Charity begins at home

[mike killay]

I have just had a young lady call at my house on behalf of the Red Cross.
The jist of her spiel was that they would like me to sign a standing order for £10 a month.
Google informs me that the CEO of the Red Cross gets £184,000 a year!
They wanted £120 per year from me.
Just who do these people think that they are?

 

[funkylyn]

Its funny you should mention the Red Cross Mike as I was about to play hookey today for a couple of hours to visit a craft fair at Hexham racecourse.....until I heard the Red Cross were running it and charging £4 entrance fee.....a bit greedy really, ( of course, I hadnt realised that they have their 'poor old CEO' to finance.....and no doubt his many friends.)

If I had been an exhibitor I would have objected too, as thats no way to encourage potential buyers to visit, they will be getting enough from the exhibitors for their stands as it is.

Anyway, I stayed and worked all day instead

Lynda

 

[flecc]

I could also tell a nasty story about the Red Cross financial antics, but frankly they are no different from all the large organised charities. Every appeal is really an appeal for money to meet their ongoing wages/running costs/properties bill, with any surplus if lucky going to the nominated cause.

 

[SRS]

£184,000, scandal. How can he possibly work enough hours to justify this.

As I understood it, the Red Cross is a non profit charity.

No wonder it's making no profit. He's robbing the charity box!!!

 

[los monty]

£184,000, scandal. How can he possibly work enough hours to justify this.

As I understood it, the Red Cross is a non profit charity.

No wonder it's making no profit. He's robbing the charity box!!!

I doubt this will include his pension rights not to mention his expense account. Office costs including his PA will no doubt see no change out of a £250,000. Imagine the equipment it could provide for the volunteers that do the real work.

 

[filsgreen]

I like many others give a direct debit of X amount per month to charity, mine is the McMillan Nurses, what you have said has made me think again. It's depressing really that the overheads are that much, what do you do, stop giving? Personally I will carry on, as what is the alternative?
Phil

 

[Clockwise]

I like many others give a direct debit of X amount per month to charity, mine is the McMillan Nurses, what you have said has made me think again. It's depressing really that the overheads are that much, what do you do, stop giving? Personally I will carry on, as what is the alternative?

I give food directly to the homeless when I can, anything from a bag of crisps I had in my bag to buying an extra mc ds for a guy hanging about outside for change. I know it seems cynical but if you give homeless people money often it will end up being converted into booze or worse. Give them lunch/dinner and it isn't a solution to the problems they have but it certainly doesn't make it worse and you know they had something to eat that day.

Some friends I know found that giving money to animal charities was often nothing against what a few hours helping at a local animal shelter could do. The impact of just helping out with feeding/cleaning animals so the vets could be more available to "work" in the hours the shelter had them was huge.

I know for some things like cancer research you can't research anything on random food donations and helping out beyond indirectly linked fund raising isn't exactly an option. It depends where/what you want to help I guess.

 

[flecc]

I've always used direct giving and direct action and have given very large sums and some physical help over the years that way. Of course that means there are some things I can't support like some overseas aid efforts, but knowing how suspect so many of those are, it doesn't trouble me.

For the worst disasters governments dive in with emergency aid, using our money, so we "give" in that compulsory way. For the rest, charity begins at home in any country, so I can reach many areas of need.

But what disgusts me most about the whole charity issue is the way our governments duck their responsibilities by pushing us to do charitable work and make charitable donations while spending vast sums on WMDs and illegal wars in other countries. An example is the way job centres as a matter of government policy pressurise the unemployed to do charity work, even to the extent of blackmail, instead of actually getting people jobs.

 

[Sheffmax]

It's the old adage: if you pay peanuts you'll get a monkey.

The salaries of the CEOs of national charities is more likely to reflect their influence in the city, on golf courses and among the big charitable givers than for the actual sitting at their desk working out strategies.

In my experience, people will find excuses for not doing all sorts of actions such as voting, charitable giving, volunteering, etc. I'm not saying that the op fits into this category but as more people raise high salaries as an issue the more likely it is that the Daily Mail & Daily Express will start the drip feeding of doubt about charitable donations. Once that starts then any reticence people have about giving will be reinforced.

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

I agree on the face of it this is a massive wage. However it depends what the CEO brings if there is added value then better to pay CEO more if it results in more income for charity and who it supports. Although this is often not the case with many companies, charities, government organisations effectively rewarding poor performance. Would be interesting to compare running costs of different charities against how much actually goes to the people they are suppose to support. Not always simply to work out where value lies. Look at the banks and recent announcement that RBS and Lloyds were allegedly putting profitable firms under to increase their profits.

There are also some charities which overlap with others and some which are questionable. Some local high streets are dominated by charities which is not good for them or high street as over time it does not encourage people to visit the high street which in turn does not help the charities or the high street. The best towns and cities have a variety of unique shops, chains, charity shops and more.

 

[flecc]

In the years since 2007 we've had a network of volunteer food banks doing a very good job of supplying the needy with food essentials. The food has come from a variety of sources including shoppers giving food in some supermarkets.

Today's BBC TV news showed the Red Cross stepping in to "help", the help seeming to consist of some Red Cross waistcoats for the volunteers collecting the food to wear, plus the provision of a "suit" to do the TV interview. Blatant cashing in.

They sicken me.

 

[peerjay56]

In the years since 2007 we've had a network of volunteer food banks doing a very good job of supplying the needy with food essentials. The food has come from a variety of sources including shoppers giving food in some supermarkets.

Today's BBC TV news showed the Red Cross stepping in to "help", the help seeming to consist of some Red Cross waistcoats for the volunteers collecting the food to wear, plus the provision of a "suit" to do the TV interview. Blatant cashing in.

They sicken me.

According to the Charities Commission website, of £204 million raised, £67 million went in running costs -33%! Even though some of this is spent on merchandising which in turn raises funds, it's not very edifying

 

[flecc]

But that includes the cheating. I personally know of very large sums spent by two of the largest charities on themselves but allocated as giving due to administrative fiddling.

In addition, a friend of mine for over 50 years used to work for the Charity Commissioners as a civil servant and was highly critical of the way they had no power to do anything about the widespread abuse.
.

 

[mike killay]

My point is that I do not mind about putting a pound in the box when asked in the street, but I do seriously mind being disturbed in my home by a person who was obviously a skilled sales person with all the talk, rather than a total volunteer on the street. To then be asked for £10 per month, every month is ridiculous.
Last month it was the Air Ambulance, they were a bit more modest and only wanted £5 per month.
What I also don't like in cases such as the Air Ambulance is that for most of my life we have done without, then suddenly someone gets the idea to set one up.
Having put themselves on a self built high moral plain, they then try to pressure me into feeling bad about not wanting to join in their humanitarian crusade.

 

[flecc]

I totally agree Mike, this professional doorstepping is highly objectionable.

I just bluntly say "Not for me" and close the door.

If they deliberately delay or avoid saying the purpose of their call to keep my attention, I just close the door without speaking.

 

[jackhandy]

We had the chuggers round our area, "on the knocker" & one girl was stupid enough to try to make me feel guilty bytelling me how most of our neighbours were being very suportive, even using some christian names to back up her claims. Silly cow. Pushed off quick when I asked what the going rate is for her comission.t

 

[peerjay56]

My point is that I do not mind about putting a pound in the box when asked in the street, but I do seriously mind being disturbed in my home by a person who was obviously a skilled sales person with all the talk, rather than a total volunteer on the street. To then be asked for £10 per month, every month is ridiculous.
Last month it was the Air Ambulance, they were a bit more modest and only wanted £5 per month.
What I also don't like in cases such as the Air Ambulance is that for most of my life we have done without, then suddenly someone gets the idea to set one up.
Having put themselves on a self built high moral plain, they then try to pressure me into feeling bad about not wanting to join in their humanitarian crusade.

Don't get me started on air ambulances! They provide a much needed resource that can get those critically ill or injured to an appropriate medical facility in good time. And on that basis they should be a mainstream part of the ambulance service, rather than siphoning off huge sums off local charities that don't have a similar glamorous crowd puller- the big yellow fan
rant over

 

[SRS]

It's the old adage: if you pay peanuts you'll get a monkey.

The salaries of the CEOs of national charities is more likely to reflect their influence in the city, on golf courses and among the big charitable givers than for the actual sitting at their desk working out strategies.

Well if the CEO was actually charitable himself, then he'd donate £100k of his salary to his own charity. He'd still have a decent amount to live on.

He is supposed to be working for the good of the charity and not his own greedy pocket.

Apologies to the CEO in question if you are a woman, I have just assumed by the greed that you must be a man.

 

[flecc]

Apologies to the CEO in question if you are a woman, I have just assumed by the greed that you must be a man.

Most divorced men would not agree with that sentiment, nor those who are victims of the child support agency!

 

[SRS]

Most divorced men would not agree with that sentiment, nor those who are victims of the child support agency!

Do i detect some bitterness?