Are all those organizations talking about starvings kids, sick animals and so on trustworthy?

Question

I would really like to regularly donate to an organization helping children, but i would like my donation to make a real difference. I would not like my money to be eaten by bureaucracy before it reaches those children who really need it. any ideas about a group i could make contributions to?

Answer 1

I know. I always wanted to donate to Feed the Children. I actually don't know a group name, but click on this link. It's a great charity.

http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/Page...

Basically you make a box with either school supplies, baby supplies, or small toys. They are sent to children all over the US that need help. I know they are donated because I've seen a few people in my area get them. I do many of these a year and think they are great. Plus, they are fun and a good lesson for the kids. Good luck! You are a wonderful person to take the time to check out where you donate before you give anything.

EDIT: Also, World Vision does a great job. You can pick a child. You donate a certain amount of money a month (when I did this, I gave $30) a month and you play for food, water, toys, and shelter. You can write back-and-forth to the child and even visit him/her.

Answer 2

like the great comedian Sam Kinison said " you would not be starving if you moved out of the desert"

Answer 3

Yes go local where you can see personally what your money is doing.   Go to www.secondharvest.org   find the foodbank nearest you and contact them for the names and contact info on local food help places.  Go volunteer a few hrs and see how ppl are treated.  Get their annual report or budget summary and see how they spend money.  Similarly for local animal shelters.   If you want an overseas relief organization find one with local contacts so you can talk to them and for a place that big get their 990 (IRS report on where the money goes and where it comes from)

Of course we would love to have your donation for Caring Hands Ministries if you want to help Southern Appalacia.  Our overhead runs around 21% and our staff is almost totally volunteer.  We've been helping ppl for over 12 yrs but there are places in your own back yard that can use your help.

Answer 4

You should find a charity that is reputable and is certified by the government, to make sure it isnt a scam charity.

I sponsor two children through World Vision Canada.

From what they themselves tell me, the majority of my donation goes to my sponsor kids and their communities, with some retained for clerical stuff i.e. mailing pamphlets and a certain amount for "emergency funds" (i.e. a tsunami disaster).

I get to keep in contact with my sponsor kids through mail.

The writing is done by a translator but apparently the child dictates the letter. I also get regular progress reports for the child and his/her community i.e. school supplies that were bought.

I think thats a nice touch to actually make you connect a bit; otherwise you just feel like an open wallet.

I live in Canada so government websites are helpful:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/charities/m...

For the US I found this to be a good site:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/

Overall, you should visit the individual websites of the charities you find to be reputable i.e. American Red Cross and see how they distribute their donations.

Some amount of it will inevitably go to the bureaucracy; 100% of your donation cant reach the child without expenses.

I think at least 80% or more should be going directly to the cause.

In the end you have to trust the charities a bit after making sure they are valid charities.

I recall a scandal here in Canada with the MADD organization. A large amount of their funds were being wasted or poorly used, not going towards the cause.

Now you would think Mothers Against Drunk Drivers would be a good responsible charity but it made a lot of mistakes and is now trying to redeem itself with its donors.

Hope this helps.

Glad you are seeking to help others:)

Answer 5

Yes, there really are trustworthy charities like that out there! Whenever you're thinking of donating to a charity, check them out with guidestar.com and charitynavigator.com. Administration and fundraising costs are always going to need to take a percentage of an organization's money, but those sites let you verify that enough of it is going to the children.

I have sponsored a child through Children International for the past ten years:

http://www.children.org

80% of funds raised by Children International gets is spent on their programs, which is a good ratio -- plus, their per-month fee is a lot lower than other organizations with the same mission.

You can read more about my experience with Children International here:

http://www.liftoneproject.org/goto/andre...

For more personal stories, you might also want to check out CI's blog at http://childreninternational.blogspot.co...