For a long time I was a big supporter of the Combined Federal Campaign, which is the vehicle for federal employees to contribute to charities. It lists quite a number of different organizations, some of which I value, so I was designating to specific charities that I support.
At one time they even allowed you to name charities that weren't on the list, so I channeled my contribution to my own church. About five years later the money came in, but the church didn't know why or how they got the check.
Then I started analyzing the list of charities in the CFC and found that a huge percentage were devoted to some racially based institution, a large chunk to religious institutions I didn't care for, and get this -- quite a number of organizations that filed lawsuits against my employer and made my work more difficult, more expensive, and less effective. When I realized that these organizations were all getting a percentage of contributions that were not specifically allocated by the employee donors, I withdrew my support from CFC.
Frankly, I'm a Grinch about all charities right now, except the few that put their money where their mouth is. The bottom line is that all organizations consist of a bureaucracy that sucks off money from the intended beneficiary.
I'm starting to take the view that the best thing I can do is take care of myself and my family, so that's where I'm putting 100% of my resources. If everybody did that the world would be a better place. |
