How do you choose

DotMH1901

I rarely donate to big charities - so much of their money goes on paying huge salaries to their Chair and other senior managers. My friend has been involved for decades with a village in Gambia and goes out there teaching during the Summer holidays - she collects clothing and books and equipment etc so I donate to her as I know 100% of what is given gets to the children and adults who need it. The village now has its own school which is well equipped, has a football team and is now a training centre for new teachers to study at.

Funnily enough, I support a young Gambian man (but not his whole village!). When he was in full time education I sent him notebooks, calculators and other stationary items. Now he has completed his education I’m helping him with money for food as he was working in the tourist industry but that is closed down for now. His monthly salary was £30 so that is what I send him. He always sends me pictures of what he has bought, and the meals his mother has made. As often as he can he will share his purchases with his neighbours who are also struggling. There is some help from the Gambian government, but not a lot. I would rather ‘donate’ this way, direct to a cause, than give to a bigger organisation where a small percentage of money given reaches the front line.

I agree that selecting charities is very much a personal choice and also it depends on one's means. I do my homework before choosing a charity and support two local ones which have helped my family and a global animal welfare one. Charities can sometimes have large offices and admin costs especially if they operate globally. I also leave room for charities trying to cope with disasters. Support through committee work and other forms of volunteering is always welcome.

I donate to Gt Ormond Street Hospital where my dear late grandson was treated. In his memory my daughter and sil have set up a charity which sponsors a number of Kenyan orphans through the education system giving these children the opportunity of a better future. My sil visited the orphanage last year- at his own expense - there are no overheads - to help out with some badly needed decorating. Just one of many small charities who work so hard to raise funds,

I give monthly to London Air Ambulance and DH has a direct debit set up for Cats Protection. I gave a one-off recently to the Wild at Heart foundation. We also support the following with annual subscriptions: RHS, RSPB, Tate, National Gallery, English Heritage, National Trust.

I agree about MSF Greciangirl. They are often already working on the ground in disaster areas, and know the territory and what is needed, whereas some charities rush in inappropriately. I think they are well worth supporting.

It depends what you can afford and your personal choice or if you are aware of the hood works being done in the community. There is more than one way to help charities, I give a small regular monthly donation to RSPB as animal charities do not qualify for any Lottery funding. I also give one off donations with gift aid to local charities particularly when there is an appeal, I also give items to the local food bank when I can, and give time through volunteering at another.

After my husband died I had endless demands requests from Macmillan for money in return for all the support they had given him.

Even though they were useless and actually lost us money by telling me I couldn't claim Carers Allowance.

@Thisismyname1958n
I found that once you have given one McMillan one donation your name is permanently on their records and you are plagued with further requests. so I stopped responding.

Generally I give to animal charities,not the big ones but to ones which are smaller and perhaps local where you can see what the money is being used for.

For years I have had a monthly direct debit to MSF.
Medicens Sans Frontiers. Doctors Without Borders.

Whenever there are emergencies or disasters anywhere in the world, they are there. Their work is invaluable.

Too many charities in this country to choose from.
Third world countries need aid much more.

Although my heart goes out to people caught up in disasters I am wary of donating to Relief Funds. It seems that a lot of the many £millions received doesn’t arrive to help the local people suffering from the after-effects.
We are inundated with charity appeals, these days, especially on tv. Almost every ad break seems to have someone trying to break our hearts. It’s impossible to support them all, and they must spend a fortune on advertising.
I sponsor a child through a small charity that I know has very low running costs. I support the Crohn’s And Colitis charity because my DH suffered from that debilitating condition, and a cure must be found. Apart from those I will always pop some change into a collecting tin, or sponsor anyone I know who is fundraising.

I prefer to fund local charities especially my local hospice. I would never, ever, send funds to any international charities such as Oxfam or UNICEF any more as they pay their admin such high salaries.

Animal charities - animals have suffered so much during ( & not only in ) lockdown.

I give to 2 charities and have resolved to not donate to any more. There is only so much you can do.

The one charity I refuse to give to is McMillan. When my mothers sister died of lung cancer they had been of no use to her but my mother gave them a donation anyway. After that they wouldn’t leave her alone . She was a widow who couldn’t pay all her bills but felt guilted into giving them more cash . I’d go to visit her to find her in tears . I answered the next phone all and ranted at them to leave her alone , and high they did . Several years later when my mum was dying of cancer there was no sign of them and again when my stepfather died of cancer the McMillan nurses contacted me the day before he died to see if they could help. No thank you you’re a bit late was the reply they got from me .

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Albangirl14

Mary,s Meals and Keech Hospice get my support. Both for children and spend money carefully. I agree with others about large charities with big salaries for the CEO.and avoid them.

Surely you can agree that a charity like Save the Children, with total income of £307 million in the last year is not paying huge salaries to its executives?

My younger DD is the service manager of a small local charity, and her partner is an outreach worker. I would estimate that they work at least twice the hours that they are paid for, simply because it is not the sort of work that you can switch off when it's time to go home. When you are dealing with desperate people, you have to keep working for them. It's not easy work. Her partner is currently getting death threats from a man with mental health and alcohol issues. It's all fun in the charity sector!

I don't know how this applies to other charities but their charity's wages are funded by grants, such as the lottery grant and various other ones that they can apply for. They don't come from the public donations, which all go to fund the work. It is quite a precarious way to live, as they never know whether they will get grants in the future. Frankly, with the low wages, long hours, insecurity, and the demanding nature of the work, it isn't everyone's cup of tea. My DD loves it because every day is a challenge and you can actually make a difference to someone's life. There are people walking around today who would be dead if the charity hadn't stepped in to help them.

There is no logical way to choose a charity to support. It's a gut feeling. Some people support my DD's charity because they are helping local people, or they are small, or the donor cares about the issues involved. I think some people support a charity because they have a personal connection to it, such as an illness. Others because they care passionately about the issues, eg cruelty to children, animal welfare, etc. Or it's just an emotional reaction - something touches you and you can't ignore it. I am afraid that I tend to fall into that category.

Oh just a reminder (I keep forgetting) that if you have a bit of an Amazon habit, you can order through their Smile website which is exactly the same as Amazon and you can choose what charity to donate part of the profits to. There’s a big list and though it isn’t a huge proportion it all adds up. They might not pay much in tax but they can give a bit to good causes.

Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridge.

Mary,s Meals and Keech Hospice get my support. Both for children and spend money carefully. I agree with others about large charities with big salaries for the CEO.and avoid them.

Thanks for all the replies - as I said there are charities which I support regularly but it's the daily appeal from the small local charities which upset me. I obviously can't donate to every appeal - I think Unigrans monthly charity budget idea is a good one

Air Ambulance and Alzheimer's lotteries as well as actively volunteering for a local Charity and a National Charity. I do tend to buy Charity Christmas cards too and support my GC scout group from time to time.

May I make a suggestion,please?
There is an excellent Charity called "52 lives." which my son told me about.
Each week people recommend somebody who desperately needs help but somehow isn't getting it.

One person ,is chosen.and 100% of the money is donated to that cause during that week.
If you can't afford to give anything you can send a little note instead.

If you haven't heard of this Charity please look it up .

I would love someone to reply to this and agree with me that it is very worthwhile.
Thank you.

I put aside a certain sum each month for charity work and when it's gone, I do nothing until the next month. All charities I regularly support are close to my heart. Cancer for my Mum, British Heart Foundation for my Dad, Alzheimers for my Gran. What's left over for that month goes as a one-off donation for current appeals.

But you have to remember that there are other people out there who wouldn't touch those 3 charities because (say) dogs, cats and horses are nearer their heart. They are not relying solely on your donation, so I would suggest you give where your heart lies and stop when your budget ends for the month.

I give to a couple of charities which were so helpful to my late husband during his terminal illness as I know that the money will be well spent on the things which matter.
We can only look to our conscience and do our best, can't we?