Last night I was sitting at home, drinking Modelos when I hear a knock at the door. I open the door to see a bearded, disheveled looking man who immediately launches into a spiel about the Republicans, Cheney, the military-industrial complex, yadda yadda. Nothing I haven't heard a million times already. Sure, this kind of talk can get people emotional, but as far as reasoned discourse...far from it. Not that I disagree, just that it was Friday night and I did not want to talk about this.
Anyways, the deal was he was soliciting donations for a "charity" that is seeking to change all this, and get us out of Iraq and all the other good stuff that we all want but can't ever seem to get.
Now I don't know if this guy was legit or not at the time so I told him, "Well, my policy is that I do not give money to charities on the spot, but if you leave me some information then I can look it over and come to a decision later. I like to know who I am supporting and want to make sure that this would be the best use of my charity money."
Well, he seemed to not want to do it that way, and insisted that in order for things to work out for him and his organization, he needed to get the donations at the door. At that point I told him that I had to go.
Anyways, the point of this rambling anecdote. Search the charities you are about to give to using the Charity Search from the State of California to make sure that the people you are giving to are legit. I looked up the guy's charity, and it turns out that it was not.
Anyways, since a lot of people are out there looking for money during the holiday season, its best to do your homework and give on your terms. Also, there are some good guidelines on charitable giving from the Office of the Attorney General. There are a lot of fake charities out there, so don't get got.
Source Metro Blogging
Monday, December 04, 2006
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The fact that this guy at your door insisted upon an immediate donation is usually a good indicator that the charity he's collecting for is himself. In addition to people asking for donations to charities, beware of "friends" of unfortunate souls who have lost a child/loved one. I've had several of these. They tell the story of a friend who needs money to bury their child who was killed in a drive-by shooting, car accident, or died as the result of a long-term illness. It's difficult to turn them down, I know, but so many times the money collected doesn't end up where you think it does.
I take comfort in the fact that I firmly believe, what goes around comes around!
Happy Holidays to all!
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