Part of bonus to charity - but a dilema

Does anybody ever do this. Somehow I got it into my head that I'd like to however since as long as I've been old enough to think about serious stuff like poverty etc I've always been convinced that charities waste most of their money on internal costs with something like 10% reaching the target (ie all these people who stand around on the streets who hassle you about some charity or another - they usually aren't standin there for free). Has anybody ever managed to overcome this mental block / find a way of giving which means your hard earned cash doesn't end up as the paycheck for some postgrad who couldn't get a real job?

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there are causes out there... Find one that you believe in, and where even a few $$$ will make a difference... Buying toys for kids in hospital, in an orphanage, etc.

 
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So my sophmore year I interned at a struggling non-profit in Baltimore City. Things sucked there. It was a program for at-risk youth, no more than 4 employees. Professors from Hopkins would come in and teach these guys GED prep, and they would live together, and work in a coffee shop the non-profit owned. It was a social enterprise, but things were baaaad. They barely had enough money to cover everything, and it was basically loans and grants keeping them afloat.

I got to know the president personally, and I know how he will put the money to good use. So for me, that will always be something I'm comfortable giving to. As for you...dunno dude. Do you know any small groups like that? I'd start there. They're much more cash-starved and unlikely to use the money for anything but the necessities.

 

I have a good one where you will immediately see where your money is going. Its called Student Sponsor Partners. Basically, you can make a time contribution, financial contribution, or both... and what you do is sponsor a motivated and driven inner-city youth and help get them into a private school so that they can get a sufficient education and get into college hopefully with scholarships in addition to funds the charity provides for them too.

Its a great program. Some of the kids in these programs are really bright and motivated but they are in sub-standard public schools where they are discouraged from excelling. This is an opportunity to visibly change someone's life.

Or if thats not your cup of tea and you'd rather make a contribution to desperately impoverished you can always go to the RedCross and donate money to any of the countries in Africa where they need money for food, medicine, and simple but life saving surgeries.

 

Use websites like give.org to see where your chosen charities spend their money. Do a search and get outputs like this: http://charityreports.bbb.org/public/Report.aspx?CharityID=679#charFina…

Also, scroll down to 'Charity Check-Up' section of this page for other useful links to similar services: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/telemarketing/tel01.shtm

 
aspiringmonkeyisanidiotIt's important to consider that you want your money to be well delivered. This means that there is the potential that a higher expense ratio will lead to better administered money. You can't judge a charitable cause just on the expense ratio.

No, but you also don't want to give your money to a charity that pulls in $5M in contributions yearly and have the director raking in a $1.5M salary.

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