Which charities are REALLY worth supporting?

I have a very personal interest in supporting Astro Brain Tumour Fund, one of the smaller brain tumour charities run by volunteers. Otherwise, I prefer Unesco to many global charities but I have few hard and fast rules. There are some large ones I avoid but I probably could and should be more selective by checking their accounts and political involvement. In some degree, though, most charities will lobby politically to further their ends.

that should have been 100 Million in BBC coffers

Rosesarered, as a supporter, what do you think Barnados actually does? This is not a critical question. I am genuine interested/concerned about the public perception of what certain charities do as opposed to the activities they actually engage in. I'd be grateful if you could just answer from the top of your head and not Google or anything ?

Am so disappointed about SA after reading these posts. My dad who was in the artillery during the war had a lot of time for the SA as he said that they were always at the front line dispensing tea, cheer and refreshments to the troops. Times have changed.

All charities should be cost effective but we must realise that fundraising does incur costs which have to be paid.

I wouldn't give to Children in Need after the facts came out about the presenters all taking large wages ,why should people donate to pay showbiz personalities? I was also dismayed to see the BBC hold a huge sum of money in THEIR accounts that has been donated to CiN ,around 100,000 If I remember rightly.Thats money that should be used doing good not lying in BBC coffers .

I've been supporting MSF for donkeys years they are wonderful

The Salvation Army is our charity of choice, followed by Barnardos.Most charities are worth giving to when you think about it, although make sure they are genuine ones.

It's statements like 'charities are bankrolled by the state' that are misleading Ann. The inaccurate use of words like 'bankrolled'. They are no such thing. Yes, governments support charities and subsidise many to help with the excellent works they do. They do not 'bankroll' them.

Then the completely inaccurate statement such as 'many large charities do no good works but spend their whole budget lobbying' is possible libellous had a charity been actually named instead of the nebulous 'many'.

As I said earlier all charities finances are a matter of public record and available for scrutiny. Anyone can say anything they like and put people off donating, but unless they're prepared to back it up with hard facts and evidence (as in the case of the SA) then it's just hearsay.

I am very disillusioned by the things I am reading here.
As I said upthread I cannot afford to give to charities who are not doing as I hope with my donations.
Shocked by the post about the SA as they are one I donate monthly to and always a Christmas gift. I do not do Facebook so can't check that page out.
I am loath to cancel everything but will try to research more.

That was to Lilyflower

Larger charities are often bankrolled by the state, subsidised by taxpayers who have no say over their lobbying and polemic politics. Additionally, many large charities do no good works at all but spend their whole budget on lobbying. Given theIr tax status and the eye wateringly high high salaries of their management their activities border on the scandalous

Where did you get this information?

I recently heard of a charity or a charity fundraiser that asked for your now unloved handbags, tote bags etc for women who had nothing, you were also asked to but bits and bobs in the bag if you could afford it, little things like soap, sanitary wear or a pair of gloves/sunglasses. As anyone else come across this ? Also there used to be a charity that collected bra's for women in Africa as it was found that if a lady wore a bra she was less likley to be abused or raped, i can no longer find details for them, can anyone help ?

durhamjen It is amazing isn't it. They also argue that inheritance tax is unfair but are much quieter about VAT which affects the poor disproportionately.

NannaM It is forcing people to work full time for benefits who also get sanctioned if they don't also spent 35 hours a week applying for jobs. We have a minimum wage in this country and it is a way for unethical organisations to get around it by effectively having the state pay their wages bill. Disabled or ill people are often forced on it and the SA army has made people with respiratory problems work in dusty store rooms sorting out the stuff that is donated. It is a punishment for being unemployed or sick or disabled.
There is a boycott Salvation Army facebook page which gives a lot of details about their bad behaviour around the world. They cleared the furniture from a house of woman who was bipolar when her husband was out. He contacted them as soon as he got home and complained but they refused to return it.

Someone upthread said that people give money to charities as a kind of insurance policy. I think the opposite is true - people give as a thank you and to help carry the work forward for others.

I raise money and buy Dyson Fans -- £220 each and take them myself to the specialist ward where my son has received his treatment for Hodgkins Lymphona . So far I have bought 4 fans in about a year.. When having chemo the patients can get very hot, and the staff have not got enough fans for every patient to have a fan, so they were taking fans from patients who were not so bad and giving them to the ones who were more in need. Dyson fans are expensive, but take up little room on the lockers, and they do not make any noise at all..Plus I know where every penny of the money raised by me goes... and I have photos taken with the staff when I take the fans to the ward and hand them over so everyone who has put money in the sealed tin can see where their money has gone to.. By the way, I sell slate hearts with funny quotes on, and I have a sign up saying if people have a laugh to please stick something in the box on my stall.. no longer able to work on a market stall due to my health , but will be having a sale of my paintings and donating 25% taken for the cause....

Larger charities are often bankrolled by the state, subsidised by taxpayers who have no say over their lobbying and polemic politics. Additionally, many large charities do no good works at all but spend their whole budget on lobbying. Given theIr tax status and the eye wateringly high high salaries of their management their activities border on the scandalous.

A close relative of mine works for a small charity, School Aid, which does exactly what it says on the tin:- sends books and equipment to schools in Africa. It wastes no money and volunteers do much of the valuable work unpaid. These are the charities we should be supporting.

I also donate on a monthly basis to Medecins sans Frontiers.

Their monthly magazine informs you of all the work and places they go to when needed.
The doctors and nurses who work for them give up,their jobs to volunteer and go to disaster zones wherever needed.

I feel very inspired after reading the latest bulletin and would never cancel my donation.
It's worth every penny.

Cancer research, BHF, Water Aid and Save the Children. Interesting thread.

1 of the charities i support is The Royal British Legion , they dont only support service persons they support their families aswell, there are so many forces charities nowdays they say they support all forces but they dont, some will only support you if you have served in certain conflicts , which is so sad , they discriminate service persons.

So the best idea is to bring the average wage up wherver we live if it is below what is thought to be needed to live decently, not to complain that some people earn more than me, so I want their wages cutting. Apart from CEOs of course.
Did anyone watch The Big Questions this morning? It was about obscene CEO pay. Amazing how many people in the audience stuck up for it.

Children in Need may have low over heads but I believe they are very defined in the way the money they allocate is spent and want publicity which some charities do not want for reasons of confidentiality. I hope this has changed but was certainly true when I was involved in a local charity. We never had a grant from them as we would not comply with their requirements.

Thank you granpiper for the list. My DD tells me frequently that people set up charities. Pay themselves big salaries and then give a small percent to the charity. Good example are the charity balls etc.

I believe Children in Need have low over heads.

I belong to an international women's group and we buy things that charities ask for, e.g baby food, a washing machine and deliver it and the usual picture is taken of it in use. We might give money for a specific purpose, sterilising stray cats and dogs and we have paid for repairs to bathrooms in a children's home and we employed our own workers to do the work. (This is not in the UK). At least we try as much as possible to ensure the money raise is used properly.

In fact it's nowhere near £24,000. How the other half lives, eh?