Charities ?????

[bersaguy]

Ok , looking for input into which charities folks here might donate to. Every year when I get a cola raise on my Social Security I try and find a charity to donate it to. The issue is I don't trust 99% of them. I have done a ton of research on them and about 90% of them don't do right with the funds that are donated. Most of them only end up giving 5 to 8% of the money donated to the actual people and the rest of it goes to administrative people. In other words most of them are crooks per say. I use to give to Red Cross till all of that stuff that took place on 9/11 donations when millions of dollars were unaccounted and disappeared about the same time the director quit her job and I guess she retired comfortably. Anyway, Last year in January I made the decision that I would send my raise to St Judes Childrens Hospital because I know where that money goes. It goes to the kids and the families of the kids and some to research. I want some suggestions on who some of ya'll donate to and trust. I have been giving  a lot of consideration to the Wound Warriors Organization as I believe the money may be used mostly to help  the soldiers and not much to administration. Have any of ya'll done any research on them to see how up and up they are?  Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sam1]

Fisher house is our new favorite thanks to input from others here and some recent news stories of them personally offering to pick up the tab on soldiers' death benefits during the gov shutdown.

We don't do WWP anymore. Edited December 30, 2013 by Sam1

[UncleJak]

I like Ronald McDonald house. I personally know someone that they assisted.

[Cherokee Slim]

Here is a ranking of some veteran charities that I've found useful.  The WWP gives over 30% to fund raising, more than I personally would want to give to.  I believe I've also seen that the top 3 or 6 in it make something like $300k each.

 

http://backhome.news21.com/interactive/charity-interactive/

 

Cherokee Slim

[gregintenn]

I have confidence in The Nashville Rescue Mission and St. Jude Hospital in Memphis.

 

Not a charity per se, but the NRA might be worth considering as well.

Edited December 30, 2013 by gregintenn

[Cherokee Slim]

I have confidence in The Nashville Rescue Mission and St. Jude Hospital in Memphis.

 

I like these.  You can really see where your money goes easily.  CS

[TrickyNicky]

St Jude's, Officer Down and Emerald Society.

They may not be perfect but better than others.

[peejman]

Can't go wrong with St Jude or Ronald McDonald house. Otherwise I'd look at some local charities like the food pantry or rescue ministries.

My wife donates small amounts to a bunch of charities. If you do some research, it seems the more efficient charities have 20% overhead or less. Edited December 30, 2013 by peejman

[bersaguy]

Here is a ranking of some veteran charities that I've found useful.  The WWP gives over 30% to fund raising, more than I personally would want to give to.  I believe I've also seen that the top 3 or 6 in it make something like $300k each.

 

http://backhome.news21.com/interactive/charity-interactive/

 

Cherokee Slim

I don't think anyone that works in a  charity funded program should earn 300K a year. I don't care if they are married to it. Now I am leaning more towards Fisher House but not committed to any yet. Still waiting to see what more folks think but thanks for the stats sheets. Helps a lot. I already give to St Judes each month and have since January 2013 with my last cola raise.

[peejman]

I don't think anyone that works in a charity funded program should earn 300K a year. I don't care if they are married to it. Now I am leaning more towards Fisher House but not committed to any yet. Still waiting to see what more folks think but thanks for the stats sheets. Helps a lot. I already give to St Judes each month and have since January 2013 with my last cola raise.

While I agree that the CEOs of some charities make way too much money, the fact is that it's very difficult to find someone with the skills to manage such a large organization who will work for less. A lot of them could easily double their pay running another business. Such is the world we live in.

[gomer pyle]

Ok , looking for input into which charities folks here might donate to. Every year when I get a cola raise on my Social Security I try and find a charity to donate it to. The issue is I don't trust 99% of them. I have done a ton of research on them and about 90% of them don't do right with the funds that are donated. Most of them only end up giving 5 to 8% of the money donated to the actual people and the rest of it goes to administrative people. In other words most of them are crooks per say. I use to give to Red Cross till all of that stuff that took place on 9/11 donations when millions of dollars were unaccounted and disappeared about the same time the director quit her job and I guess she retired comfortably. Anyway, Last year in January I made the decision that I would send my raise to St Judes Childrens Hospital because I know where that money goes. It goes to the kids and the families of the kids and some to research. I want some suggestions on who some of ya'll donate to and trust. I have been giving  a lot of consideration to the Wound Warriors Organization as I believe the money may be used mostly to help  the soldiers and not much to administration. Have any of ya'll done any research on them to see how up and up they are?  Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

this is the main reason i stopped giving to united way. i don't understand the need for a middle man to touch my money when i can give it directly to the needed parties. my wife and i have checked on different children's homes in tennessee. st. judes is always a good place to give. i am skidish of any "big" charity. i will keep an eye on this thread for more ideas

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

Why line the pockets of charities and their CEO`s and such..?

Why not help out a family in need.. ? there are many  local people who need your help. And a good  perecentage of them are Vets..

Ask a church or a local hospital.. Or ,  you can also give to local shelters ( that included animal shelters) Animals cant  speak or fend for themselves .. give them a chance also.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

http://www.tampabay.com/topics/specials/worst-charities1.page

 

 

 

Crazy:(

 

 

 

http://charitysearch.apps.cironline.org/

Edited December 30, 2013 by Sour Kraut

[Guest TankerHC]

I agree with all of the above concerning Fisher House, Ronald McDonald House and St Judes as well as "almost" anything on the Combined Federal Campaign list as they have been vetted by the Military. I can give you a couple of reasons why that FOR ME, YMMV for others, on two of them.

 

For over 20 years every dime of my money that was donated every month directly from my military pay went to Army Emergency Relief through the CFC. The reason being, when I was a broke buck private E nothing in basic, my grandfather who all but raised me passed away in Georgia. I was flat broke and no way to do anything. Didnt even have the $50 they give you in basic, that went for the haircut, boot polish and all phone calls and all that other stuff you have to do on day one. Drll Sergeant marched me straight to AER, two hours I had a plane ticket, money for traveling and eating and anything else I needed. (Plus I got to miss the Herd Park experience for all you Tankers and Scouts who went through the Schoolhouse and suffered that misery), then when I was going through my divorce 15 years ago, I was not going to change my daughters standard of living because of me and my wife's disagreements, it wasnt like we were rich or something but I spoke with someone and they told me for my daughter everything needed to stay the same at least until this was over. Well I ended up in my apartment (Trying to maintain two households on E07 pay is impossible), lights about to get shut off, water about to get shut off, cable and web already shut off, and on my azz to put it bluntly. Thinking "This does not happen to senior NCO's, especially me". Lowest point in my life and having a pity party. AND was working three different off duty jobs which I shouldnt have been doing, running a banding machine at a newspaper, assistant night manager at a grocery store and any day I could get off operating a dozer helping to build a Lowes. Wasnt working, trying to think what I could do I called Keesler Air Force Emergency Relief. Changed my life and attitude in 6 hours. told me to bring every bill and come on to Keesler, they covered everything, put me back on track, within a month I had expendable income again, and from that point decided to NEVER get into that position again. Havent and wont. Thing is I paid back every dime both times. A lot of soldiers will complain that AER wouldnt help them. Well AER will help you if you have a real need. But you have to pay it back. They used to give cash and money orders like they did for me in basic. But stopped due to the abuse. As an example I had a Sergeant E-5 who's wife came to me , no food, everything about to get shut off, Sgt hanging in the club spending all of their money. To get them back on track, took him to AER, (And did the other things which many here know), they handed him a check, good to go. Next day wife calls again still in the same situation, I go looking for him, the money he received, he was spending on rounds of drinks at the dome (E Club). Thats why AER will no lponger hand over cash or checks, but they WILL help soldiers in need, they pay it back (I have no problem with that) and it helps others. Every dime goes to help military personnel, even if you are retired. They will ALWAYS get donations from me until I take my last breath. When they needed donations I gave, when I, and my soldiers needed help, they were there. And they are vetted by the military, have to be, they are on military installations. They also give scholarships to military wives and children. And that's my story and why I will promote them over all other military charitable organizations.

 

http://www.aerhq.org/dnn563/

Edited December 30, 2013 by TankerHC

[MacGyver]

We give both time and money to Room In The Inn and donate to the Siloam Family Health Center. Both here in Nashville.  Either one of those will turn 100% of any donation into help for folks who can use it.

[bersaguy]

Why line the pockets of charities and their CEO`s and such..?

Why not help out a family in need.. ? there are many  local people who need your help. And a good  perecentage of them are Vets..

Ask a church or a local hospital.. Or ,  you can also give to local shelters ( that included animal shelters) Animals cant  speak or fend for themselves .. give them a chance also.

I send a check every month to the Sumner County Humane Society or just go buy several big bags of dog food and deliver it their door. I try to buy puppy food, adult dog food and adult cat food each month. I don't think the employees eat the food so I feel it goes to the animals. They may take some home for personal animals but if they are going to steal they will steal..........jmho

[dlm37015]

for me its faith family medical clinic

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

We used AER once I think when he was an e4 and we just had a baby.. or something like that. After we donated food to their food pantry also.. AER does help its people, period:)

[RED333]

Local food bank

[Caster]

Charities are fine and all. Hard to argue with the results St Jude's produces, but I prefer to do most of it myself. Is not hard to find someone who needs help. I have three rules I lay down before I help someone in need. One, don't talk about it. Two, when you get on your feet, go help someone else. Three, DO NOT TALK ABOUT IT.

Be sure and read the 6th chapter of the book of Matthew. There's some good guidelines on the subject there. Its a good practice even if you don't believe in God.

[bersaguy]

I have always been one that will try and help people that are truly in need. Been a long time now but shortly after coming from Service and close to Christmas  3 different families with about 11 or 12 kids of all ages suffered house fires and lost everything. These fires were all on same night and all within 10 miles of each other. I heard about it on the radio on my way to work at it just seemed like I could do something to help. As I drove onto work parking lot it hit me cause my boss was a U-Haul Rental Service along with operating an Exxon Station. As I went is and got a cup of coffee I asked the boss if I could rent the biggest truck on the lot and he told me yea and because we are a dealer we can get a dealer use rental. I pulled the truck up on the corner of the lot and called the radio station and all I told them is that the truck was located at the address of the station and if anyone wanted to help the families they could bring things and put them in the truck. The radio made sure the ages and sexes of all the kids was known. I had a 24 foot truck almost full by noon and not with any junk but all nice stuff including almost new appliances nice furniture and lots of nice clothes. The radio station was hammering it home all day. By about 2 o clock I had to move that truck and put up another. U-haul call the Shop and told my boss to just write the contracts on both trucks up as dealer use and would not cost us anything. There was several folks that called the station wanting to give appliances but had no way to haul them so yet a 3rd truck was out now picking up all the stuff locally with to guys from U Haul doing the work. That night the radio station managed to locate all of the adults from the 3 families and all three trucks loaded with everything they would need to replace almost everything they lost except for the personal stuff lost. The Nolensville Community Center was opened up and that is where everything was put until the families could arrange to get a new house to move the stuff to. The Gates Rubber and tire manufacturer in Goodlettsville brought full wrapped Christmas Presents and it was a delivery truck full of gifts and each gift was marked with boy or girl and the age the gift would best suit. No , I didn't go to deliver the stuff. I let U Haul and a few of our station employees deliver the stuff and bring the trucks back to our location. i did what I set out to do and once the trucks were full my job was over and I went home. The only thing I required of the radio station was my name was to never be mentioned. I was just called a good person that cared. I don't figure it matters much now since it was Christmas 1975. In all honesty I thought I might be lucky to get anything in one truck. I realized that day what it really meant to be an American and just how much being an American means. Many times I find it hard to believe I still live in that same America................jmho

Edited December 31, 2013 by bersaguy

[Guest TankerHC]

I have always been one that will try and help people that are truly in need. Been a long time now but shortly after coming from Service and close to Christmas  3 different families with about 11 or 12 kids of all ages suffered house fires and lost everything. These fires were all on same night and all within 10 miles of each other. I heard about it on the radio on my way to work at it just seemed like I could do something to help. As I drove onto work parking lot it hit me cause my boss was a U-Haul Rental Service along with operating an Exxon Station. As I went is and got a cup of coffee I asked the boss if I could rent the biggest truck on the lot and he told me yea and because we are a dealer we can get a dealer use rental. I pulled the truck up on the corner of the lot and called the radio station and all I told them is that the truck was located at the address of the station and if anyone wanted to help the families they could bring things and put them in the truck. The radio made sure the ages and sexes of all the kids was known. I had a 24 foot truck almost full by noon and not with any junk but all nice stuff including almost new appliances nice furniture and lots of nice clothes. The radio station was hammering it home all day. By about 2 o clock I had to move that truck and put up another. U-haul call the Shop and told my boss to just write the contracts on both trucks up as dealer use and would not cost us anything. There was several folks that called the station wanting to give appliances but had no way to haul them so yet a 3rd truck was out now picking up all the stuff locally with to guys from U Haul doing the work. That night the radio station managed to locate all of the adults from the 3 families and all three trucks loaded with everything they would need to replace almost everything they lost except for the personal stuff lost. The Nolensville Community Center was opened up and that is where everything was put until the families could arrange to get a new house to move the stuff to. The Gates Rubber and tire manufacturer in Goodlettsville brought full wrapped Christmas Presents and it was a delivery truck full of gifts and each gift was marked with boy or girl and the age the gift would best suit. No , I didn't go to deliver the stuff. I let U Haul and a few of our station employees deliver the stuff and bring the trucks back to our location. i did what I set out to do and once the trucks were full my job was over and I went home. The only thing I required of the radio station was my name was to never be mentioned. I was just called a good person that cared. I don't figure it matters much now since it was Christmas 1975. In all honesty I thought I might be lucky to get anything in one truck. I realized that day what it really meant to be an American and just how much being an American means. Many times I find it hard to believe I still live in that same America................jmho

 

Great story. Really. 

[runco]

Just from personal experience, if you are going to give, then give, and never look back or 2nd guess yourself.  Nothing wrong with homework to check out a new charity.  I have some experience in these, which I give a A+:

• Church Tithe
• Church Food Ministry
• Church benevolence
• Church building fund
• Church debt
• Anne Armstrong
• Lottie Moon
• Upward Sports
• St. Jude
• Local Rescue Squad
• Local Volunteer FD
• KARM or other area rescue ministries in other cities
• Local School
• Private individuals

[gregintenn]

 

• Church building fund
• Church debt

:shake:

[Guest Bassman17SC]

I have confidence in The Nashville Rescue Mission and St. Jude Hospital in Memphis.

^^^THESE^^^