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Some fundraisers pay >90% of the funds to themselves

propublica.org

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Re: Some fundraisers pay >90% of the funds to themselves

#11

Post by throw__away7391 »

nytesky wrote: post #3

yeah, this is been one of the most difficult parts about becoming an adult was realizing that so many nonprofits are basically just self-serving jobs programs. especially when the CEO can be paid "market rate."

I worked in the space for a couple of years and I will never give a penny to any of them after what I saw. The organizations are a mess of petty squabbling between people who could never get real jobs, there's a complete misalignment of incentives between the people giving, vs the people doing, vs the recipients that leads to all sorts of absurd inefficiencies with zero pressure to fix them. Fundraising ("development") is where the real horrors are. If a charity can raise $1000 at a cost of $990 that's a free $10 for them, so most do not care at all except to the extent that it hypothetically exhausts the potential pool of donor dollars.

Re: Some fundraisers pay >90% of the funds to themselves

#12

Post by Waterluvian »

One of the many satisfying things about local volunteering is that 100% of your investment goes to the cause, and you get a first person view on what tools or materials the team/club/class could use if you're thinking of donating more than just your time.

Re: Some fundraisers pay >90% of the funds to themselves

#14

Post by pavlov »

There are lots of apps to plan and track one's investments. Maybe there should be an app to track one's donations too.

If I could see a history of what was the ROI (in terms of money spent on actual programs) of my monthly donations, and also easily reallocate those donations to other charities, I'd certainly check up on that app every once in a while.

Re: Some fundraisers pay >90% of the funds to themselves

#15

Post by yieldcrv »

newshackr wrote: post #6
nytesky wrote: post #3

yeah, this is been one of the most difficult parts about becoming an adult was realizing that so many nonprofits are basically just self-serving jobs programs. especially when the CEO can be paid "market rate."

There are also those nonprofits that are run by rich people that are basically a mechanism to reduce taxes on activities they would already do

The tax code is a reading comprehension game.

The 400 section specifies tax deferral programs (ie. 401(k), there are other subsections)

The 500 section specifies tax exempt programs (ie. 501(c)(3), there are other subsections)

The offices within the IRS dedicated to those sections help you. As opposed to the adversarial relationship that low income tax credit people have. My point is that its not an accident or attempt to pull a fast one on the tax authority. The government is telling you what to do.

Re: Some fundraisers pay >90% of the funds to themselves

#16

Post by rqtwteye »

newshackr wrote: post #6
nytesky wrote: post #3

yeah, this is been one of the most difficult parts about becoming an adult was realizing that so many nonprofits are basically just self-serving jobs programs. especially when the CEO can be paid "market rate."

There are also those nonprofits that are run by rich people that are basically a mechanism to reduce taxes on activities they would already do

And to give prestigious jobs to family members.

Re: Some fundraisers pay >90% of the funds to themselves

#18

Post by silverquiet »

pavlov wrote: post #14

There are lots of apps to plan and track one's investments. Maybe there should be an app to track one's donations too. If I could see a history of what was the ROI (in terms of money spent on actual programs) of my monthly donations, and also easily reallocate those donations to other charities, I'd certainly check up on that app every once in a while.

I believe this is the idea of effective altruism.
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