Below is a great piece about charity. Be VERY careful and do your due diligence before giving ANY money to charities. It's not all about the big charities though.
Many small charities are just formed for bragging rights, someone scratching their scabs or wanting to try to balance their life (good luck) after screwing over so many people. Most of these "boutiques" wind up not doing anything useful at all, and just wind up paying out fees to those that organzie and work for the charity. Many are also opportunists, jumping on the cause of the day, such as Hurricane Katrina, Haiti or Japan. Here's a great article on Haiti charity scams: http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/13/haiti-earthquake-charities-personal-finance-spotting-scams.html
And one on Japan charity scams: http://www.wkyc.com/money/article/180669/16/FBI-Warning-Beware-of-Japan-quake-charity-scams
Are there legit charities out there? Of course, but like anything else you invest in, do your due diligence!
Opps, almost forgot. Here's the reason I wrote this post:
http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/04/10-reasons-why-i-would-never-donate-to-a-major-charity-or-how-to-be-a-superhero-part-2/
Read the whole article, but read point 6) about charity FRAUD a few times.
Michael tiny Saul
tinymjs at gmail dot com
Unforturnatly there are business operating under false pretenses. It is sad to see such dishonesty amoung supposed charity organizations, but there are some good and worthy charities operating, like Smile Train. For only $250 you can cover the cost of a childs operation, giving them a fair chance at life. Smile Train Is All About Outcomes , they focus on a solution to the problem and that is why they are they best! I have been a long time supporter of Smile Train and I encourage everyone to check them out give as much support as they can.
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