I'm sure every one of my readers has a real soft spot for animals, and you've probably donated or thought about donating to animals in need. I'm always looking for a way to help, but we need to be careful that our money is being utilized to it's fullest. I read a great article on this subject at Saving Lives One At A Time, that I am reposting as it has a lot of helpful information on donations.
"I give tons of money online to various animal rescue organizations. Don't get me wrong...I'm not a rich person...I'm just a sucker for a cute fuzzy face in need.
Thus far, I have been fortunate enough to avoid giving money to an organization that I later find out is not legitimate. That's because I do my homework BEFORE I donate! Just a few extra minutes of your time beforehand to research the organization will pay off when you feel secure knowing your money is going to a good cause. The first thing I do before giving money to an organization that I haven't worked with before is to do a simple Goodsearch search.
Chris at HoundsGood has some other wonderful tips. From HoundsGood:
"Stay away from mass (print) mail and telemarketing. If you feel strongly about the organization, give in another way.
Large charities like the ASPCA and Humane Society of the United States send out mass mailings soliciting donations at various times of the year. The truth is that much of this is sent out by a third party and the charity only gets a small percentage. A telemarketer representing an organization contacted us and when pressed, we found out that the charity was only getting 10% of our donation, so we declined.
Please don’t get me wrong, there are many great organizations that send out mail to remind you or update you as not all of their supporters are tied to a computer. Some have had the fortune to have a benefactor who pays for their mailings or other fundraising that is earmarked clearly. But if you receive a letter with free mailing labels, think twice about sending something in the reply envelope."
This great tip is just one of Chris' ten great tips for smart giving. Be sure to check out Houndsgood for the rest of her tips!"
7 comments:
Good tips. Some organizations are just businesses with animals thrown in for the emotional appeal.
I always donate to local animal organizations. I can see where the money goes.
That's a smart thing to do Jan. It's a sad testiment to our society that some organizations capitalize off of the animal's misery.
and her Mom said,
I'm so glad to be visiting your blog again and as always,you have wonderful advice. One of my biggest concerns in donating to charities is how much they spend on overhead. A lot of people don't realize that and I'm so glad you wrote this post.
Thanks for sharing it here, Chris. Donors need to know where their donations go to. This doesn't only happen to the animals organizations, but every other organizations as well.
Those are some great tips.
I help a local rescue organisation to raise fun by providing items to sell cos I feel that thats the way to expand the money donated can be expanded. I dun donate the items directly I am always there to help them sell my items on roadshows and I bring back all the items that are not sold everytime cos I got very pissed off when I found out that the items I once donated to a dog shelter was badly abused.
They do not record what was donated and the stuff are not stored properly and even went MIA without being sold. The items might be free for them but on my part I paid money and put in effort to get the items trying to help them support the the animal in the shelter.
I hope all type of donations can be put into good use. I only help organisations whom I can see the money are put into good use.
Anne(Snowball's nasty jie jie)
It is a shame that a person's good intentions and willingness to help out can sometimes be rewarded with being taken advantage of. You're doing a wonderful service Anne - keep up the great work.
Chris
The worst thing in the world is seeing people who cannot afford emergency care for their pets. I have been a small animal veterinarian for 28 years and am in the process of setting up a nonprofit organization that will help with this. If you or your readers are interested, please visit my blog, at http://vefm.blogspot.com
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