Charity- Who are you giving your money to?

matthewmartin

At least in some of the orthodox versions- charity is a big deal-- dana for itinerant monks (haven't seen on yet), charity for ordinary beggars mentioned in the Brahma Net Sutra. There is also an injunction to "release captive animals" in the Brahma Net Sutra (and other Mahayana sutras). Giving to alcoholic street beggars seems like idiot compassion-- I don't need to be their enabler, but I should give money to some organization to help them. Animal release is idiot compassion too, it creates demand for animals that were captured/raised only for Buddhists to buy and release them.

Farm sanctuaries seem to be a good bet-- they only "buy" the free/nearly free animals at auctions, so it alleviates the suffering of a few animals, with minimal encouragement of more bad behavior (farmers presumably would still rather sell a big healthy cow than to sell a sick, nearly dead one to a farm sanctuary for scrap value)

Who are you giving money to? Any Buddhist themed charities better than the others?

BhanteLucky

http://www.buddhistglobalrelief.org/ organised by Bhikkhu Bodhi

BhanteLucky

Actually, this one is my favourite... Go to http://www.dhammaloka.org.au/ and donate to the new Nuns monastery they're building.
The earthworks have been done, and the foundations will be laid hopefully this month, most exciting for the nuns, who are currently crammed into a small house.

Jainarayan

The ASPCA.

federica

I think charities should be legally obliged to inform the public, openly, exactly what happens to the money they donate - How many of us are absolutely certain of what percentage of our donation is channelled to where? I was once extremely shocked to find that a charity I donated to, only funneled 15% of my donation to where I presumed all of it would go.

matthewmartin

federica said:

I think charities should be legally obliged to inform the public, openly, exactly what happens to the money they donate...

Yeah, if you dig you can track down the gov't required disclosures that show how much when to marketing and administration. Big foundations like Bill Gate's also track down numbers on the effectiveness of the rest of the money (sort of like how many unwanted pregnancy are prevent per dollar by Family Planning)-- those stats would be as interesting as how much gets consumed by marketing and admin-- but AFAIK, the government doesn't require creating similar measures of effectiveness.

Nele

Listen to this eye-opening TED talk on why measuring the efficacy of charities by overhead is wrong. I was astonished - as a person who donates consistently, I always tried to find that "overhead" number before I gave.

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong.html

cvalue

Here are my favorite charities that I actually donate money to:
1) I support my parents in a big way because they don't have any income.
2) I help build and support maintenance of my Buddhist temple
3) I don't neglect other Buddhist temples in my town
4) I also help young monks and nuns to study in India and Taiwan
5) Doctors without borders
6) UNICEF
7) Red Cross
8) Mercy for Animals
I am broke!!!!!

robot

Nele said:

Listen to this eye-opening TED talk on why measuring the efficacy of charities by overhead is wrong. I was astonished - as a person who donates consistently, I always tried to find that "overhead" number before I gave.

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong.html

Brilliant!

federica

Still not happy unless the major part of my donation goes, as opposed to a small fraction. I would expect no less than 50%. And that's my absolute limit.

Jeffrey

I donate a little bit to the National Association of Mental Illness.

vinlyn

1. A couple of NA school charities
2. National Cancer Society
3. A couple of organizations that help injured vets
4. Heart Association
5. Boys Town
6. Special Olympics
7. Save The Children
8. (I've forgotten the exact name at the moment, but) an organization that is similar to Doctors Without Borders

Shak

I prefer to give on a much more local level. The family in town who has a child with cancer, the family who lost their house to fire. When the Boy Scouts or Cub Scouts knock on your door during their Scouting for Food Drive give big. At our local food pantry the scouts are the single largest source of food donations for the year. I understand that not everyone agrees with national BSA policy, those kids do an awful lot of good work in their communities. In my community all are welcome and encouraged to participate. I give of my time very freely to our local troop.

Shak

Actually, I think when we give our time and labor it can be much more meaningful.

grackle

1.FistulaFoundation
2.SmileTrain
3.DAV

Each of the above do a good job and the majority of donations go those in need.

wangchuey

I don't entirely trust any charity organizations but they do serve their purpose I suppose. If I had the extra money to give away, I would much rather enjoy the actual giving. You could hand out gifts to the people that desperately need it. In your free time you can go to a school for the handicapped and hand out school supplies for example. You can see where your charity goes. This is much more rewarding IMO.

seeker242

Random homeless people, Local Buddhist temple, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, AKA PETA

Bunks

Shak said:

Actually, I think when we give our time and labor it can be much more meaningful.

I agree with you @Shak.

Unfortunately with work and a young family I don't have the time to give to organised charities.....however I think the time spent with my kids and wife is charitable!

Thankfully I earn a good income so financially, I give to:

1. World Vision

2. Red Cross

3. Doctors Without Borders

4. Homeless people (either throw them a couple of bucks or buy them food / coffee). Lately with this brutally hot weather in Australia I buy a couple of bottles of cold water and hand them out to homeless folk at lunch time.

5. The church I meditate in

6. Geelong Food Relief Centre

7. Asylum Seekers Resource Centre

8. Oxfam

9. The Buddhist Society of Victoria for the building of a Forest Monastery.

cvalue

Thanks @JamestheGiant for this link:

http://www.buddhistglobalrelief.org/ organised by Bhikkhu Bodhi

I really like what they do. I will add this organization to my charity list.

Thanks @Jainarayan, I like ASPCA too and will add it to my list of donation.

lobster

I am broke!!!!!

A good fix to be in.
May your riches increase. I will dedicate/donate my morning merit/practice to your wealth. You certainly make good use of it.

OM YA HA HUM

:clap:

Vastmind

Books for Africa
Red Cross
Hope House (local for children affected by HIV/AIDS)
nearby homeless shelters
Le Bonheur Children's Hospital