Back in August my daughter interviewed for an internship position at a non profit. During the interview, the Director stated that he thought that 60% of non profits would be out of business by year end.

Everyone needs money.

Since March, I have received emails from every organization that I have ever donated my time or money to. I’ve also received emails from places I’ve never donated. Also one from a Nigerian Prince to which I responded to immediately. I mean…it’s royalty…

While I would love to donate to each and every cause, I am unable to do it. Bills and taxes and tuition and paper towels….

But I will give something.

But once you’ve established how much money you are able to donate- how do you go about choosing who gets your money?

Today, I am trying something new. I’m going to attempt to do a survey. You may not be able to do the survey in Reader…checking this out now…

Thank you for participating. Hoping it works!!

93 thoughts on “Give A Little Bit”

  1. We do one-time contributions at the end of every year. Alma maters, charities that are near and dear. I don’t do anything over the phone or online. I made an exception, contributing to Joe Biden’s campaign twice by text. Boy, they were relentless, but I’m happy I did my part.

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      2. Thanks. There’s a whole WordPress issue here. If you are interested theres actually a survey but you have to actually visit my site

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  3. Some of those were tough choices, such as where to donate. We all likely have our faves, or the one or two we’re passionate about, but I think we have to look at what’s happening around us at any given time. Something we may not consider for a typical donation may very well have a greater need given unforeseen factors.

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      2. Yup. I am strategically looking at who gets my money. And I admit, I’m wondering if a charity that I think is going under is worth tossing money to when I can support someone who will be around

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  5. There needs to be multiple choice selections (more than just one) on your survey. Many of my answers rely on just exactly how much money I have at any given time. We are not financially sound so charity donations are pretty far down on my list, but I try to do something. I hate donating to large institutions (maybe not the Red Cross) because they have paid positions and I’d rather my money go to actually help, then somebody else’s income. IN order of preference are Animal causes, Children causes, and Medical/age/homeless causes. While the others are also important, they get help from deeper pockets than mine.

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    1. Get what you’re saying. I was trying to be somewhat broad based, but also kind of/sort of saying that we all make choices and we are not always able to do what we would like to do because of other circumstances. I just want to try to give people the opportunity to think outside of their box

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      1. Here’s a new one that I don’t like at all! Today reminded me that Publix (grocery chain in the South) asks if you want to donate (while paying for groceries) to a specific cause. No more boxes to put donations in. Out loud. In public where everyone around you can hear you demur if you so choose. It’s a form of intimidation. I’ve given a few dollars that way on one or 2 occasions, but today annoyed me because the check-out woman simply asked if I wanted to donate to hungry children. Which hungry children? Where. Due to Covid? She finally told me the name of the actual charity which is a HUGE one that I maybe donate to once a year if feeling guilty enough. But to do this while standing in line with people behind you, next to you, etc. – well, that just sucks.

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      2. Donation shaming! I know! I had an experience where a cashier at petco annoyed me so much at checkout about rounding up that I walked out and didn’t buy the item I wanted to.

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  7. I disagree with donating. I do. I’ve worked with non-profits. Before anyone jumps onto a high horse, I *do* automatically donate as part of being LDS. I *do* agree with helping. Money just doesn’t solve issues.

    And, I can’t click on the survey in Reader, and I can’t click “0” on your site. 🙂

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    1. I talked to the WP people…there’s a convoluted answer as to why the poll block that’s available doesn’t show up. It will make a post at some point this weekend…

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  9. We give money to our church. we regularly donate to the cystic fibrosis foundation because of friends with a daughter with the disease. We donated this year to Audubon Naturalist Society because my son works there. I’ve done charity runs and polar bear plunges for St Judes and Special Olympics. Now that I will be on sabbatical I will find places to donate my time.

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    1. I donated to the two foundations my daughter interned with this year and my nieces elementary school. Funny how we donate to things that become personal to us. I’m determining who else gets money this year

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  10. I didn’t do the survey because my answers don’t exist in your selections. One thing I (we) have done over the years is analyze HOW our donated dollar is spent. If I end up getting junk mail of calendars, stickers and the like every week from such and such Cancer organization because of a one-time donation, I will not be donating to them again. Save your paper, and the stamps, and put the money where it belongs – cancer research.

    Example: Doctors without Borders uses 80 cents of every 1 dollar toward the cause. Almost none of the cancer societies we researched are anywhere near this number. I find this maddening.

    Likely, I can’t/won’t calculate a percentage of what we give. Sometimes all we have is time to give. Other times, we may have more, or less money than other times.

    I do agree that donating and volunteering is important. But I no longer donate randomly, or whatever is trendy.

    Looking forward to the survey analysis!

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    1. I was really trying to get an idea of how we approach charitable donations. I know we’ve discussed giving things to the homeless, where I just give a sandwich and water to a random person every week.

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  12. We always donate to our church and have supported nonprofits that we are involved with personally. Examples are Guide Dogs, where we adopted our “rejected” yellow lab, and our local swim team that cannot survive without donations.

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  14. I donate to one local cause and then one larger one that goes along with my values. The local one because we need to act locally on a smaller scale and the larger one because there are times when a cause can use the information of how many supporters they have to elicit bigger donations or change.

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    1. That’s a great attitude towards it. I’m always interested in what people put into their thoughts regarding things. I know with everyone asking for money I can’t help but wonder what the best course of action is

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  16. I did take the survey. For the most part we donate to two causes, one more local and the other more involved in third world countries. There are so many causes out there that really need donations. One cannot donate to all, so I think it’s good to pick a few and do what one can.

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  17. Your survey did come up automatically for me, LA, and I did answer. Not all the answers were as accurate as they might have been because several needed more than one response, e.g., if you give to 4 charities then presumably you may have 4 categories of charities that are important to you. But it’s a good experiment for sure. I do give strategically. A few years ago I decided I should decide what I wanted to concentrate on. I have several charities and I keep it all on a spreadsheet so I know when I’ve given and how much. I have a plan for the year. I’ve never actually encountered a charity that’s in danger of going out of business!

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    1. I started thinking if this back in august when my daughter interviewed with a non profit and he stated the 60% will be out of business by December 31 stat. Then I started rethinking about how to give this year. Everyone really needs money but I can’t support everyone, so who? How much? Is it better to give less money to more, or more money to less? I’m still not sure so I wanted to see what people thought. Plus I got to play with block editor

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  18. LA, I didn’t receive the survey but I wanted to respond because what you have raised is a very important issue.
    Two major examples that occurred here in Australia recently are wonderful examples of what can go wrong when you give.
    Firstly, the bushfires earlier in the year. The World responded magnificently. Thank you World! Over $50 million was raised by a woman via a facebook fund who just wanted to share the plight of her mum, as well as many residents who lost everything. Do you think that money has gone into the pocket of residents ? Nope. You need to be very aware of legal language when such monies are involved……
    One of our major charity organisations also received millions. Where’s that money gone? Beware of language once again. These funds are assisting to provide councillors, and for councillors in future
    Natural Disasters.
    None of the funds have been wasted, let me assure you : they just haven’t been delivered to where we were thought we were collectively donating.
    Please be savvy giving to charity. End of rant.

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      1. You came to mind today, We stopped @ our local big box hardware store, and I was going through the checkout line, the young woman who was checking me out pulled away from me twice (in a very exaggerated fashion/ never said a word (and I was mindful of staying my 6 ft distance) apparently, I was too close to her bubble… (reminded me after the fact of that time you said someone in your building responded to you when you got to close) on one hand I get it/ on the other, it would have been nice if she would have said something rather than how she responded. I think maybe if she’s that nervous, she may need to work in a different department. Crazy times.

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  20. I can’t see your survey, but my financial donation decisions are influenced by two important factors. The first is I try to give only to organizations that use over 90% of the income to the cause and not overhead. I’m partial to food banks, mental health, and causes like reuniting families separated at the border. The second factor is helping friends who are important to me. Good friends lost their child to suicide and they are active with an organization that helps teens so I’ve been giving them support.

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  24. Having worked for non-profits, I know full well they are every bit as capable of wasting money on unnecessary things as corporate America. That being said, I donate to organizations I know and where I feel the money will do the most good. I also donate to organizations that have helped our family, such as the hospice foundations for a couple of hospitals. I do believe that those who have money should help those who don’t, but I think that you have to make sure the money you donate is actually doing good. That takes a little research, but it’s worth it!

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    1. I admit I used to donate to pbs, but when they opened their new, extremely expensive rent office space I stopped. Does public tv need to be housed in one of the most expensive parts of the city? Wouldn’t they be better in a less visible area giving credence to another neighborhood that could use the foot traffic for delis and local stores?

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  25. I’m answering here ‘cos the first question tripped me up. I’m uncomfortable with the idea anyone feels they *should* donate, also about the lack of the word *disposable* in front of income. There are parts of the UK where living costs are so high that the notion of having any disposable income at all is laughable. Having experienced this myself, I think the question about people going into debt to donate is apposite.

    I know donating your time is hugely valued and appreciated, and can be a good option when financial donation isn’t viable or sensible. I am actively put off charities who send me unasked for stuff – the waste makes me shudder. Like most, I select carefully, tending to choose those who’ve got a good reputation for integrity & value, as well as ones which have had a personal impact on me or mine. Food banks are featuring worryingly high in the thoughts of many of us in the UK – something I never considered would happen when I moved here from the third world.

    Great thought-provoking survey LA.

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  26. Charity? Bah humbug!

    I’ve worked with a lot of small charities which are basically ego massage/holiday schemes for the people who set them up. But I’ve worked with big charities that have massive offices, wage bills and egos and don’t have much time for them either.

    I have donated to the same charity for 30 years and another for 20. In that time I’ve been employed, unemployed and self-employed, but they always got their monthly payment. Or in other words, how do you calculate the percentage? Sometimes I’ve given away more than I’ve actually earned in a bad month. I’ve also given one off donations and donated time and goods.

    I don’t give to disaster relief because that’s for government to sort out. Don’t give to animal charities because I don’t agree with people being more important that people. Don’t give to cancer research because I’m sure big business is looking for a (very profitable) cure without charity. Won’t give to political and pressure groups because I despise most of them. I think you are probably getting the picture by now. I give to an overseas charity to help educate children, give to a UK kid’s health charity and have just started donating to a local kid’s literacy group. Kids are the future of the world and have done nothing to annoy me. Yet.

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    1. Well, I didn’t even put politics or religion on my choice list because I think that’s where much of the trouble with the world starts. I agree with you about kids though. I donate to schools and literacy as well. Totally agree with the big medical things…they’re all fluff and little substance… I like to see how people think though

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      1. I hadn’t even realised what I thought until I did the questionnaire. What I should have added when posting, was that I’m not sure that the money, the time or the donations make a blind bit of difference. It’s all just messing round the edges.

        I’m going to stop now before I go all ranty, but the problem isn’t , for instance, disease or poverty, but politicians.

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  29. I give what I can, when I can but not always. I’ve also volunteered for multiple charities, and tend to find that as a more rewarding experience. I make more money than my wife but she gives a lot more than I do, I guess I am choosy. I wanted to choose 0 for % of salary, but I couldn’t.

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  30. The majority of charities are nothing but businesses and their product is making you feel like you are doing something for others. If you do a little investigating you will find it fortunate if even 10 cents out of every one of your dollars go to where you wish it to go. As for the income of the CEOs of many charities, I once said they had six figure incomes. A successful business owner I know, told me I was wrong–more like seven figure incomes. Of course some charities such as various Veteran charities move the majority of your donation to the intended cause. Just check before donating.

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    1. Clearly what you say is correct. I prefer giving my time when possible. While I want to see everyone and everything taken care of, I realize there’s so much waste. For example..I happen to love PBS programming. However, the spot where they rent office space in NYC is extremely expensive. Why do they need such high profile offices?

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  31. The ability to give to charities is what I call one of the benefits of aging i.e. I don’t have to support my kids anymore and I have more than enough to live on for the rest of my life. I also reserve the right to leave some of mine for my kids just in case it looks like they (or their kids) may not be able to say or do the same when they reach retirement. If there’s any left after that, I will probably leave it to some educational institution(s) e.g. my alma mater since they send me newsletters telling me about all the low income and deserving students they help by handing out scholarships to these kids that are usually the first in their family to attend college, and sometimes even to finish high school. I believe in education as a route to starting people on the road to their own individual success and, given their backgrounds, I can usually expect them to continue to pay it forward .

    So, since I really only started making regular donations anywhere when I retired a few years ago, I ended up donating $ to the same organizations where I donated my time. Also, given the current situation where so many people everywhere are struggling to survive, I have on occasion checked that box at checkout. I will now go back to the top and see if I can do your survey, though by now I suspect I won’t be able to and you’ve probably already posted the results anyway.

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