Reputable Charities

[Karried]

oh, I am so sad this morning after watching this program sponsored by Feed the Children.

I've seen it a few times but I have to sometimes not watch because I get so depressed if I watch it too long. Babies starving and toddlers sleeping in dumpsters to keep warm.. it just kills me. I just can't believe how some of these innocent children have to live.

Anyway, I want to sign up for a monthly sponsorship to this charity but does anyone know the reputation of this organization?

I want to find something that gives the majority of the monthly contribution to the cause, not to all the admin and other things that won't get food to the children ( I know some of it is necessary) but I remember a website or something that showed how much actually goes to the children..

Does anyone remember that?

Also, have you heard of this charity? I'm going to Google but was wondering if anyone had personal experience with Feed the Children before I call.

[FRISKY]

That organization is owned by Larry Jones and is based out of OKC. They made headlines a few years ago because they were so crooked. They are probably the biggest scam operation in the world, but people don't want to believe it because "it's for the children".

Here is an interesting article:
http://www.charitywatch.org/articles/feedchildren.html

.
.
.

[FRISKY]

Here is something else to think about; this is from the FTC website:

Feeding Programs
There are millions of starving children right here in the U.S. We have the food

Have you seen any of these "millions of starving children right here in the U.S."? Have you ever personally seen any "starving children" in the U.S. at all (other than the ones on the FTC ‘rip your heart out’ commercials)? Where are these “millions” hiding? If there are “millions” shouldn’t they be observed in every major city? How many children have been reported by hospitals to have died from starvation?

Granted there are children that are hungry and malnourished, but it is usually because their caretakers aren’t giving them the food they need. If those caretakers don’t have food, they can get food and support from every single church, school, charitable or religious organization in every city in the United States. There is no good reason that any child should be hungry even for one day in this country.

Another question that should be answered is since FTC says “We have the food”, why will they not give it to the starving children without your donation?
.
.
.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Karried...If you can search my posts all the way back to when I first joined...I posted a link (it was one of my first few posts here) where you could pull up charities by name and it would give you the percentage of your donation that went to their overhead and what went to actually help.

I'd link it, but the board software only seems to want to let me see my last 500 posts.

In other news...How in the WORLD did I get this many posts? Yeesh. I need to get out more often.

[FRISKY]

And while I’m on my soapbox…I seem to remember reading about some very large loans made to Larry Jones’ family members that were defaulted on. Were they ever required to pay back those loans? What I read said no. Why do Larry Jones family members even need those massive loans; their combined profit from the tax exempt business (not even including subcontracts) is in the millions.

I also read that a very large portion of the expenses FTC wants you to believe goes to “the children” is actually paid out as exorbitant fees to the shipping companies that move the food and supplies between the FTC storage facilities. Guess who owns the shipping companies and gets the money from these entities…

[flintysooner]

You might look at Charity Navigator

GuideStar requires registration and has a subscription service.

Or you can use Network For Good and the research reports come from Guide Star.

Among the Christian ministry accountability sites:
Ministry Watch
Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability

[Karried]

Thank you all! This is why I love this board... I did remember talking about this a long time ago...

ogts... you think you have a lot of posts! ha.ha... but I guess I've been here a lonnngggg time!

[Patrick]

I think you'll hear good and bad things about any charity. My mom actually worked for FTC for awhile. Regardless of all of the media hype, they do some great things for children across the world. I think what's being referenced to here, is a few years back, the Oklahoman slammed FTC, and mostly they focused on Larry Jones' salary, which at the time was around $150,000 a year. I really thought the attacks were unfounded. I didn't see $150,000 being that outrageous for being the CEO of a non-profit group. You have pastors out there making similar or higher salaries that are also running major corporations, AKA large churches. Just because these CEO's are the head of non-profits doesn't make them any less worthy of decent salaries than CEOs of major energy companies, or other corporations. To compete, and retain their CEO's, non-profit groups have to pay their CEO's well too.

Also though, you have to look at the % of the gifts that actually go to helping the children. FTC has pretty high transportation costs...it costs a lot of money to ship that food across the country. And they pay their truck drivers pretty well.

I think where a lot of people had problems was the amount of money they spent on TV advertisements and commercials. I'm thinking it was over 25% of their intake. You could argue though that you have to advertise to reach more givers. Advertisements are the lifeblood of FTC just like with any profit-maknig corporation.

When it comes down to it, for every $1 FTC was taking in, about $0.25 was actually going to food for the children. $0.75 was going towards administrative costs. I think that's what angered a lot of people. But, you could also argue that FTC has done some great things around the world. But, how much more could they do if they reduced their administrative budget?

[flintysooner]

I noticed that the charitywatch.org site (American Institute of Philanthropy) listed Craig Beasley, President and Founder, One IPO, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma as a director.

Their most recent information on FTC was May 2005 and was pretty negative about the high % of cash income spent on administration and fund raising and the scarcity of data about gifts in kind donated to and by the organization. Thought it was kind of funny that they seemed to object to Lay's.

Both GuideStar and Charity Navigator financial data was for year ending 2005. That data seems taken from publicly filed documents.

I've never been a big fan of the large charities although I do regularly give to the Red Cross, albeit reluctantly.

[FritterGirl]

When it comes down to it, for every $1 FTC was taking in, about $0.25 was actually going to food for the children. $0.75 was going towards administrative costs. I think that's what angered a lot of people. But, you could also argue that FTC has done some great things around the world. But, how much more could they do if they reduced their administrative budget?

When you compare this to other charities whose administrative costs are between 10 and 15%, this seems really outrageous. Most foundations will not fund grants to organizations whose administrative budgets are less than 15% - and that's really pushing the envelope. In the non-profit groups I have worked for in the past, those budgets were more like 8%.

[flintysooner]

Charitywatch reported that FTC spent 60% of its cash budget in 2004 on fund raising. Of course TV and magazines usually want cash. The older articles concentrated on some self-dealing activities.

Charity Navigator reported that in 2006 FTC spent 1.9% of its total budget on administrative expenses and 8% on fund raising.

[live&letlive]

You might look at Charity Navigator

GuideStar requires registration and has a subscription service.

Or you can use Network For Good and the research reports come from Guide Star.

Among the Christian ministry accountability sites:
Ministry Watch
Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability

Charity Navigator is a great site, thanks for the info. It's hard to know exactly where your money goes when you give. I usually like to donate locally, but there is a charity in California that I love, Performing Animal Welfare Society. I think they do a great job! I looked them up on Charity Navigator and they seem to use most of their money toward their sanctuaries (if I'm reading it right!). And the 2 people who run it are only paid $36,000/year????? That doesn't seem like very much, especially living in Cali.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Charity Navigator is a great site, thanks for the info. It's hard to know exactly where your money goes when you give. I usually like to donate locally, but there is a charity in California that I love, Performing Animal Welfare Society. I think they do a great job! I looked them up on Charity Navigator and they seem to use most of their money toward their sanctuaries (if I'm reading it right!). And the 2 people who run it are only paid $36,000/year????? That doesn't seem like very much, especially living in Cali.

No kidding! When I lived in San Diego, I was dating a woman that worked at the San Diego Humane Society, and she made more than that 10 years ago.

[live&letlive]

Wonder if the $36,000 is for real. Seriously, I make more that in Oklahoma without a full college education. It is a great charity though. Is San Diego anywhere near Gant? That's where the sanctuary is located.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

From a quick glance on the map, Gant is an hour or so north of San Diego.

[metro]

Karried, as others have said FTC is based out of OKC. If you're still interested, you could even swing by and talk to them. Sometimes they even let you (and are usually always looking for volunteers), to fill the large boxes of rice, beans, etc.

Another good charity out of OKC is World Neighbors, it's a credible nationwide nonprofit, but based right out of here in OKC. Also, the Center for Nonprofits is out of OKC and they can get you in touch with dozens of non-profits in the metro.

[Midtowner]

Catholic Charities...

[sweetdaisy]

Heifer International

Charitable Gift Giving that Makes a Difference | Heifer International

[Karried]

Sweetdaisy, that is so unreal. I was reading Chicken Soup for The Soul yesterday ... stories about making a difference in the world.. and I read the story of how this charity first started so long ago. How this one guy wanted to send cows for milk ( pregnant cows so they wouldn't have to be milked on the ships) to poverty stricken countries and how it all evolved.

Pretty strange to read this post and see it here today!

[sweetdaisy]

good timing I guess, Karried, or maybe fate is encouraging you to send money to the organization.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

I took part of my Bush Bonus and sent it to Doctors without Borders the other day and I got this warm fuzzy feeling!




/fuzzy

[sweetdaisy]

Anyone know anything about "Green Eyes in Africa"? They taped to my front door a plastic bag and a flyer with the title: "We don't want your money just your unwanted shoes". While I have no problem donating unwanted shoes, I'm wanting to get some info on the organization.

I looked on the charity watch sites and couldn't pull them up, but they put their Fed ID on the flyer.

[Karried]

I got one of those too.. I just gave them some shoes.. I didn't really check into it either.

[Karried]

This is close enough to visit:

Heifer Ranch

Heifer Ranch, located in Perryville, AR (45 miles Northwest of Little Rock), is one of Heifer International's learning centers providing experiential education that promotes sustainable solutions to global hunger, poverty and environmental degradation.

Tours are available for drop-in visitors (10 or less) Monday-Saturday from 8-5 pm Central time. All overnight programs and group tours require advance reservations thru the Ranch Events Office. During the tour, visitors see the Heifer Global Village and many of the animals that Heifer uses around the world, including water buffalo, camels and traditional farm animals. The International Gift Shop features products from around the world that help support artisans at the local level.

Heifer Ranch is home to the original Heifer Global Village, a unique five-acre program area, representing housing found in areas of the world where Heifer operates. View the George Lucas Educational Foundation documentary on this program.
Many of the animals that Heifer utilizes around the world are kept on the Ranch's 1,200 acre farm and are integrated into aspects of its educational programs including several farm programs.

More than 28,000 visitors a year participate in programs including two-hour tours, multi-day and weeklong experiences. Programs are offered for groups with select programs available to individuals. The Ranch also hosts free public events each year.

Volunteers facilitate many of the Ranch's programs. These volunteers come from many areas of the world and range from high school and college graduates to retirees. The Ranch is a community filled with people who are actively working to end hunger and poverty while caring for the earth.

To learn more about Ranch programming and Conference Center retreat facilities, email the Ranch Events Office or call 501-889-5124. Click here to view Heifer Ranch's Frequently Asked Questions.

[Blazerfan11]

Larry Jones son has been stripping the copper out of the donated Baer Plant in Indy...using feed the children workers to do this so he can sell the stuff and put the loot in the bank. Someone is going to prison for this lol!!!!