I was thinking about it. I donate to quite a few charities, but they specifically mean something to me. Others I don’t really think about, though they’re good. I guess we all have a threshold or we’d be broke and for many that could be no donations at all or just a fiver the the street guy.

  • monkeyman512@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    7 minutes ago
    • Planned Parenthood - Gave my wife quality routine medical care when were broke.
    • Pfblocker - fuck ads
    • Physics Girl - I gave hospice care to my Dad for a couple months. That was literally the hardest most painful experience of my life. I can’t imagine surviving giving full time care to someone for years like her husband has. Me chipping in a couple bucks every month might help reduce money stress in a small way.
    • Harris campaign - I would like Democracy to continue and the opposition seems directly against that happening.
  • Bruncvik@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    37 minutes ago

    I used to and still do, but I see it as an investment. In the past, I used to donate to various environmental organizations. Lack of money and disillusionment with the progress in environmental protection stopped this. Nowadays, I have a small monthly direct deposit to the armed forces of Ukraine. Living in Europe, I see this as investing into a peaceful retirement.

  • AA5B@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 hour ago

    I used to but I’m really over spam.

    For example I considered donating to a political campaign this year but those are the worst for not leaving you alone. When they wanted my phone, email, and employer, I was out

  • VirtualOdour@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    4 hours ago

    I donate small amounts to open source projects and content creators that .make stuff for everyone because I really believe it’s a great way of fighting capitalism and many of the problems it’s caused.

  • Jeanschyso@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    5 hours ago

    I used to but I don’t anymore. I can’t afford to give money away when I can’t even pay for my own bills.

  • JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    4 hours ago

    A token amount, a few euro a month.

    BUT. One day it will all be donated. Every last cent of it.

    Money is security. It’s peace of mind. So I will keep hold of mine for now, thank you very much.

  • PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    6 hours ago

    I don’t, but I should.
    I don’t because my fear of donating to a fraudulent/ineffective organization aligns with my laziness regarding figuring out the best causes and procrastinating in making a budget.

    Fear, procrastination, and laziness, together forming the perfect storm of neurodive inaction.

  • Smoogs@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    edit-2
    10 hours ago

    Lots of wealth hoarders are donating money to avoid taxes. A lot of charities profit from this and aren’t actual charities and it’s all down to syntax of what a charity is.

    And supermarkets that ask you to donate is for their own PR(and why should a money monger benefit from anyone else’s good deed when they have plenty to donate or even pay their staff a living wage instead?)

    So much of life is a layered lie and a scam.

    Just save up your loose change and give it to someone outside the liquor store. At least then you know where the money is going. And it’s possibly the more ethical option.

    • JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      4 hours ago

      Terrible, no-good, cynical, nihilist take. If everybody took your advice, the world would be a worse place in short order. Sorry to be so blunt.

    • tomi000@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      9 hours ago

      Not all charities are like that, there are many that operate very transparently and actually make a difference. Just because some people take advantage of the system behind it does not make donating less impactful if you do a bit of research.

      • Smoogs@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        6 hours ago

        What would the internet be without the no true Scotsman argument?

        Oh that’s right: scammers with no vitriol.

        • tomi000@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          edit-2
          5 hours ago

          Not sure what you mean. What would the No True Scotsman argument be in this case? It would need to make the same generalization while excluding the ones I mentioned, I dont see how that would work.

  • anon6789@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    9 hours ago

    I started donating to the local animal rescue. None of them get any public funding whatsoever, so all the money is going to the animals’ care.

    They’re pretty open with what it costs to take care of the various animals, and I feel it’s a critical job they do.

    Haven’t gotten any spam so far either, so that is respectful.

  • Toes♀@ani.social
    cake
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    9 hours ago

    I have a few times but I’d rather donate my time.

    I’ve been known to cook at community events and sort electronic donations at charities.

  • tomi000@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    9 hours ago

    I started donating last year, 2 years into my first job. I was unsure then because my impression of charities was that the money probably doesnt go where they are saying, or just a small portion does.

    Then I stumbled upon the GiveWell( https://givewell.org ) foundation. Their goal is to identify the most efficient charities using a range of criteria. I decided to start with 100€/month distributed 50/50 to fighting poverty and climate change respectively. I also decided that for every raise I get at my job Id raise the amount by 100€ and have done so once by now. I read that its easier to part with future money than with what you already own and it makes a lot of sense.

  • NebLem@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    9 hours ago

    Yep donate to a lot, but I make sure it’s out of my planned donation budget or out of my (set amount) “feel like it” budget categories. I consider patreoning creators / journalists / FOSS seperate from charity, but I try to pay a fair subscription amount I’d give to paywalled stuff. Political donations I do occasionally as well but that too is not charity.

    CharityNavigator is important to vet charities, and a good starting place to look for charities in causes you care about.

    I try to focus 50/50 on local vs international stuff, which amounts to 10/90% impacts due to wealth discrepancies. I donate typically to organizations doing the work, but also do a smaller amount to UnitedWay (which if you are too tired, stressed, or distracted to do charity research is worth the lost efficiency as they do a lot of charity vetting for you).

    I don’t donate monetarily to strangers on the street, but I do donate (time and money) to shelters and assistance programs who can bring a lot more aid per dollar than I can.

    If you work for a corp, be sure to check if they have a matching program, you can double your impact.

    I highly recommend using a email alias provider as you’ll get a lot of spam. I block most charity calls/text attempts to my phone number if they get it (I don’t understand how that is effective at all, but they all seem to do it).

  • SendPicsofSandwiches@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    11 hours ago

    I don’t usually donate to charities because the vast majority of the donation never actually goes to the cause it was donated for in the first place. However, I try to give cash to the homeless as often as Ican. On my drive home I frequently see homeless people and I try to give money and also bottled water that I usually have in my car. I don’t know what they’ll use it for, but it’s something I can do right there and then for them and I know they at least have the opportunity to buy some food / necessities, and I know they have water.

      • barsquid@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        9 hours ago

        Do they rank them by whether or not they’ll spam you with physical mail and sell your email? I need an efficient charity that I can give to anonymously.

        • tomi000@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          8 hours ago

          I send money to their funds directly, they distribute it according to their ranking. I got 2 reminder mails (last year and this year) and 1 mail with the donation receipt earlier this year.