There are a lot of schemers out there waiting to take full advantage of people in times of crisis or when things in society are at their most vulnerable.
It鈥檚 a cold fact to face, but it鈥檚 also a brutal truth.
Donating to any worthy cause is almost hard to do these days because it seems that there are so many organizations, clubs, and people in general with their hands out.
On top of that, whenever a major catastrophe happens such as the recent floods in Texas or the hurricane that rocked Florida, dozens of organizations put the call out for financial support.
So where exactly do your donation dollars go?
We want to believe that the $20, $50 or $100 or more we part with is going directly to someone or some group of people or other affected parties in order to help pay for food, shelter, medical supplies or anything of that nature, but we really don鈥檛 *know* for sure when we click those buttons online confirming payment or when we mail a check in.聽 We just hope for the best and trust that the people in charge are distributing the funds accordingly.
Is that always the case though?
When it comes to controversial cancer fundraising non-profits, the Susan G. Komen organization is certainly no stranger.聽 Started in 1982, they鈥檝e reportedly spent nearly $1.5 billion for breast cancer research, education, advocacy, health services and social support programs in the United States and through partnerships in over 50 countries.
An impressive number, but after a significant decline in donations in 2012, Komen鈥檚 public image was tarnished after its use of donor funds was criticized, with statistics showing a reported use of roughly 20% for actual research.聽 Adding to this was the CEO鈥檚 64% pay raise at the time, as well as administration costs, choice of sponsor affiliations, and the organization鈥檚 own misleading statistics in advertising.
Susan G. Komen, as well as a number of cancer organizations, has also been a target for critics of 鈥減ink-washing鈥�, a term used for organizations that receive disproportionately large amounts of publicity for allegedly donating very little, as well as organizations that use the breast cancer pink ribbon symbol to promote products that may be carcinogenic; an example of the latter would be Komen鈥檚 鈥楤uckets for the Cure鈥� campaign in which they partnered with KFC.
I don鈥檛 know about you, but I don鈥檛 mind admitting that I鈥檓 careful with my donation dollars to the point where I don鈥檛 even know if I want to donate at all.聽 I would love to know for sure if the $50 I give to any supposedly 鈥榥on-profit鈥� organization is actually going to a cancer patient, sick child, food/supplies for people impacted by a natural disaster, but these days you just don鈥檛 know for sure, and in these ever-increasing tension-filled times, it鈥檚 getting harder and harder to simply take a company at their word.
And then there鈥檚 crowd-funding.聽 Oh Lord, don鈥檛 even get me started on crowd-funding.
For those not in the know, crowd-funding is an online platform in which 鈥� when you get right down to the brass tacks of it all 鈥� you create a page and basically just ask for money.聽 It might be for a medical emergency, a family in need or in mourning, or something else worthwhile.聽 On much bigger stages, crowd-funding has helped a number of feature films get made, so there鈥檚 an artistic side to it as well.
That being said, the crowd-funding avenue has gotten very, well, crowded in the sense that every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to jump at the chance to create a page and ask for money for all kinds of different things such as, 鈥淗elp Send Me on My Dream Vacation!鈥� or 鈥淗elp Pay For Our Dream Wedding!鈥�
While it can be helpful depending on the situation 鈥� such as the Vegas campaign that has generated over $10 million for victims of the recent mass shooting 鈥� I鈥檝e come to realize that crowd-funding has become a crutch for lazy people who simply don鈥檛 want to work towards fulfilling something in their lives.聽 I was raised to believe that if you wanted something really bad, you paid for it yourself and didn鈥檛 resort to handouts from complete strangers.聽 But it鈥檚 a crazy world we live in, isn鈥檛 it?
Personally, I donate to the Saskatoon SPCA and try to spread my dollars around local efforts that I know need the funds, but I know that everyone鈥檚 ideals are different.
Still, a little research doesn鈥檛 hurt to know where your generosity is headed.
For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
