Hal - Deliberately Basic

“A man receiving charity always hates his benefactor- it is a fixed characteristic of human nature” — George Orwell

I believe in charity, but over the last couple of years I’ve taken a harder stance on mainstream giving. To say it is essential to examine who is getting your money cannot be overstated. If you give money to charitable organizations, at least check who is actually getting the better part of it. What is the cost of overhead, and how do they spend your money?

Seldom do I give anything to the national organizations, the big ones that I know pay out fortunes for administrative costs. I have, over the years, made a couple of exceptions. But now, these too are usually filed in the shit-can. And even the more narrow, lesser know charities are fast becoming trashed as they come in the mail.

Scenario: I give to a fund and they send me address labels, note pads, calendars, and a certificate suitable for framing. That’s nice, but now, only a month or so later, they spent the money I gave them to send me even more babbles. Could they not at least wait six months or a year to spend this money to try and make me send more?

I have enough address labels to last three lifetimes, and enough note pads to scribble out a book. Every year I get at least five glossy calendars with nice stock photos of mountain scenes. Personally, I like The Far Side or Non Sequitur.

I find it much more gratifying to give money or attention to small parties or individuals anymore. They use the money as it was intended, not to send me things I don’t need. I do wish the bigger charities would get my name right. The pads and labels would be much more useful.

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