JEDI
Lifer
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Charities are killing themselves off
by M.F. Tones
Late last year, my accountant told me I had to lower my net income by about a thousand dollars. He was pretty specific as to how I should do this as well: give $500.00 to the charities of my choice, and spend $500.00 joining professional organizations that I could deduct as a necessary expense at work.
Among the lucky recipients were the ACLU, Amnesty International, a couple of animal rescue organizations, local museums, and a pair of hospices.
Never again will I donate another DIME to a charity.
Within days of sending off the various checks, I began to be innundated with even more requests for money. And not just from groups that they [obviously] sold my name to (dozens of groups I had never heard of before suddenly decided I should get 5 or so requests for donations per month).
What really burned my ass was that the groups I had sent money to were plastering my [postal] mailbox with requests for more money, and doing it at a rate that must have cost them at least as much as I originally donated. So I have given them very hard earned money to help their respective causes, and they in turn have spent it asking me to repeat my previous largess - in spades no less. Places that got $20.00 from me were now asking for $50.00 and $100.00; places that had received over $50.00 were asking for sums as high as $500.00!
Why should I continue down this path? The answer is I shouldn't, and neither should you. A charity that needs the money should use their donations for their stated purpose, and NOT to send out more requests for money so they can pay their "executives" outrageous salaries.
This christmas, I am donating not a thing to anyone. And come next January, I am going to gladly pay the extra dollars to the government - sure, they'll waste the money just as sure as the charities did, but at least they won't rub my nose in it with dozens of mailings a month...
Charities are killing themselves off
by M.F. Tones
Late last year, my accountant told me I had to lower my net income by about a thousand dollars. He was pretty specific as to how I should do this as well: give $500.00 to the charities of my choice, and spend $500.00 joining professional organizations that I could deduct as a necessary expense at work.
Among the lucky recipients were the ACLU, Amnesty International, a couple of animal rescue organizations, local museums, and a pair of hospices.
Never again will I donate another DIME to a charity.
Within days of sending off the various checks, I began to be innundated with even more requests for money. And not just from groups that they [obviously] sold my name to (dozens of groups I had never heard of before suddenly decided I should get 5 or so requests for donations per month).
What really burned my ass was that the groups I had sent money to were plastering my [postal] mailbox with requests for more money, and doing it at a rate that must have cost them at least as much as I originally donated. So I have given them very hard earned money to help their respective causes, and they in turn have spent it asking me to repeat my previous largess - in spades no less. Places that got $20.00 from me were now asking for $50.00 and $100.00; places that had received over $50.00 were asking for sums as high as $500.00!
Why should I continue down this path? The answer is I shouldn't, and neither should you. A charity that needs the money should use their donations for their stated purpose, and NOT to send out more requests for money so they can pay their "executives" outrageous salaries.
This christmas, I am donating not a thing to anyone. And come next January, I am going to gladly pay the extra dollars to the government - sure, they'll waste the money just as sure as the charities did, but at least they won't rub my nose in it with dozens of mailings a month...
