Conference turris::womannotes-v1

    re: .0
    
    The lady who called in was probably under the impression that all
    charities are administered in the same way.
    
    She , like anyone else, would do well to get a copy of the 'target
    charitys'' financial statement before contributing.
    
    
    There are several charities and foundations here in the USA where
    the "Administration Costs" take about 95% of the total take, leaving
    a pittance for the 'intended victims'. Oftentimes even when the
    money does pay for goods and services, the politics of the areas
    rip off another 90% of the supplies before they are received by
    the 'victims'.
    
    I wish there were a way to find out which ones were which, and
    in whom we could put our trust. One 'scandal' in the USA was uncoveered
    by the IRS (federal tax collectors) when a 'large church group'
    collected millione of dollars, but was 'just holding them' until
    it could learn through which charity they should be distributed
    (they were being held in excess of 1 year, while interest rates
    were quite high).
    
    I may be mistaken, but I understand that the charities who are MOST
    effective in distributing to Ethiopia are: Catholic Charities,
    Unitarian-Universalist Service Committee, the Salvation Army. If
    you know of others perhaps you they should be included here ?
    
    There was a 'call' for contributions by the UUA recently, before
    the mass , newsworthy starvation begins. A good time to begin is
    before the people die, eh ?
    
    Bob
    
    

    The Better Business Bureau investigates charities and issues reports
    on how they spend their funds, what percentage goes to administration,
    etc.  My recollection is that you can get reports on three charities
    of your choice for a dollar (or somesuch).  probably if you call
    the local office of the BBB they can tell you how to get these reports.
    Various states also license charities.  Some calls to likely looking
    state offices might elicit some info about how strict the licensing
    is, how to verify that a particular charity is licensed, etc.
    

    
    	The Quakers also run an efficient charity.   Consumer Reports
    has (perhaps years ago) investigated some charities, and gave the
    Quakers the highest rating for getting money to the real poor.
    
    	Alan.

    I also feel sad about all the people in Ethiopia who are starving.
    But what can we do?  The Ethiopian government won't allow most of
    the food that is sent to be distributed to those who need it - much
    of it rots on the docks.  Some is even exported.  Why?  Obviously 
    politics.  But what can be done?
    
    Elizabeth

    
    re 1:
    
    	Yes, it is a problem that some charities administration costs
    eat up all the money - in the UK charities have to be registered
    but I don't think that says a lot - I'm sure that there are some
    `charities' in the UK that benefit the people that run them more
    than the supposed benificiaries, however I certainly don't think
    Oxfam is one of those ! It's probably the largest and best known
    charity for the 3rd world in the UK, and I'm sure you can obtain
    details of how the spend their money, etc. Their admin costs run
    at about 4%, and the man from Oxfam defended that spending in the
    light of the fact it's best to spend a little money to work out 
    where money is best spent to really help the people you want to
    help. I certainly have no qualms that my donations to them will
    be used to the best advantage.
    
    re 4:
    
    Good point ! I think one of the worst things about the Ethiopian
    problems is that aid is being interrupted by both sides of the war,
    not just the government, but I think some convoys have been attacked
    by the rebel groups as well. This was mentioned on the Radio program,
    apperently the best way the relief workers have to deal with this
    is to make sure they are seen to be impartial and give humanitarian
    aid to people on both sides of the war. Hopefully persistence on
    behalf of the people working out there will pay off, certainly there
    is some food getting through, although this is a big problem. 
    
    However Ethiopia is not the only place with this sort of problem,
    there are a lot of countries where people are living close to the
    edge, and aid given to help them stand more firmly on their own
    feet, before the lean years, is a lot better than bailing them out
    when they are dying. There's a good saying for this -
    
    " If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day,
      If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime."
    
    	Sarah
    

    We used to give money frequently to different charities, but realised
    that most of it never got there. Most of you will have seen pictures
    on the TV not only of bags of food rotting on the docks, but of
    trucks waylaid by the military, or the guerrilla (depending on which
    Third World country we are talking about) and the food frequently
    left on the road. Also pictures of the people who govern those
    countries: if not downright fat, they are definitely very
    well fed, and the idea of lining their pockets is not very appealing.
    The people who actually contribute to causes in far away countries
    are more generous than I am: they take the point of view that
    whatever little reaches those countries is better than nothing.     
    
    Sad to say, I'd never give any money to the Red Cross, as I know
    several people who work for them and live in absolute luxury in
    the countries they are assigned to (true stories provided on request).
    
    Though the lady referred to in note 0. sounds real nasty, some of
    what she says is also true: some people are starving around us.
    Last year in France over a 100 people died from cold because they
    slept outside through the winter. Helping them is just as valid
    as helping anyone else in the world. Unfortunately, misery and
    starvation are everywhere.
    
    As a noter mentioned in another note, what we should try to give
    is more of our TIME, but that's much tougher than giving money...
    
    Joana      

    Anyone who lives in the Greater Lowell, Mass, area can contact me
    if they want to give to a group that gives money to OXFAM, a group
    in MIssissippi and the groups in the Greater Lowell area that feeds
    the homeless and others in need.
    
    We monitor what the groups do with the money we send and refuse
    aid to groups that don't deliver.
    
    _peggy
    
    		(-)
    		 |	We all deserve to be able to eat good food.