How much do you give to charity?

rozzeratti

clairehi wrote: »

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.

I am not ashamed of myself.

mishkanorman

im not ashamed of myself either, i could agree with quite a few of those statements. I dont give to any charities on DD, i do a LOT of volunteer work for my childs school because i can see the benefits. I couldnt guarantee a financial contribution to a faceless charity either, and even though im a butterfly and kittens type of person i REALLY hate the adverts with the poor starving dirty children on.

peachyprice

clairehi wrote: »

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.

Giving to charities is not an obligation. You choose to give money you can't really afford to charities, others choose not to. Whatever there reasons, spurious or not, that it their decision and you have no right to make them feel ashamed.

If you don't like the answers don't post on an open forum, but do not knock people that don't share your views when you do.

clairehi

peachyprice wrote: »

Giving to charities is not an obligation. You choose to give money you can't really afford to charities, others choose not to. Whatever there reasons, spurious or not, that it their decision and you have no right to make them feel ashamed.

If you don't like the answers don't post on an open forum, but do not knock people that don't share your views when you do.[/QUOTE

Every line of your post is flawed.

You have assumed I cant "afford" to give money to charity which is an incorrect assumption on your part as you know nothing about my financial situation.

You say I have no right to make people ashamed. This statement is illogical. I cannot make anyone feel ashamed. If they feel ashamed by what I have said then that is because they have recognised there is truth in it. If there is no truth in what I say, they will have a clear conscience.

Why should I not post on an open forum if I don't like the answers?
I asked people how much they gave to charity and how would they prioritise charitable giving. Some people chose to respond giving opinions based on over-generalisations, crass assumptions, ignorance and prejudice. They are entitled to do so. They did not have to come on here and post their reasons for not giving to charity, did they, but they chose to . Equally I am entitled to challenge their poorly informed views, or to "knock them" as you put it.

I don't think charities are perfect and I respect that it is people's own choice on how to spend their own money, but I think it would be more honest to say, I dont give money to charity because I would rather spend it on something else.

Dr.Rock

Hermia wrote: »

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.

I'm a single white male and have used The Samaritans services in the past and found them to be far more helpful than anything the local PCT offered. I've also used counselling services which were run on charitable donations.
At some point in their lives everyone needs something from someone else whether it's financial aid/advice, medical care/treatment, counselling or just social care. I believe you should give when you can so you can graciously receive when you are in need. Whether that means through regular or ad hoc donating or through spending your time either on frontline charity work (working in charity shops/homeless shelters/kitchens or fundraising), or behind the scenes work (e.g. knitting clothes for Indian orphanages or filling envelopes with appeal materials).
I'd rather not say what I personally give as that's not why I do it and the only value that really matters is the value the person on the receiving end of an act of charity gets from it.

If_My_Pennies_Were_Pounds

clairehi wrote: »

Some people chose to respond giving opinions based on over-generalisations, crass assumptions, ignorance and prejudice.

You are obviously not aware that some people's "over-generalisations, crass assumptions, ignorance and prejudice" are actually FACT.

My mum is a personal assistant and her entire salary is paid by Cancer Research UK, she is also not the only person in her division or indeed the establishment who is funded in this way.

It is completely acceptable for people to choose not to give to charities when they KNOW that the majority of their money is not going to the right place. And for you to say that people should be ashamed of themselves is unacceptable and wrong.

Like you say, it is completely up to them who they give charity and you have no right to dictate to them or belittle their reasons. Especially when you yourself are looking at tightening your belt and perhaps decreasing or even stopping some of your donations.

And just for the record I do give to charities including CR-UK despite the fact that my mum could be paid with my money!

clairehi

If_My_Pennies_Were_Pounds wrote: »

My mum is a personal assistant and her entire salary is paid by Cancer Research UK, she is also not the only person in her division or indeed the establishment who is funded in this way.

And just for the record I do give to charities including CR-UK despite the fact that my mum could be paid with my money!

Why is this relevant - are you saying that your mum's job is a waste of her employer's money? Charming.

Obviously you don't think CR waste money, or you wouldn't donate to them, and the fact your mum works for them (or her post is funded by them) as a PA hasn't put you off. This is the exact opposite of the people on this thread who I disagree with who would say that your mum's job is "admin" and should not be paid for from charitable donations, so I don't know why you have seen fit to weigh in on this.

clairehi

If_My_Pennies_Were_Pounds wrote: »

It is completely acceptable for people to choose not to give to charities when they KNOW that the majority of their money is not going to the right place.

OK final word on this. Did you actually read any of the original posts that I was quoting and use your brain to think about the reasoning that had been applied by them? All those people said they did not donate to any charity whatsoever for the lame reasons I detailed in my post. I find that highly offensive to all decent charities.

Why do you think they "KNOW" the majority of their money is not going to the right place - I challenge any of them to come back and tell me how they "KNOW" this.

As I said before, if people dont give to charity, whatever, thats their choice. But if they choose to publically try and justify that with spurious excuses that denigrate charities for no good reason then that is quite wrong.

brians_daughter

I dont 'give' to charity. I donate unwanted items to selected charities and i volunteer my time as well... TBH many local charities are short of 'hands on' as well as money

LilacPixie

Claire - you seem to be coming across as quite defensive and confrontational. Charities keep accounts and they are part of public record, anyone can see them and anyone can draw their own conclusions. X charity received £100million in donations for y disaster/famine/disease but only £18million actually reached the destination intended or contributed to the transport there, the rest went on admin fees, wages, advertising costs. This is typical across charities as a whole. Maybe you should have a look at your chosen charities to see what percentage of donations actually reach those in need. For me I would rather give stuff direct like pet food to animal shelters, food hampers to the salvation army etc etc.

I would rather spend £100 in tesco on a load of tins, toiletries, uht milk etc than donate £100 for only £18 to actually reach those in need