banks. I don’t like the idea of routing through my cupboards and giving food I didn’t deem good enough for myself or with a short shelf life on it.

This is a very good point.

 

[Snippysnips]

I always give stuff I don't need/want to the shops like clothes, furniture, books etc so long as it's all in great condition which most times it is, I also used to do race for life before I couldn't with my health, I don't do the monthly payments but ill donate to macmillain Cancer, they don't receive any goverment funding an relay heavily on the public an they are there from day 1 with you from what you are diagnosed to either passing or survival an they do so much, before my gran died it was them that helped with everything every step of the way like finances, help with shopping, check ups etc I also used to give away all my dogs all toys he never looked at an his beds he didn't like to dog rescue shelters, they are always happy to take in good nick toys an beds, if I've had animals pass an still have a ton of sawdust, hay, food etc it goes to small animal shelters as well

My brother actually got turned away from a charity that helps woman fleeing from abusive homes an have nothing with baby clothes, my neice got a ton of clothes an some of it I think she maybe wore once for a hour or two, some they had taken labels off but she never got round to wearing it, it was all immaculate clothes like outfits, vests, baby grows etc n they told him "we only take brand new things" he ended up going to charity shop with it an they were grateful

 

[prozacprincess]

I don’t donate money but I regularly buy goods for animal charities off their Amazon wish lists, and if I’m at the vets I will ask of any of the rescues has a bill outstanding and I will pay some or all of it off depending on the amount.

I donate food to food banks when I buy my groceries, and I’ve given clothes to charity shops and a local charity that helps refugees.

My husband and I also pay the wages of one of the rangers who protect rhino in Tanzania.

For me charity always has to have some sort of physical component I guess. I would never give to any charities that employ ‘chuggers’ or hassle old ladies on the phone.

 

[GiftedNotFree]

Yes, not loads of money, but some. I also shop in and donate to charity shops; volunteer my time (which technically isn’t charity), and buy food for food banks. I think everyone can do something- even if it’s something super small, it all adds up.

 

[Kim Mild]

For me charity always has to have some sort of physical component I guess. I would never give to any charities that employ ‘chuggers’ or hassle old ladies on the phone.

I would never give to a chugger either. If I'm asked , the answer is automatically no. I'd rather be seen as a nasty person who doesn't help charity, than be bullied into handing money over.

 

[HandTmum]

I have a monthly standing order to a small dog charity, sponsor a dog at dogs trust and donate to food banks when I can.

 

[BattleAxing]

I don't donate to larger charities anymore. Years ago I had a monthly donation to the Dogs Trust.

I more often than not prefer to donate things directly such buy items for the food bank drop offs when I am shopping. And always donate any clothes to the women's refuge (I have alot and tend to do massive clear out 2-3 times a year), if it's coats they go the local homeless shelter. I've also donated my time for said local homeless shelter.

I occasionally like doing a marathon and if I do that I donate to Papyrus a male suicide prevention charity. Which is close to my heart.

 

[JoJo76]

I support two local cat recuses with donations and also fostering, plus a Greek cat rescue.

 

[silkytoes]

I give to 2 human rights charities and a homelessness charity on a monthly basis. I get the point about not donating to the larger ones but for something like human rights, I don't know if it's the sort of thing smaller local charities exist for or can easily influence. I might consider swapping the homelessness one to a more local charity though.

I have quite regular clearouts of books because I read a lot and have minimal space so they tend to go straight to charity shops, normally just whoever will take them!

My Amazon Smile is set up to donate to the charity I used to work for but I try not to buy from Amazon too much and they really don't give much.

I volunteered for a few charities in my teens, a youth club and a charity shop, but don't anymore. I signed up to volunteer recently for something and went through all the checks and training but my DBS check never came through then they lost my driving licence doing the ID check for it so I gave up which is quite bad of me. I'll try again at some point! I also then worked for a smaller charity in their head office but the pay was low and I was having to put the stupidly high train fares on my credit card each month so couldn't really afford to keep working there.

 

[Ensay]

I give to the RNLI because of the great work they do rescuing people at sea.

I also give to my local hospice charity because they were brilliant with my Dad on his final day/last hours and I've heard so many other similar stories from friends, work colleagues, etc.

 

[ThisIsMyDragName]

There was lots of chat on the Celebrity Gossip thread about charities and CEO salaries and a poster put a link to this thread, so I wanted to pop my own thoughts here, as it’s a more appropriate place than that thread. I’m wary of outing myself here, haha!

I work for a charity, at the top of the ‘hierarchy’. I wish I was paid a 6 figure salary not even close I’m afraid. I don’t work for one of the big national charities. It costs a lot to run a charity, even a little one. Even one where volunteers outnumber staff. Even one outside of the M25 bubble where everything seems to cost more. Especially since the cost of living crisis came along. The work we do can also be done in the most part by the public sector. They pay their staff HUGE sums of money to do the same thing as the staff in my charity do and they have much bigger budgets so there is even more of them than there are of us. So they achieve more and look like the heroes and get more money to recruit even more. Trying to retain our staff is really tricky. You need skilled, dedicated people with experience and knowledge. And you need to pay them a fair wage with decent terms and conditions because they deserve that and they are living in the same cost of living crisis that we all are. All of that costs money in one way or another. All the public sector workers are striking over pay (not saying that’s a bad thing!), and then you look in your own budgets and you just don’t have anything left to match the increases they are getting for your own staff. It’s grim.

For charities to survive, you need the best of the best in lots of the key roles. Which means you need to pay a competitive amount of money to attract and retain them. Otherwise, the charity doesn’t stand a chance. For the record, I hate chuggers, I hate that the charity I donate by DD to (forced by a chugger whilst young and not assertive enough to turn them down, and I never had the heart to cancel) call me up periodically to emotionally blackmail me into increasing my DD (including a period where I had been made redundant and didn’t even have a bloody income). In a previous role in another charity, a chugger working on behalf of the same organisation as I worked for was harassing me whilst I was on duty and out working on the frontline for that charity. Gross. In that same job, when I did have to go to the head office I sat near the fundraising team and I absolutely hated it, hearing them call people up about whatever event or day they had on next. In my current work there are very strict rules about how we generate income so chugging is banned. Whilst I would never go down the chugger route even if the rules were relaxed, our super strict rules make income generation extremely hard. I have a lot of sleepless nights about how we’re going to keep going, I’m not going to lie!

There was a lot of talk in the Celebrity Gossip thread about CEOs not caring about the people (or animals) their charities help. It’s tricky. You have to be equal parts business and charity minded. It’s not about profit, it’s not about improving your own bank balance with some sort of bonus, it’s about making sure your charity can continue to survive for many years to come. You might have lots of money in your charity bank accounts, but there might be strict rules on how you can spend it. Or your governing document may state that you need to keep an emergency pot of money in the event that all of your income streams dry up - a very real threat right now! I’ve lost big chunks of income with the news only coming in a couple of weeks before the new financial year, with no time to scrabble about to find something else. I care very deeply about the people we support in our charity, I really do. But, my focus is on keeping us going, because that’s my job in the charity. If I can keep us going, I can keep paying the staff a decent(ish) wage, I can keep our budget for volunteer travel expenses well stocked so we can reimburse them for their travel and make sure they’re not out of pocket for all they do for us, and then they can use their collective knowledge and expertise to help people. So it’s not that I don’t care, it’s that my role in the team is to focus on making sure we stick around to help people.

This is not some insight into all charities. There are notable, high profile instances of charities misappropriating their funds. But the money you donate might very well go to staff wages, and that’s not necessarily always a bad thing. It might be the only thing that keeps that very skilled, experienced, brilliant member of staff in their job. It won’t mean they’re driving around in a Bentley wearing designer goods!

 

[MissTeddy]

The big charities receive millions in donations each year and need to be run by competent, skilled staff to ensure these funds are put to the best use. You cannot achieve this by paying the CEO of a large national charity £50k a year, it HAS to be competitive.
Charities are not perfect but where would we be without them. They do a lot of good . There are always horror stories and these make good press but the vast majority of charity employees have chosen to work in the third sector to do something meaningful and could earn a lot more in the private sector..

 

[ElChanguito]

I never give to them. I do acts of kindness for people I know, that doesn’t cost anything.

 

[rainbowlemon]

It used to be Maytree, but we started buying extra and donating food instead at the collection point in our local ALDI.

I do try to give something every time I get paid.

 

[Deeznutslol]

Yes. I’m a total sucker for giving to charity tbh. Just show me a picture of a child who is suffering and I will be instantly reaching for my card. Even though I’m broke atm, I just can’t help myself lol.
My mission for 2024 is to get involved with a charity and actually volunteer myself.

 

[JoJo76]

Yes. I’m a total sucker for giving to charity tbh. Just show me a picture of a child who is suffering and I will be instantly reaching for my card. Even though I’m broke atm, I just can’t help myself lol.
My mission for 2024 is to get involved with a charity and actually volunteer myself.

Volunteering is a great way to help if you don’t feel able to financially contribute. I foster cats for a local rescue, and it’s so wonderful being that stepping stone from a crappy life to a loving home.

 

[Deeznutslol]

Volunteering is a great way to help if you don’t feel able to financially contribute. I foster cats for a local rescue, and it’s so wonderful being that stepping stone from a crappy life to a loving home.

That’s lovely! There is actually a cat fostering association near where I live. I’d have to get it ok’d by my landlord first but if they say yes, it’s definitely something I could do!

 

[JoJo76]

That’s lovely! There is actually a cat fostering association near where I live. I’d have to get it ok’d by my landlord first but if they say yes, it’s definitely something I could do!

Have a good think as it is hard saying goodbye, but a lot of my fosters have gone to homes where they’ve kept in touch and it’s so heartwarming to see them loved and settled.