Charities and You - Stop Being Ripped Off!
Undoubtedly, you've been asked to give money to a charity more than once this week. Whether buying chow for your dog or getting groceries at your favorite Mega-Lo Mart, you get hit for a donation all the time. Being the good American that you are, you've probably given in to these requests. What's one dollar here and there, right? You walk away feeling great and know that your money is going to a great cause.
Or is it?
I've never been a fan of huge charitable organizations. My common sense and perceptive nature clued me in to the obvious rip-off that they are. In essence, they're money-changing corporations that happen to donate a portion of their revenue to other organizations that repeat the cycle. All the while, they get to spend millions on corporate salaries and "travel expenditures". Don't believe me? Well, let's produce some official numbers for you from both your friend and mine - the Internal Revenue Service.
For the sake of this article, I'm drawing from official 990 forms filed by various "charitable" organizations. These forms are required by law to be file with the IRS annually. On these forms, we can see exactly how much money was brought in, spent out and so forth. I'll provide links to these forms to back up my data. The four organizations we'll look at as examples are:
1. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
http://www.guidestar...-05bf6381-9.pdf
An organization created to supposedly help children survive diabetes, as well as keep them from getting the disease, the JDRF is famous for selling their ridiculous shoes and having "walks" to "raise awareness".
Total Revenue: $178,172,650
Total Expenses: $177,579,772
Net Revenue: $592,878
Total Salaries and Benefits Paid: $49,351,296
Total "Travel", "Lobbying" and "Business" Expenditures: $27,358,321
Grants passed to other organizations: $100,870,155
Percentage of annual revenue with
potential to be "charitable": 56%
For every dollar you give the JDRF, only fifty-six cents has the slim chance of actually helping someone. Sad, isn't it? Makes you reconsider giving them your hard-earned money, right? Maybe your money would better serve the eradication childhood diabetes by not buying little Johnny that fourth double-cheeseburger, eh?!
2. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
http://www.guidestar...05c074f1-9A.pdf
Ah - the current poster child of charitable activities. You can't go anywhere without seeing that annoying pink ribbon tacked on to just about anything. Soda pop, buckets of chicken, ice cream - you name it. Here's some information from their most recent 2009 IRS filing for tax year 2008.
Total Revenue: $159,218,427
Total Expenses: $155,708,623
Net Revenue: $3,509,804
Total Salaries and Benefits Paid: $22,090,760
Total "Travel", "Lobbying" and "Business" Expenditures: $54,334,557
Grants passed to other organizations: $77,463,398
Percentage of annual revenue with
potential to be "charitable": 48%
That's right, less than fifty cents of every dollar given to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in 2008 actually had the potential to be granted out. That doesn't take into account that a large majority the organizations receiving grants will cycle the money all over again and pay more salaries, lobbying and travel expenses. Not so settling, is it? Let's continue.
3. Muscular Dystrophy Association
http://www.guidestar...-05497dc9-9.pdf
The good old MDA - you've been watching Jerry's kids for years be trotted out on stage to raise money for their problems. Where is that money going, though?
Total Revenue: $164,451,847
Total Expenses: $207,417,597
Net Revenue: -$42,965,750
Total Salaries and Benefits Paid: $80,503,891
Total "Travel", "Lobbying" and "Business" Expenditures: $65,305,467
Grants passed to other organizations: $61,608,239
Percentage of annual revenue with
potential to be "charitable": 37%
Wow! I know where the money is going! Into someone's pocket! Take a look at that salary figure - over eighty million dollars. Not to be overlooked, the "charity" took a loss in 2008 of forty-two million dollars! Perhaps they wouldn't have taken a loss if the work done by it's members was actually charitable.
4. United Way
http://www.guidestar...-058dde7c-9.pdf
Here we come to the worst offender of all on my short list of examples. Wait until you see these numbers. United Way - right to the bank.
Total Revenue: $66,434,169
Total Expenses: $57,658,994
Net Revenue: $8,775,175
Total Salaries and Benefits Paid: $21,829,768
Total "Travel", "Lobbying" and "Business" Expenditures: $18,997,043
Grants passed to other organizations: $16,832,183
Percentage of annual revenue with
potential to be "charitable": 25%
Only twenty five cents of every dollar given to the United Way had a glimmer of a chance of ever making a difference in someone's life. Simply put - that's pathetic. You'd be better off flipping a quarter into an orphan's guitar case as he played for you on a street corner.
Speechless? I'm sure you are. There's a clear and distinct message I want you to take away from my research. The majority of all charities aren't charitable. They're businesses. The next time you get asked to make a donation, don't be afraid to say "NO!". Get over your fear of saying it. You have to. Now. This instant.
If you really want to help out someone in need, think of your own community. Have a neighbor that's ill with cancer? Make a month's car payment for them. Drive them to their doctor. Make a meal so they don't have to.
But by all means - stop giving your money to charities. Quit dumping a dollar here or their into their pennybags. Stop showing up for "awareness walks" that do absolutely nothing for those in need. Say no to your employer that asks you to donate a portion of your salary like a utility bill. Quit bringing in goods to donate to a charity's inventory. The moral is this:
A charity should exist to stop that which they were created for. A cancer charity should want to end cancer. A leukemia foundation should exist to destroy leukemia. You get the idea. When you throw salaries into the mix, you alter the intent of the charity. No longer does it exist to
complete a task - it exists to
continue a task.
Do make an active effort to perform a charitable act for someone in your community with
your own hands.
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