Bad Charities
Torontonians like to give. Canadians in general are very giving folks. So when a charity comes calling, we’re pretty quick to open our wallets–to the tune of $40 billion a year. That’s with a “B.”
After reading a Toronto Star investigation, I’m now a little more hesitant, and my wallet will probably stay closed more often.
How are we supposed to trust charities if our various governments are not regulating them as they should? Give the Charities Directorate broader powers and allow them to alert the public of charities which are bogus or are under investigation. For its part, the federal charities directorate should not be afraid to penalize or completely suspend bad charities. If it did, I’d trust charities more. Right now I don’t and, sad to say, I’m not the only one.
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I agree. I’m only giving to a few charities where I personally know of the work they are doing.
Yes there are some bad charities (just as there are some “bad corporations”). Charities are themselves not evil, just people who might get involved for the wrong reasons and abuse power, money and resources.
An interesting development is ministrywatch.com which tries to analyze Corporate Religious Ministries.
As for giving to reputable charities… Research doesn’t hurt. How transparent is the organization? How much money is given to the cause versus administration costs. The big Lottery charities seem like a biggest scam to me. No tax receipt, massive ad campaigns and well they are lotteries.
There are plenty of worth while causes out there. The best donation one can give is TIME. Volunteering, even for just one day of the year is a great start.