You Want to Make A $50,000,000 Bequest. Where Would it Go?

I'm very aware that there are people doing fund raisers for charity who pocket a good portion of the take, but I think that if you look around carefully, you will find that there are many others who give the majority of the money they receive to the cause that they are representing. World Vision is located just a couple of miles away from here...between Piffka and me...and for the most part, they give what they receive. They have an excellent reputation.

I was just surprised to hear what ehBeth had to say about the N.C. because nothing negative had ever been said about it on the Rainforest thread...quite the opposite, actually. I'm not doubting what ehBeth has had to say about them, and don't feel mislead, I guess I was just disappointed to hear that they hadn't been on the up and up as much as I'd led myself to believe. I will still click regularly for them, as I have been, because it doesn't cost me anything but a few minutes of my time each day.

Honestly, my favorite places to donate to are the JDF and Medic One...I doubt those will ever change.

You might be interested to know, or might not, that what you're doing is now known to the web cogniscenti as "slacktivisim"--i.e., doing one's part the lazy way . . .

If it helps out a worthy cause, then I'll do my part via slacktivisim. :wink: If that was the only way I was helping out people or organizations that need support, knowing that I have the means to do more, then I guess I'd feel guilty...but it isn't, so I don't. I've donated many, many, many hours of my time to raise money for the ADA and the JDF, and none of that time was spent "clicking". Have also done many things to help the homeless by collecting money, clothing, food, blankets, etc., and doing that gave me a bigger workout than my clicking finger gets on a daily basis. I think that as long as people are doing something, anything to help someone or something other than themselves, then that's a good thing.

I didn't write that to criticize you, Boss, i'm contempuous of those whose time is so much devoted to the internet that they come up with something like that, sneering at others on line . . .

The particular issue of donations and percentage going to 'good works' has been in the papers here a great deal over the last few days. There's a bit of a scandal with the Canadian Diabetes Association : Top volunteers reportedly complain two-thirds of the charity's $62-million expenditure goes to bureaucracy. They say executives are well-paid, but there is no money for grassroots programs.
The volunteers say the national charity seems to have plenty of money to pay 65 "fund development officers" but no money to help them hold seminars for diabetes patients on such things as diet concerns.
... The Star's investigation of Canadian charities found that 12,000 of the 79,000 charities spend more on fundraising and administration than they do on charitable works. One in six annually spend less than 50 per cent of their total expenditure on good works, the paper says.

(The Star is a slightly left of centre (by Canadian standards) paper).
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1038844155851_7/?hub=Canada

Hey, setanta...

Didn't take it as a criticism at all, and wouldn't have accepted it if it had been one. I agree with what you said, with maybe one exception...There are those who are housebound, who don't have the ability to go out and physically help others...setting up sites like the Rainforest/Care2 sites (but,not necessarily those sites) at least gives them the chance to do something, or to at least feel like they're doing something to help others. I can't fault them for that. Anyone else who has a little bit of extra time or whatever to spare and doesn't share some of that with those who could really use the help, well, that's different...

Hi, ehBeth...

I think that there was a problem kind of like that with the American Diabetes Association at one time, but I know that the JDF has a much better reputation and that they put a lot more of what they get into research. I understand the need to attract competent people to run a charity well, and to do that they will need to be compensated, but you'd hope that they'd be a little more in tune with the purpose of their organization and not demand such a large take of the funds for themselves. It's disappointing and maddening...


How are you feeling...better, I hope.

I will keep on clickin' - i'm not actually giving my hard-earned dollars to the N.C., and i don't mind giving them 30 seconds a day. I'd rather use any significant time and funds i have and contribute them to charities/organizations i can be involved in/keep an eye on. For example, i've done some fund-raising, through participation in (playing and helping organize) a golf tournament,for a chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society in a small community where i know exactly what they're doing with the money. The same thing with Dragon Boat racing - i paddled in fund-raisers for breast cancer research/treatment support - again, primarily in a small enough community that you could find out what was going on. Finally (well not really, but finally for my contribution here) there's my intermittent involvement (around dog-adoption activities) with the Young People's Theatre here. I've helped run a number of their fund-raising galas over the past decade. A friend of mine (the same one who was at N.C.) is one of their fund-raisers. I know where the money is going, and that she is NOT the first to be paid. I know we can't all be hands-on with the charities we support, but having worked in non-profit for many years, i feel more comfortable doing it this way.

Oh, I understand. Believe me. And, I do believe you, I was just kind of taken aback when you first stated that the N.C. was not using the funds they receive in the way that we'd all hoped they were. Even though I hadn't really noticed before I started to click on the Rainforest thread, I now see they are all over the place and seem to be supported by entities that I respect, so I'd just assumed...(something my mom taught me not to do... ) they were a little more respectful themselves. I'm glad you alerted us to how the N.C. does business. It won't stop me from clicking, but like you, I would send any monetary donations to another cause who will use them in a more appreciated manner. Live and learn, right?

Other than the stuff I mentioned above, one of my favorite things to do is volunteering at elementary schools to teach kids how to read...I get an immediate "reward" from that. It changes the child's life forever once they get over that hurdle, and it makes me feel soooooo good! Some of my favorite moments in life have been seeing the look on the kids faces when they finally realize that they can do it themselves. They're priceless, and they only cost me a bit of my time.

Literacy is a wonderful gift, Matrix. One of the very best.

Yeah...but when you're the one doing the teaching, I think the gift you give yourself is the better one.

well that's a classic, Matrix - it's better to give than to receive. I think a lot of people who are 'invisible' volunteers understand that.

Actually, with a LOT of money, invested carefully, maybe;
3/4 of the interest could go continuously, forever
to research on juvenile onset rheumatoid arthritis
(for other poor souls like me), & I could always donate
my own body for educational purposes. I've had this disease
for so long that I think even my EYEBALLS have arthritis. My
family doctor thought I had mononucleosis way back in 1958
or so. So what if the symptoms & the blood abnormalities
resembled mono. He was just a good old guy. He also started
me taking Synthroid without even doing any blood work
when I was 25. He figured, since my mom had hypothyroidism,
I did too. So he started me out on 01.mg dose. (Now of course,
we know that taking thyroid supplements when you don't need
them is very very bad for you)
Anyway, as for the rest of the interest, I would absolutely
have to use it for travel for the rest of my "moveable life". A certain
amount of self interest is not only healthy, but wise.

babs I'd tell more on my knees - don't think this is the place

I would start a foundation to protect the principal and eliminate unknown administration costs - then give out annual bequest to a mixture of needy organizations of the income allowing something for growth - if I could afford $50,000,000, I could afford more and therefore in my life and after I would designate some source to insure growth - must stay up with inflation.

Non-Lethal Weapons
I would like this money to be invested in development of non-lethal weapons able to destroy military infrastructure of the rogue countries (examples: Iraq, Northern Korea, Iran, etc.) and terror groups making their military potential equal to zero. This would prevent the WWIII. I heard that some investigations of this kind pertain to bio- and nanotechnologies. Unfortunately $50,000,000 is insufficient amount of money for such purposes, $5-10 billion would be better. If I had this money, I surely would bequeath them for such R&D works, I really have no relatives that could be successors; unfortunately, I am not a millionaire either.[/i][/color]

If I had that amount of money, I would set up my own non profit Organization. That would cover everything from Education of the underprivalged youth, involving everything from general ed all the way through trades. I would also use this organization to be there to help the either sexually or physically abused. Even to help with drug dependency issues. Kind of like a Mentor program of sorts. AMONG MANY OTHER SVC'S RENDERERD!

I believe that if the money was wisely set up in such an organization. Then it could in turn also help the economy, rough streets, and homes. Not to mention much more. If the agency was to educate it could go very far. With the trade skills taught to the underprivaliged we could build parks for the nature conservatives and property value might go back up in some areas. Not to mention we could set up safe house's for the abused or those that need a place to stay while learning or working with us. I would do whatever I could within this site as a sort of president. Though would do it strictly on Volunteer basis. I would put all the money into an account in the Org, where it would only be used for PROPER spending and budgeting. I could go on forever this has been a fascination of mine for about 2 yr's now

. For childrens cancer research.

the nature conservancy