Charities, giving to those in need.

Remember most of them use 95% of the money for executive salaries and perks plus more fund raising. The members of the Salvation Army give there lives to the cause.

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence Wake Up America!! Please read; http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

i used to give to charities

till that CEO in NY built a house with gold faucets with it
from ‘the united way’

now i just help as the need arises
to real people

-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle

No tax deductions here, instead of giving useless Christmas gifts, destined only for the cupboard to family, we have been buying things like chickens, pigs and goats for poverty stricken people in Africa. I don’t know exactly who or where these charity gifts go, just hope someone can benefit from them.

-- Do or do not, there is no try

We only give to individual families or to specific places like the local Head Start. We also give to specific wounded warriors sponsored by The Patriot Woodworker forum.
The time of the year is of no significance to us because we don’t ask for receipts or acknowledgements.

-- Gene 'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

You hit the nail on the head David. The United Way Scandal opened a lot of eyes. I don’t think they really needed Libby Dole to run the Red Cross for a million a year! If they can pay that much for a figure head “CEO”, there is nothing I can do for them that will really matter. I do some charity work for people who obviously can’t afford to have their electrical work done. That does matter and I can make a difference there.

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence Wake Up America!! Please read; http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

Salvation Army…….read their stats ?

-- "Good artists borrow, great artists steal”…..Picasso

I agree with you guys. That’s why my wife and I only give to small, local charities and ones we have volunteered at. We actually get to see what the money goes for. I don’t trust the big ones either. Check out my thoughts on that on the Twisted Thread post I put there today.

-- I would drink a river of the kool aid before I took the smallest sip of the tea...

I don’t see a problem with large or international charities and there is no need to make sweeping (and inaccurate) generalizations. Finances of all of them are public information and can be easily viewed in detail by those actually interested through multitude of channels such as Charity Navigator, Charity Watch etc. Administrative expenses of Doctors Without Borders, for example is 0.9%. Try to beat that. American Red Cross, WWF are not far behind, just do your research.