charity money. As previous entries have shown,
I have no faith in the charity industry. It's just
designed to make money for shiftless Oxbridge
graduates.
crate of Chateaux Le Foutre. Isn't it just precious?
We will send you:
regular emails describing how the wine tastes
and what it was drunk with. There will be
pictures of the people, our executives,
as they enjoy this wine. We thank
you for this benevolence"]
We get tv ads with crying kids, the charities
get our money and spend it wining and dining
politicians.
Here's a fine report out of Florida, brought
to us by Barry Ritholz
checkit: Ritholz
America’s
Worst Charities
by
Barry Ritholtz - June 13th, 2013, 7:17am
I
have to direct your attention this morning to a monster piece in Tampa Bay
Times titled: America’s Worst Charities.
Aside
from the obvious Pulitzer Prize potential, the series is a fantastic look at
the massive waste of money – donated in good faith by people who have
reasonable expectations that the cash would actually do some good to people in
need. Instead, the worst charities are simply treadmills, raising more money to
apply it to the not very important business of raising more money.
The
finance industry has deep ties to the world of philanthropy (aka charity
industry), as wealthy clients very often engage in major “gifting.” Foundations
and donations are a major part of tax and estate planning.
As
the series makes clear, intelligent philanthropy is much harder than it looks.
I always advise that before writing a check, you do your homework. Start with
GiveWell and Charity Navigator (also check out Evaluating the Charity
Evaluators). Focus on what actually helps people, rather than poorly run,
self-interested shops that are borderline scams. (Also, check your ego and
avoid trying to have a building with your name on the side of it).
And
for heaven’s sake, stop giving money to outfits that pocket 90% of the
donations, leaving little or no aid for its intended purpose.
