elanya

I like to donate to charity around this time of year as well. The thing that always bugged me though, was that it's hard to tell which charities will put the money to good use. I really dislike those charities that send a bunch of stuff in the mail to try and guilt you into donating (ahem unicef!) like sending you a nickel "this nickel could save a child's life!" or a bunch of address labels. I feel like that's a reflection on how they're going to spend your donation money. Or Sierra club, which has called me repeatedly asking for *$100* and trying to pressure me to give, even after I told them to stop calling. I really dislike that tactic.

Vinnie actually has a cousin who has worked for non-profits and is pretty knowledgeable about which ones put their money to good use vs. pocketing it or using it to pester you for more donations. I recall her once saying that there are better environmental groups than Sierra Club, that unicef is terrible in terms of how much of the donations go to the CEO, and I think the American Red Cross keeps something like 80% of the donations meaning that 20% of your donation ends up going to aid. .( Vinnie and I were going to spend some time with her soon to do some research and figure out what charities we want to donate to this year, and if you're interested, I'd be happy to let you know what I learned.