I received an email yesterday from twins from bolton. He's upset at the recent Toronto Star report that Mothers Against Drunk Driving only gives 19 cents of every dollar to victim services and the fight against drunk driving. Here's what he wrote.
This whole MADD charity situation has gotten me totally PISSED off. We have donated much coin to this supposed charity where only 19% goes to actual funding & the rest to telemarketers & door to door fundraisers. We feel we have been ripped off.
Yesterday they called again (as usual every month) for their donation. I questioned the person on the phone regarding the % actually used & they had no response. No more coin going to a worthy cause - too bad THEY BLEW IT. $ going elsewhere. My wife is sending a letter (& no donation this month) asking for some splaining to do LUCY.
19% doesn't sit well with me either. It's like when I sold those chocolate bars in primary school to pay for a new playground. I got two bucks for each box, but the manufacturer walked away with more than half that amount. St. Pius X even tore down that playground and built a new one.
Are you now sceptical of all charities? Has this recent controversy adversely effected your holiday giving?
If a well respected charity like MADD can pull this off for over a decade, how can we trust
charities such as the Breast Cancer Foundation or even the Salvation Army? How many follow
the same questionable accounting principles?
How many hire the same fundraising firms? And when they say 80% or 90% of your donation
goes to good works, how can we believe them?
I worry that MADD has not only permanently ruined it’s name and reputation, but may
affect other charities. People need to be cautious with their money to ensure their
contributions are getting the most bang for their buck. When people call to solicit money
for charity we need to ask them if they are
being paid to call and if so find out how much they take of the donation for their
service.
There are charities like the Salvation Army, Mental Health and Heart and Stroke that
recruit people like me who donate our time to go door to door collecting. All it costs us is
a bit of time and a stamp at the end to remit the funds raised.
Do not stop donating to what you believe in, Believe in what you are donating to.