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The Forum > Article Comments > Smart Giving > Comments

Smart Giving : Comments

By Andrew Leigh, published 24/12/2010

Charitable organisations have ways of lighting-up faces this Christmas, but could also do with some transparency.

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Transparency is what is needed more than anything with charitable organisations today - to know for sure where our money is being spent.

I choose home grown charities to donate to.

I watched just before xmas as a charity gave out food parcels - looking at some of those lined up I wondered just how needy some of them were. I know of one young person who told her mother about a food barn where she could get cheap food. Her mother told her it was only for "genuine needy people" to which her daughter replied "no its not". Her mother said they were not needy, and not to go again.

I wonder how many abuse this system.

We do live in a wonderful country - where our background is giving in times of genuine need- but I feel that now, a lot of people are growing to "expect" a handout rather than trying to pull themselves up by their boot straps and get on with it.
Posted by searching, Sunday, 26 December 2010 7:26:30 AM
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Have a look at this map of world poverty... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate

The only charities I ould donate to would be doing something to help fix this poverty map.

But guess what? It's not a map of poverty, but a map of the REAL cause of poverty... Basically the more red, the more poverty... But the surprise is that it is a map of FERTILITY - how many children are being born per woman.

You know how our government seems unable to fund hospitals, schools and roads, and this is with our population failing to produce enough children to replace ourselves... imagine the problems of fundiong these essential services if the population was not declining, but trippling every twenty years... no wonder they are poor. Worse than schools and hospitals, they somehow they also need to find more farmland too!

50 years ago, perhaps we could have ended poverty. But now there are so many more poor that the problem is so much bigger. For example, there are 60 million shanty-town dwellers in India alone, and only 20 million Australians... Let alone Indonesia, the Pacific Islands, New Guinea... What about Africa? Sth America? etc etc...

Why is China becomming so rich and powerfull? The one-child policy. It means they can finally afford to catch up with the infastructire and education that nations need to get ahead and build wealth.

I don't like the 'one child policy', but Thailand and surging Iran (Think nuclear power) also have zero-population growth due to marketing, free contraception and free choice. It's not really the feminist idea that educating women reduces population growth (think Iran, they're not keen on educating women)...

... continued...
Posted by partTimeParent, Sunday, 26 December 2010 7:46:10 AM
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...COntinued...

On the other hand, why is the 'aging population' such a bad thing here in Australia? Surely it means we are living longer, and isn't that a good thing?

The problem is not an 'aging' population, it is that we are suiciding... failing to produce enough kids to replace ourselves.

Here we need to give tax reductions for kids so middle class parents can afford the kids we want. Those on welfare are pumping out kids like there is no tomorrow because of the welfare bribes to have lots of kids.

Meaning that single mums are pressured into having more kids than they can look after. And the payment incentives which ensure that few get married, as this reduces their welfare paynments.

Also making divorce fairer, because Australian men don't want to become dads... because they are afraid of having their kids stolen by divorce lawyers.
Posted by partTimeParent, Sunday, 26 December 2010 7:46:35 AM
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Hi Andrew, some charities could be improved with a monitoring system or overseeing body/group to ensure our funds directly reach the recipients.

I have avoided thus far donations made online [do not possess a credit card which has assisted], although for 12 years donations coming out of one account for a child [now almost grown up]in Kenya which has been a fantastic honest organisation, with regular letters sent to me from this beautiful young lady.

I donate regularly to a couple of Australian groups and intend during 2011 to assist the Blind Society in more ways after coming across a child who is blind [8 yrs old] and adults this year, in more recent years who are blind. Nothing apart from children dying of cancer or children abused and/or murdered, can impact upon my heart and reduce me to tears than someone who is blind. One of the most saddest and less thought of, in terms of what a blind person is facing daily, that we take for granted in our busy lives. Parents and carers of people who are blind sacrifice and live a confined type of life, loving and caring for their children who are blind also.

Most Australian charities I have donated to over 20 years have given directly to recipients as brochures and testimonials produced and mailed, along with aides advertised and recipients stories/accounts within Australia.

I would rather give and take my chances, than not contribute.
Posted by we are unique, Sunday, 26 December 2010 11:14:01 PM
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I used to work for a large, very well known charity in a senior position. I was based in London and the headquarters of the charity was, as many are, in Switzerland.

The amount of money is huge - these large charities are like multinational corporations, but with even more favourable tax concessions and lack of regulation or audit.

Not much of this wealth reaches its target. The senior staff are extremely well rewarded, and the top executive is better off than the head of a large multinational company.

The methods of accounting are very "creative", but with little requirement for auditing, they have no worries.

I resigned from this charity feeling disillusioned and angry - unable to prove any of the offences I knew were happening.

Now, I give only to small, local charities. I never give to the big international charities - no way!
Posted by brennie, Monday, 27 December 2010 8:52:53 AM
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Many charities do advertise on their websites the proportion of donations which are actually used as aid. But that is only the start of an evaluation. We could do with an Australian equivalent to the American Institute of Philanthropy. Thank your for the references, Andrew.

But Andrew, it is for you to tell your aunt that she should give to a charity instead of giving you a present. What you propose does not cost the giver anything--it exacts charity from his/her relatives.
Posted by ozbib, Monday, 27 December 2010 9:34:25 AM
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