Do You give to charity

I support our local cat rescue and a cat welfare charity in the Turkish town we visit regularly, both of which are run by volunteers. I also support Labrador Rescue Scotland through Amazon Smile, and I always give to PoppyScotland on an annual basis too. I've also done fundraising for Help for Heroes in the past.
Oh, and similar to Amazon Smile, I would urge everyone to check out easyfundraising.org.uk - it costs nothing, but your chosen charity (and there are hundreds to support) receives donation every time you shop through the site. Sometimes the donations can be quite substantial too.

I used to volunteer in a charity shop which supported the local children's hospice. After an illness, I am now unable to do this so knit for charity.

I make cannula sleeves for dementia patients. These go to the local hospital and prevent patients pulling out their cannulas which is distressing for everyone and expensive for the NHS. They are safety checked by Handmade for Dementia.

I also make 'worry monsters' for therapists to use with troubled children (knit for nowt).

Pambles01

Just a question does anyone give to charity? I used to give religiously until I realised just how much the charity actually receives out of your donations maybe 1 % after mangers etc have taken their cut very disillusioned

Where did you get the 1% figure from, Pambles01? From any actual fact checking? I suspect not.

One of my dds worked for many years, both in numerous disaster areas and at HQ, for a major U.K. charity, and by far the greatest percentage of the money raised did go directly into aid.
And contrary to what a lot of people apparently like to believe, staff were not highly paid, and the chief executive of such a large organisation will typically have taken a very big pay cut in order to take that role.

We give to 3 small charities every Christmas. We decided that the couple of hundred pounds we can give to each one would make a substantial difference rather than get swallowed up amongst large corporate donations. Amongst others we’ve given to a local all night cafe for the homeless, a project in Leeds which helps women who have been forced into prostitution due to addiction (one of my daughters friends works for them so I know the charity is ethical) and a charity in Kenya that helps children who have been thrown out of their homes as a result of being raped and blamed for it plus a small rehousing dogs charity.

London Air Ambulance, hoping I will never need to use it, Battersea Dogs and Cats home, local Cat Protection League, and Macular Society. I also add food to the food bank at my local supermarket and I give to and buy mainly books from my local charity.

I'm happy to give to some smaller local charities as well as some larger ones like Marie Curie and the British Legion. It's not much but 'Many a mickle maks a muckle'!
I was interested and pleased to learn that my M&S Sparks card makes a payment to a charity every time it's used. So far my nominated charity has benefited from £4 million. A very painless way to give.

I have a DD for our local hospice and each Christmas do a massive shop for our local foodbank.

Also make one off donations to small local charities. I've worked in the Charity sector and agree that there are instances of inordinate costs due to very high salaries of senior management. I also witnessed that some of these charities can lose sight of what they were originally set up for and, over time, can become more about interests of the organisation rather than the people they were set up to help.

Just to refer back to the OP, I find it difficult to accept that some large charities only use 1% of their funds for charitable purposes, do you have any examples of this, please Pambles01. Large charities do have considerable costs but they also have large incomes. A good deal comes from bids made to governments, there's a real skill in preparing these, they may also have costs associated with staff living abroad, my niece spent several years living abroad in pretty rough conditions managing large projects with a mainly local staff. So some of the money was helping the local economy and families in some of the poorest parts of the world. I think you have to look at the overall work not just focus on the percentage paid in salaries.

I have a monthly direct debit to Muscular Dystrophy which I lost me son to. I am also on give as you live (www.giveasyoulive.com) where you shop online and save money for whatever charity you choose. There are over 5,500 stores to shop from and they will all make a percentage donation of your spend to your favourite registered charity. This does not effect any discounts stores may offer you)Just go to your store via give as you live. It costs you nothing. Please think about doing it.

I occasionally give an adhock donation to the local food bank and a regular contribution by direct debit to my church I see so many charity appeals on tv and I try to avoid going that route I also give to the local community Shed by giving the occasional gift for them to sell on. I don’t feel very comfortable naming my charity giving but as this forum is meant to be fairly anonymous I’ve just gone ahead and done it I just think our great country shouldn’t have to give charitable fundings does anyone else agree with me?

I have a direct debit to the local children's hospice and give to other random causes.

We give each month to four different animal charities.

For years I have committed to two or three charities, usually one for children, one for the environment and one for animals. I change the specific charities from time to time, depending on what is going on the world. For the first time, in what must be at least about 40 years, I have huge cash flow problems and have had to withdraw my support. That I have done so is actually more distressing than the financial problems that are affecting my life.

Yes, I give about 40 hours a week at the moment!! ?

We currently sponsor 6 children between us; one through a large sponsor programme, two that my husband met when doing voluntary work in Kenya and three through a very small Devon-based project that works in Nicaragua.

I think we’ve probably twinned the toilets of most of our friends and family - and all four of our own. And many of our family members have the luxury of ‘owning’ goats, cows, birthing packs, forests, emergency shelter kits etc. courtesy of various charity sponsorship/gift cards.

I have several charities that I give ‘one off’ gifts to and others that I give a monthly donation to and my husband has a separate list of charities that he supports.

The small charity I lead has no paid staff, so all the money collected directly benefits our clients and we publish our accounts every year in our annual report. We have some individuals who give regular amounts of money every month and one man who gives an (anonymous) annual donation of £1000.

I do not donate regularly to any specific charity regularly but to various ones as I come across them.

This year I am making up bags for Share the Dignity . An Australian charity that provides essential hygiene products for woman and teenagers who are in crisis, fleeing from domestic violence or homeless. The idea is that a collection of essential self care items are put into a bag (handbag or tote etc) These are everyday items that most of us take for granted, pads, tampons, soap, toothpaste, deodorant etc. I will also add some non essential items such as perfume and other bits and pieces.

I have sponsored homeless teenagers in London for years. Also Women Bishops, Amnesty International and any non-cash donations go to Cancer Research charity shops.

Yes, we have Amazon Smile. Small percentage goes to a pancreatic cancer charity. I say small but the mount I've spent there over the last couple of years amounts to rather a lot!

The grandchildren and youngest AC sponsor dogs at rescue homes. I have a donkey sponsored at Sidmouth and I also am the proud helper of a sloth somewhere or other.

We do a Hospice charity weekly. Won £100 once bt gave it back.

Also send money to Water Aid and the RNLI

Germanshepherdsmum

Does everyone know about Amazon Smile? Exactly the same as the normal demon Amazon but they give a tiny percentage of what you spend to whichever you choose of a list of charities. Mine is an RSPCA home. The tiny percentages from everyone mount up and every few months they email me to tell me how much my charity has received. It’s a very healthy sum. Apologies if this is coals to Newcastle.

Didn't know. Thanks.

I am a volunteer and donate to various independent animal charities.

Biggest support goes to Sightsavers on DD. Ditto Cancer research..
Friends of Cancer, Chest, heart and stroke, foodbank. I consider myself fortunate to have enough to do this. And feel we have to share and help each other if we can.

No, I didn't Germanshepherdsmum, thank you.

Mind you, I'm not sure how much they'd get from me!

Yes we do.
DH also volunteers for a charity and I help him.

Does everyone know about Amazon Smile? Exactly the same as the normal demon Amazon but they give a tiny percentage of what you spend to whichever you choose of a list of charities. Mine is an RSPCA home. The tiny percentages from everyone mount up and every few months they email me to tell me how much my charity has received. It’s a very healthy sum. Apologies if this is coals to Newcastle.

Another, who has donated regularly to Mary's Meals, since it's inception. As paddyanne has said, a minimum of 93p in the pound is spent on charitable activities. No fat salaries here.

Yes, but have changed where we donate. Regular payment to Air Ambulance, local cat rescue and veterans charity.

Food donations when I shop and when a neighbour canvases for food bank donations.

Annually, Poppy Appeal and Salvation Army Christmas Appeal.

I have in the past volunteered but not sure I'll do any more volunteering.