Mimito2

I try to support local church based charities that are run by volunteers.

isnthatodd

I have always chosen the Shriners, just because they donate their time.

mamaw

I do not believe it is charitable to profit from a charity's donations. St. Judes Childrens Hospital, Shriners, Salvation Army, and homeless shelters utilize their donations very well. We have sons who donate blood to Red Cross on a regular basis also.

IrishNY

I know that much of this information is inaccurate.

Forbes reported that the Salvation Army executive made close to $200,000 in 2004. And there is no way to verify what the amount really is since the Salvation Army doesn't have to declare how they spend donations because they are a church, not a charity.

I just looked at the 990 for the Red Cross and the CEO makes $455,000, so that is inaccurate too.

I agree with the poster who said that these are huge organizations that require more than an intern who makes $25,000 a year. Why would it be better to give to an organization that doesn't pay for quality management?

moonrise

Something that bugs me is the number of fancy mail solicitations I receive from various charities, especially this time of year.

Extra-nice envelopes designed to get your attention, full-color multi-page brochures inside, personalized address labels, ink pens, and other little gifts, etc.

Instead of using that money to print and mail out all those fancy solicitations and gifts, they could've used it towards the benefit of their charity.

If they feel they must mail SOMEthing, I'd have more respect for a charity (and would be more likely to donate, funds permitting) if they kept their printing costs down, and skipped the little gifts.

ptquilts

at the website I mentioned, it tells you what % of the money they take in goes to fundraising and other expenses.