Charity

So, Facebook is currently swimming in videos of people throwing ice water on their heads in the name of ALS research.  Good idea/Bad idea; I don't really care - people are having fun and raising a bit of money too.

But with the donations comes the age-old argument that: "I don't donate my hard-earned money to charity because 'x' charity uses most of their donations to pay their CEO instead of (finding a cure/helping the poor, etc). There should be rules so that administrators don't get all the money!"


*sigh*

There are rules.  The Canadian Government has very clear rules for charities to follow so that they can continue to keep their charities status.  This includes using at least 80% of their funds in 'Charitable Acts'.  However, 'charitable acts' includes the overhead of the charity.  It includes the utility bills for the charity's buildings; it includes the salaries of the secretaries who answer the phones; it includes all the paper mail outs that get sent out to millions of people every year fishing for more donations.

Charities are businesses.  Non-profit, but business none the less.  And it costs a significant amount of money to run a proper business.  It's great to say that 'I want MY money to go to research', but how do you think the research happens if the hydro bill isn't paid?  Yes, I know, you want YOUR donations to help the poor.  But how is that going to happen without a system of administration in place to follow through? 

It's unfortunate that some charities choose to pay their higher-ups millions of dollars in salaries each year.  It's unfortunate that someone who works for a charity would choose to accept that sort of salary.  Charities, it seems, are not immune to the greedy human condition.

But there are rules, and the rules are in place so that charities don't abuse their donors heartfelt givings.

Every year, every charity in Canada has to file a report to the government that shows how their money was spent.  These reports are available, online, for anyone to view.  They're all available here: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/lstngs/menu-eng.html.    If you don't like 'x' charity, that's fine!  Pick one you do like - there's no shortage of them, and they're all doing good things.

Sincerely,
An administrator who works for a charity