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Does Charitable Giving Make Things Better?

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AUTHOR: stelea99 on 1/27/2025

I was just reading through the responses to a Forum post on charitable giving. And, as often happens to me, my brain has these thoughts that seek to escape. This morning, they are all about the futility of using/expecting our giving to charity to make things fundamentally better. I usually make our annual gifts to food banks, figuring that this is a safer way to avoid charity frauds and expense issues. But, I know, that even if we gave all of our funds to the food banks, by the next quarter, or year, they would need more money because there would still be hungry people.

Problems abound, both domestically and internationally. There is no shortage of organizations that have identified a problem and are seeking funding to address that problem. But, as with food banks, most offer symptomatic help because there are no real solutions available that could address the root cause(s).

Even people like Bill Gates, who give away tens of billions, have trouble getting enough traction to actually fix something.  (https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/global-health/malaria)

I remember 30+ years ago when I was a member of Rotary, and the national organization came up with the idea that they could eliminate Polio by raising enough funding to vaccinate all the children in the world. It was a wonderful idea, very motivating. And, huge progress has been made with polio.  After 3B vaccinations it remains endemic now in just 2 countries. Rotary raised over $2B from its members, with an additional $10B in funding coming from various governments who wanted to partner in the effort. Millions of children did not get the disease. But, the disease isn’t eradicated. If the vaccination effort isn’t continued polio will return. This is an example of how hard it is to actually permanently fix something even when you have a good idea,  a solution exists, and you do a huge amount of work. Despite the need for continued effort in the future, I think this is a success.

So, we keep writing checks. And, I think that if we carefully think about things we know that for most problems that charities seek to address, real solutions are either non-existent, or a long way off in the future.

I think I need a little pep talk. I’d like to hear about other success stories in which a charity has  successfully accomplished something substantial.

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Chris Pillmore
6 days ago

I always check Charity Navigator before I donate to any charity. I want 90% plus of my donations to go to the people who really need it. Here’s some examples of charities that I will not donate to: (1) The Wounded Warrior Project – I don’t know if they’ve cleaned up their act yet, but this charity (just a few years ago) was giving only 60% of donations to the victims needing them. Also – the donations are directed only to veterans who have served in Desert Storm and afterwards, and this fact is not made transparent; you have to research this to find it out. What about the wounded warriors of WWII, Korea and Vietnam – why don’t they count? (2) St Jude Children’s Research Hospital – As of 2022 (the latest info that I could find) the two ex-officio directors receive compensation of over $1 Million per year. And they call themselves a charity???? There are other “charities” where the CEOs/head honchos receive even more than that. Come on – that’s not operating as a charity; that’s operating as a business disguised as a charity, with the 503(c) designation giving the organization the added benefit of not having to pay taxes. That’s just 2 examples. The other things that I look for are high administrative costs and high fundraising cost – 2 big red flags. With that said – my charitable donations go to local organizations that are fiscally responsible, compensate their organization heads more reasonably and use the majority of the money to help those in need.

Hall Plante
8 days ago

Donors should be leery of contributing to high-profile organizations. Namely those that spend money for national or regional television advertisements, and/or direct mail solicitation campaigns.

David Baese
8 days ago

I think it’ very important that the charities I contribute to get my donations. I think it’s even more important that I give the money.

UofODuck
9 days ago

I applaud the lofty goals of charitable organizations that are trying to end disease, hunger, poverty, animal cruelty, unwanted pregnancy, etc., but I am realistic enough to know that they will likely not fully succeed. Nevertheless, I will continue to support numerous organizations as long as they pursue their goals and are achieving some good along the way.

GaryW
9 days ago

Much of my charity giving goes to my local United Way, which is over 100 years old. They look at the big picture, a single charity can’t possibly help relieve all of the problems of their clients, but the United Way can help coordinate the services of multiple charities so as little as possible is wasted due to overlap.

Ae excellent op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal several years ago tols why you should never ask a charity how they will use your donation, instead you ask how they are meeting their objectives. I never designate my donations for a specific purpose. Another of the charities I donate to is my local Humane Society (which is over 150 years old). I suspect that a lot of people donate kitty litter, but I doubt that anyone donates toilet paper for the staff and volunteer restrooms. If I didn’t trust a charity to spend my money wisely, I wouldn’t donate to them in the first place.

Margot H Knight
9 days ago

I worked for non-profits for 43 years (in the arts and humanities). AND, I’ve been a tither (10%+ of my income annually) to various non-profits for over 30 years now. I give to about 10-15 non-profits annually, including the occasional emergencies (fires,floods, etc). Your ruminations are healthy ones—how to assess not just the efficacy of your dollars but how best to have your values expressed through your gifts. How best to give financial voice to your heart.

Key is to understand the mission and goals of the organization. And, then, look to see how they report their own progress towards those ends. I always look at their 990s on guidestar.org (AKA Candid now, I think). Does their budget align with their mission? And, please, don’t allow high staff costs to put you off—it sometimes takes PEOPLE to help people—non-profit workers should not have to take vows to poverty or forego health insurance or retirement benefits. It is still work. And CEO salaries are market-driven—many of the larger non-profits require a comprehensive skill-set.

What is, in your words, substantial? If I give to a program that provides fee-free experiences in the arts, those smiles and exposure are substantial enough for me. I give to food banks as well—one person not going hungry is fine by me. And, there are the long term gifts to organizations who are aspirational in their missions. Have they made progress towards eradicating teen pregnancy or yellow fever? My husband and I have both had cancer so we give to research for those cancers. Even if they haven’t “succeeded,” do you get the sense their goals and tactics are on track to do so?

If you’re contemplating a major gift or legacy gift, MEET the advancement officer and/or CEO to get a sense of their passion for the mission.

I’ve always taken the view that non-profits were created to mitigate the excesses of capitalism, providing services that government can’t or won’t do. I try to make my money “count” to help create a world I want to live in. For me, that’s a world where people are free to express themselves creatively, cancer is eradicated and people, regardless of their circumstance are treated with dignity and respect.

phenomenal8f6ba2e774
11 days ago

To your comment about traction, one really helpful aspect of the Gates Foundation and some other large charitable orgs/family philanthropies is their transparency, i.e., willingness to spend resources on publishing their failures as well as their successes. Gates Open Research has been a valuable tool for sharing the good and the bad from vaccines research to educational outcomes.

Last edited 11 days ago by phenomenal8f6ba2e774
Bob G
13 days ago

About 20 years ago I started a Foundation that taught disadvantage children how to swim. I remember being asked if we ever knew how many we saved from drowning. The answer was no, but if we saved just one, it was worth it.

Nony Edwards
13 days ago

A number of years ago the company I worked for had a client that was a Women’s Health Clinic. They received a grant from the Gates Foundation to provide free IUDs to women.
The impact on the entire community was significant. Unwanted pregnancy in the community decreased. As a result, the number of women using the WIC program (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) decreased so dramatically it came to the attention of the US Dept. of Agriculture.
I continue to support the Clinic’s good work to this day.

DrLefty
13 days ago

I mentioned on the other thread that I donate regularly to local charities (on the campus) that serve college students who are food-insecure and/or have aged out of foster care.

On a broader level, I like giving to charities such as Nothing but Nets, which buys mosquito nets in Africa to prevent malaria, or Doctors Without Borders.

Also, because I adore dogs, I donate to two dog-related charities that also serve humans. One is the K9 Comfort Dogs run by the Lutheran Church Charities—they deploy Golden Retrievers to sites of natural disasters or mass shootings to provide short-term comfort. The other is called Freedom for Fido, a nonprofit in Georgia that builds fences at homes of low-income dog owners so that the dogs don’t have to be chained up and can run free. The videos of dogs enjoying their freedom after a build are wonderful, and it’s a fabulous way to show care for their owners, too.

David Lancaster
13 days ago

I read that the (Jimmy) Carter Center has nearly eradicated Guinea worm in Africa

Our only charity is our town’s food bank. Charity begins at home.

Two funding sources I think most agree could be better spent are:

1) Most likely tens of billions spent to kill people

2) Billions (2.4 just by all this election’s presidential candidates) spent on US elections

These two sources alone could go a long way to eradicating homelessness and hunger in this country and around the world

Mike Gaynes
13 days ago

David, I would submit that the ridiculous spending on presidential campaigns remains in the economy. It’s spent with media companies and printing houses and restaurants on the campaign trail. Those businesses have employees who owe their jobs to that revenue. Selling advertising to politicians helps local TV stations fund their newsroom operations.

When I got my first TV news job in Austin, Minnesota in 1978, they were in the middle of a particularly hot local midterm election campaign. The extra ad revenue helped the station buy the first Doppler weather radar in that region to track our annual tornado outbreaks.

The tragedy isn’t in the spending. It’s in the clueless political contributions from everyday Americans who could do so much more good for their communities by donating that same money to the food bank.

Edmund Marsh
14 days ago

I give to a local organization that helps women. Most of them are terribly abused by the men in their lives.and have turned to drugs and alcohol for relief. Some don’t stick with the help that’s offered, but others do. One woman graduated from the residential program, got a business degree, took over the finances and is now the managing director. She’s a friend of mine at church.

There are lots of stories of success, and probably just as many of failure. We’re fighting entropy. All that we have we have built from the world we live in. But maintaining is just as important as building, or all falls apart. We’re maintenance men and women.

Winston Smith
14 days ago

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…” I made a difference for that one.”

Mike Gaynes
13 days ago
Reply to  Winston Smith

Amen, Winston. There are millions of lonely disabled seniors in this country. On my Meals on Wheels route, I deliver lunches and share smiles and conversations with maybe eight of them. It feels great to make a difference to those eight.

Well, make it nine, because I always come home smiling myself.

Rick Connor
14 days ago

I’m sure I sound like a broken record here, but one of the thinks I enjoy most about Voluntary Tax preparation is you frequently get to help someone right away, and in your presence. It might mean a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. But that is a meaningful amount to many of our clients. I know it won’t solve all their problems, some of their own doing, but some not. Sometimes we can give a piece of advice that could make a positive impact for them going forward.

We give to charities that are important to us, and feel good when we have insight as to the impact.

I think we also give to our world in the things we do everyday, especially our careers. My wife was a world-class nurse and helped countless people. Over my career I (along with countless others) worked on satellite programs that help identify dangerous storms, support global communications, and help keep our military safe and effective. Everyone in the organization had a role to play – scientists, engineers, technicians, finance, even HR. I think as long as we are honest, fair, and work hard we can contribute to the world getting a little better each day. At least that’s what I like to think.

R Quinn
14 days ago
Reply to  Rick Connor

“Even HR?” Watch it Rick😢 we deserve special credit for putting up with engineers- and their darn spreadsheets. I once had an engineer insist on showing me his slide rule. It could have been an abacus for all I know. Or a Curta calculator

Rick Connor
14 days ago
Reply to  R Quinn

I thought you would like that. I always made a point of having good relationships with HR, especially as I moved up in management.

Jack Hannam
14 days ago

I don’t know how to solve the big problems you mentioned, but I do think my modest gifts make a positive difference for a few people and thats good enough for me.

Ben Rodriguez
14 days ago

The Jewish tradition (via the Talmud, Judaism’s second holiest work) says that our job is not to complete the task, but neither are we free to desist from trying. I like the balance this strikes. We mortals must try to make the world better, but it’s not on us to succeed.

R Quinn
14 days ago

I think you are a bit too negative even for me.

I’m sure some donated money is wasted, some used ineffectively, but much alleviates suffering even if it doesn’t solve anything 100%. Some just makes our lives more enjoyable like libraries, museums, the arts.

People donate to their church, us included. It keeps the building open, pays salaries, etc. but the good it does is up to individual I think.

Our primary charity is St Jude’s Children’s Hospital and I hope it helps with research. We give regularly to the Williamsburg Foundation because I think history education is very important.

Very little is permanently fixed, sometimes because of human irresponsibility.

Chris Pillmore
5 days ago
Reply to  Hall Plante

Hall, my sentiments exactly – Parents having to pay for expenses that St Jude does not cover while their child is there, loss of income for parents when parents are there, etc. My pet peeve is the fact that St Jude’s pays their two top executives over $1 Million/year each, and the top staff members are paid high salaries as well. Sure, they help lots of kids….but they could help a lot more if they cut that compensation to $150,000/year each, as well as cut the compensation of their very well paid staff, A true charity should be “lean and mean”, not paying their staff even more than what they would earn in the free market.

Margot H Knight
9 days ago
Reply to  R Quinn

The Williamsburg Foundation—good for you. I had the good fortune to play Tory-daughter Eileen in their summer outdoor drama (The Common Glory) the last year before it closed (1976). One of the perks was free tickets to Williamsburg—every day I visited one of the workshops. The bookbinders, the wheelwrights, etc. I loved it. I’m glad to hear Williamsburg is still thriving, even though The Common Glory went belly up!

Winston Smith
13 days ago
Reply to  R Quinn

Williamsburg is a fantastic place to visit.

Staying in the historic district is amazing if you can do it.

Ben Rodriguez
14 days ago
Reply to  R Quinn

It’s tough to miss with St. Jude. They provide free care to kids with cancer. You’re almost assuredly doing good.

Margot H Knight
9 days ago
Reply to  Ben Rodriguez

They’re one of our regular charities as well.

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