How much do you give to charity?

C_Mababejive

clairehi wrote: »

My OH has signed us up for various charity direct debits over the years and we now give about £45 a month in total to the following charities:
NSPCC, Oxfam, National Deaf Childrens Soc, Amnesty, Macmillan, Red Cross, British Legion.

However we are now looking at tightening our belts and wondering whether to reduce payments.

I feel bad about it to be honest as I know charities are having a hard time at the moment. And at the same time, we (or rather OH) spend a lot on things like Sky which he has said he is not prepared to stop.

How much do other MSErs give to charity, and what would you prioritise charitable donations above?

With respect,your OH must be crazy.Trim down those DDs or even better,cancel them all.

You can then give on an ad hoc basis if you like.

I give nothing to charity and why? As a single white male,no one would give a stuff if i was in the gutter.

I am occasionally moved to give and my most recent give was to the Haiti earthquake fund. It would be nice if the media gave us a progress update but thats another story.

Ada_Doom

C_Mababejive wrote: »

With respect,your OH must be crazy.Trim down those DDs or even better,cancel them all.

You can then give on an ad hoc basis if you like.

I give nothing to charity and why? As a single white male,no one would give a stuff if i was in the gutter.

I am occasionally moved to give and my most recent give was to the Haiti earthquake fund. It would be nice if the media gave us a progress update but thats another story.

Even single white men benefit from lots of charities y'know. Cancer research, any medical charity in fact, MIND, Help the Aged (at some point...), the list is endless. And if you look on the amazing internet you could probably find lots of news stories on Haiti, maybe the British media are no longer interested in it as a news story, sometimes you have to hunt the whole world over for news.

C_Mababejive

But i already pay my tax and NI so I have a right to access the health services in the UK.

bylromarha

We give to a small local charity every month - of an amount that means we can't afford treats like Sky, takeaways. We see the effect our money has on this charity and are quite happy to give up our treats to enable others to access services which would otherwise not be available.

Yes times are tough, but if they're tough on you, there is alwas someone they're going to be even tougher on. If you feel you need to review, why not direct the money away from the national charities or reduce the amount you give? Don't get out of the habit of giving IMO - there is always someone worse off than you and if you were ever in the position of needing the help, you'd like to think that generous people still existed i guess.

ManOnTheMoon

We tend to donate locally or to smaller charities. We try and stick too children and animal charities and donate in small bits and not via direct debit, but either in the post or in collection pots.

I was always taught, give and you will never be poor.

rozzeratti

I don't have any direct debits set up for any charities not since my DH told me about all the posh cars jaguars, Mercs, BMW's and such that were parked up in the head office of a certain charity. There was a directors meeting and my husband attended the meeting room just before hand as he was installing their fresh water system for the meeting.

Nottoobadyet

If anyone is interested in a local charity (London and Birmingham) helping women in need that can guarantee 100% gets to the beneficiary and that they wont pass on your details, PM me! They do great work and I'm happy to recommend them. They'll send you a monthly update by email which you can opt out of - that's it.

Nottoobadyet

rozzeratti wrote: »

I don't have any direct debits set up for any charities not since my DH told me about all the posh cars jaguars, Mercs, BMW's and such that were parked up in the head office of a certain charity. There was a directors meeting and my husband attended the meeting room just before hand as he was installing their fresh water system for the meeting.

To be fair, charities boards are usually not made up of employees but of external business people / leaders in the field that don't work there. Certainly no one at my (big, international) charity drives a fancy car (or even a car!) unless they happen to have a very wealthy partner.

clairehi

What I didnt expect when I posted this thread was the spurious reasons that some people would come up with for not giving anything to charity.

"Im a single white man and no-one would care if I was in the gutter"

"I once went to a dogs home and the staff were chatting over a coffee"

"Someone I went golfing with said that not much money reaches the beneficiaries"

"My OH went to a charity's office and there were expensive cars in the car park"

"I dont give to charity as it increased my tax liability" (total rubbish and the poster has not responded to my challenge on this"

"I would only give money if I could give the £5 directly to a starving child (really? what would they do with a £5 note- eat it?)

All of the above people should be ashamed of themselves for coming up with such pathetic rationalisations for not giving to those less fortunate. I wish I could send Bob Geldof round to tell them a few home truths.

Hermia

C_Mababejive wrote: »

I give nothing to charity and why? As a single white male,no one would give a stuff if i was in the gutter.

That's nonsense. I know plenty of "single white males" who have benefitted from charity. When my uncle had cancer he was helped by two local cancer charities. My friend does voluntary work for a charity that gives computer lessons and job-hunting advice to the unemployed many who are single, white and male. I am sure the Samaritans helps many single men.There are many charities that offer excellent advice and support to anyone who asks.