As a Kenyan I can confirm that what you are saying is true and applies for most charities in general. Actually Kenyan slums tend to attract a lot of 'help' from the west when in actuality the 'help' ends up benefiting a few. And our country has a long tradition of getting loans from World Bank, IMF or some western country only for it to be pocketed by a few. And it keeps happening coz these institutions almost always forgive our debt. This time we have some Eurobonds though and any delinquency would be catastrophic; haven't heard of any corruption rumors yet.
> People have become skeptical of the giant nonprofits, the Wounded Warrior Project and the ASPCA, where a huge percentage of donations go to administration.
Is that really the case? According to Charity Navigator, about 5% of donations to these charities go to administrative costs, which doesn’t seem “huge” to me.
Dang, it just took a minute of research to confirm what you wrote. Actually, Wounded Warrior Project is at 4% admin costs, 20% fund raising costs, and 76% goes to wounded vets according to give.org. Jared, you're complaining about that? A civilized society is built upon a network of social links that includes supporting ethical organizations that help others wisely-and yes, that includes supporting organizations that help our feline friends to all those ailuromaniacs who wish to give.
I have a friend who was a Vietnamese refugee to the US. He eventually became a successful hedge fund trader. He had been helped when younger by a sympathetic teacher who encouraged him to study hard and aspire to succeed. When he moved back to Asia, he started his own charity funding disadvantaged students who were training to be teachers, believing that supporting the development motivated and well-trained teachers was the best use of his time and money. I'm living in Vietnam now and his efforts are so much more useful than the many charities, supported by Western donors, that siphon money off to administration and scammers.
People hate to send cash, but it empowers the aid organizations to get the victims what they need and doesn't become a curse. $10k in $20s weighs about a pound and will fit in a lunch bag. $10k in tube socks is about 800# and will fill a van. $10k in bananas is roughly 7 tons and will fill up a 40ft shipping container. Guess which is easier to handle in a disaster zone.
I liked a lot of the content here, but missed a few areas. Are you implying that doing mean things in society is the right way to help people who want/need a service? This is not true with regards to many of our drug laws. Locking people in cages for petty drug offenses has been practiced since forever and does very little good rehabbing addicts to change their lives and burns tons of tax dollars. Most of the data points to the conclusion that being nicer to addicts gives them a much better chance of quitting the cycle they are in if executed well. There will always be winners and losers. I don't need to defend every attempt that fails because of poor execution.
For profit prisons. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Plus monopolies on communication with incarcerated people. Lots of campaign money to be found, for sure.
Interesting perspective. One charity I donate to about once a year is a local community organization that runs a group home for terminally ill, indigent seniors. I participate in a well-known recovery program. One of our sayings is that our program is for people who want it, not those who need it. I learned a long time ago that giving someone a hand-out when they are down on their luck is almost 100% a mistake. Unfortunately I can share a number of personal stories of getting taken advantage of when I tried to "help" someone out. Lesson learned. I'm much more selective now about who, how, and when.
When we invest in startups we're perfectly ok with only 1 in 5 for profit enterprises ever surviving after 5 years and maybe 1 in 100 being really successful. When we give the same dollars to charity, we expect each and every dollar to turn into miracles. Maybe we should stop and think and acknowledge we have impossible standards for charity and yes, there will be a lot of money wasted for that 1 in 100 success stories.
I had my 20-year-old son who’s a Finance major read this. Love the story of the goat storage units and completely agree on most everything else. These days, I apply charity to the people surrounding me, not faceless orgs with massive overhead. Recently, I saw Tucker Carlson give a speech on the same subject, saying, “How can I justify handing over money to one of those big charities when, say, my own housekeeper desperately needs a new car?” I thought that was such a good way of thinking about charity: keep it local, keep it personal, and (if possible) keep it anonymous.
As a Kenyan I can confirm that what you are saying is true and applies for most charities in general. Actually Kenyan slums tend to attract a lot of 'help' from the west when in actuality the 'help' ends up benefiting a few. And our country has a long tradition of getting loans from World Bank, IMF or some western country only for it to be pocketed by a few. And it keeps happening coz these institutions almost always forgive our debt. This time we have some Eurobonds though and any delinquency would be catastrophic; haven't heard of any corruption rumors yet.
> People have become skeptical of the giant nonprofits, the Wounded Warrior Project and the ASPCA, where a huge percentage of donations go to administration.
Is that really the case? According to Charity Navigator, about 5% of donations to these charities go to administrative costs, which doesn’t seem “huge” to me.
WWP: https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/202370934
ASPCA: https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/131623829
Dang, it just took a minute of research to confirm what you wrote. Actually, Wounded Warrior Project is at 4% admin costs, 20% fund raising costs, and 76% goes to wounded vets according to give.org. Jared, you're complaining about that? A civilized society is built upon a network of social links that includes supporting ethical organizations that help others wisely-and yes, that includes supporting organizations that help our feline friends to all those ailuromaniacs who wish to give.
I have a friend who was a Vietnamese refugee to the US. He eventually became a successful hedge fund trader. He had been helped when younger by a sympathetic teacher who encouraged him to study hard and aspire to succeed. When he moved back to Asia, he started his own charity funding disadvantaged students who were training to be teachers, believing that supporting the development motivated and well-trained teachers was the best use of his time and money. I'm living in Vietnam now and his efforts are so much more useful than the many charities, supported by Western donors, that siphon money off to administration and scammers.
So much donated stuff is wasted because it is unwanted. 5 acres of donated clothing for Hurricane Andrew had to be burned or buried because they had no place dry to put it. Hurricanes destroy warehouses too. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1999/05/10/organizers-ask-donors-to-call-before-bringing-relief-goods/62243026007/
People hate to send cash, but it empowers the aid organizations to get the victims what they need and doesn't become a curse. $10k in $20s weighs about a pound and will fit in a lunch bag. $10k in tube socks is about 800# and will fill a van. $10k in bananas is roughly 7 tons and will fill up a 40ft shipping container. Guess which is easier to handle in a disaster zone.
I liked a lot of the content here, but missed a few areas. Are you implying that doing mean things in society is the right way to help people who want/need a service? This is not true with regards to many of our drug laws. Locking people in cages for petty drug offenses has been practiced since forever and does very little good rehabbing addicts to change their lives and burns tons of tax dollars. Most of the data points to the conclusion that being nicer to addicts gives them a much better chance of quitting the cycle they are in if executed well. There will always be winners and losers. I don't need to defend every attempt that fails because of poor execution.
For profit prisons. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Plus monopolies on communication with incarcerated people. Lots of campaign money to be found, for sure.
Few want to truly help. We only want to feel good/better.
Interesting perspective. One charity I donate to about once a year is a local community organization that runs a group home for terminally ill, indigent seniors. I participate in a well-known recovery program. One of our sayings is that our program is for people who want it, not those who need it. I learned a long time ago that giving someone a hand-out when they are down on their luck is almost 100% a mistake. Unfortunately I can share a number of personal stories of getting taken advantage of when I tried to "help" someone out. Lesson learned. I'm much more selective now about who, how, and when.
At least the goats were winners
When we invest in startups we're perfectly ok with only 1 in 5 for profit enterprises ever surviving after 5 years and maybe 1 in 100 being really successful. When we give the same dollars to charity, we expect each and every dollar to turn into miracles. Maybe we should stop and think and acknowledge we have impossible standards for charity and yes, there will be a lot of money wasted for that 1 in 100 success stories.
Jared, you are a terrific writer. Thank you.
Merry Christmas
Jared, great article for year end. Giving has a mental currency cost that seems greater than the act itself.
I had my 20-year-old son who’s a Finance major read this. Love the story of the goat storage units and completely agree on most everything else. These days, I apply charity to the people surrounding me, not faceless orgs with massive overhead. Recently, I saw Tucker Carlson give a speech on the same subject, saying, “How can I justify handing over money to one of those big charities when, say, my own housekeeper desperately needs a new car?” I thought that was such a good way of thinking about charity: keep it local, keep it personal, and (if possible) keep it anonymous.
Ayn Rand also used socialism when it suited her (at her death.) You were doing great up until then.