# Choosing the best Charity



## showmethemoney45 (Feb 27, 2015)

Hi, 

After seeing the news this morning and viewing a picture of a young Syrian boy drowned I can't help but feel eternally blessed (after a little cry). If I could've saved this little one and taken him home I would have. We are all pretty fortunate on this thread and I'm wondering how much people are giving to charity? I would love to give to an organization outside of Canada but I'm often scared away by reports of these organizations doing the exact opposite and funding war etc. How does one help??


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## Davis (Nov 11, 2014)

Charitable donations to Canadian organizations qualify for tax credits, so you can give more to a Canadian charity at the same net cost than you can to a foreign chasrity, which does not qualify for tax credits.

The www.humanitariancoalition.ca is as group of Canadian international relief and development organizations that have basnded together to minimize fundraising costs. It includes Oxfam, CARE, Foster Parents Plan, and Save the Children.

The Red Cross also does international relief work. Medecins sans frontieres is well-respected. They both have Canadian branches.


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## Homerhomer (Oct 18, 2010)

I don't often get emotional but had to take a deep breath reading the story and looking at these tragic pictures. As a parent I can't even begin to comprehend the horror these poeple are going through, and to loose a child trying to escape the war torn land is just beyond words. Feel blessed for the life I have and are ashamed to be part of the human kind, the worst kind.

Using Canadian charities is probably your best bet, it will have the best chance of actually getting to poeple who need help, although I am not sure of that either.


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## showmethemoney45 (Feb 27, 2015)

Homerhomer said:


> I don't often get emotional but had to take a deep breath reading the story and looking at these tragic pictures. As a parent I can't even begin to comprehend the horror these poeple are going through, and to loose a child trying to escape the war torn land is just beyond words. Feel blessed for the life I have and are ashamed to be part of the human kind, the worst kind.
> 
> Using Canadian charities is probably your best bet, it will have the best chance of actually getting to poeple who need help, although I am not sure of that either.


I am also feeling quite ashamed today for complaining about the markets "wahhh, my dividends are being cut in half! wahhh, my insurance went up on my summer cottage!"
Look at the big picture!


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

http://globalnews.ca/news/2200956/b...syrian-family-members-who-drowned-off-turkey/


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## Moneytoo (Mar 26, 2014)

Didn't hear about the boy (as I blissfully don't watch, read or listen to the news - unless they're stock market related), but cried recently over this story: http://burlingtonhumane.ca/thrown-out-like-trash-tiny-kitten-left-severely-injured-full-story/. And those cruel people who did it live right here, in GTA. Donated to Toronto Cat Rescue right before I heard that story...


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> Donated to Toronto Cat Rescue right before I heard that story...


and we recently donated to Canadian Cancer society


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## wendi1 (Oct 2, 2013)

You have to decide what is important to you (children, international health care, medical research, homeless/addicts, animals, etc.). Then find Canadian charities that meet those criteria. Then check them out at: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/lstngs/menu-eng.html.

Then make sure you give regularly. I chose the Stephen Lewis Foundation, but also give to MSF and the Red Cross. I like Engineers without Borders, too.


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## dogcom (May 23, 2009)

Charity is part of the ultimate scam, real as it is but organized for us. Lonewolf should be here on this like he is on the bear market advise.

The same powers that manipulate markets stick the human element in as a way to direct the agenda. 

PPT protects the markets so why not the CIA protects its interests worldwide while the FBI and home security does it here.

For me I give to childrens hospital and to an elementary school that has many poor children in the community.

I give directly to make sure it sees the people who need it.


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## tkirk62 (Jul 1, 2015)

Moneysense does an excellent summary of charities. What they do and how much money goes where. It was based on these ratings that I chose what charity to donate to. I chose Chalice but there are many good charities and with the Moneysense article you can see just how much of your money goes to the cause you support.
http://www.moneysense.ca/planning/2015-charity-100-a-smarter-way-to-give/


Also, I'm not saying that the Red Cross doesn't do good, but I was shocked when I read this article. Just might be of interest to those of you saying you contribute to the Red Cross. http://www.salon.com/2015/06/07/the...illion_dollars_spent_six_homes_built_partner/


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## tkirk62 (Jul 1, 2015)

That last Moneysense article link I possted didn't have the actual grades, this is the link for that. http://www.moneysense.ca/planning/2015-charity-100-grades/


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

Some time ago we decided to reduce the number of charities that we gave to and to increase our giving. The Moneysense reports helped us to select Calgary Food Bank as one of these based on community need, low admin costs, and operational efficiencies, etc

We were shocked at some of the numbers that we saw in the report-both the executive salary amounts and the overhead/admin/fundraising ratios that some organizations were reporting. It caused us to stop giving to two or three that we had previously donated to. We worked hard for our money and spent it as efficiently as possible. We expect no less from the charitable organizations that we support.


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## DayTek (Sep 26, 2013)

We donate consistently to Compassion Canada (we also sponsor a child in Kenya through them), our local Humane Society (where we adopted our fur baby), and the London Health Sciences Centre (several relatives were treated there for cancer). 

We give 10% of our net income to charity. When you realize how blessed you truly are, that’s really a drop in the bucket. Choosing the ‘best’ ones for us are mostly what has affected our lives personally. I feel we have a comfortable mix of charities that aid locally and nationally.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

finally, in the midst of all the chaos in europe, i saw a suggestion that made sense. From british PM david cameron. He's proposed admitting syrian refugees from the existing horrifically overcrowded refugee camps in turkey, lebanon & jordan. He didn't say what to do about refugees from afghan, africa, etc.

weep as much as we want over one photograph of one drowned little boy, there have been tens of thousands of children - perhaps even hundreds of thousands of children - killed over the past couple years & nobody lifted one single finger. It's absurd to talk about suddenly admitting 25,000 unscreened migrants. Among these will surely be some radical terrorists, some mentally ill, some with criminal histories, etc.

refugees in the existing camps have already been documented so it will be easier, faster & cheaper to recruit them.

the idea of building "mega-refugee centres" in hungary, italy & greece, like they are talking now, has a preposterous cost. The mind boggles. This must be the twilight zone. The United Nations might as well commandeer one entire country, how about something like Moldova or Transnistria. The UN could turn this into a permanent UN-operated refugee state.

just kidding. But the cost of building any new "mega refugee centre" is far greater than designing a program to extract already-documented refugees from camps in lebanon.

those 3 countries - turkey, lebanon, jordan - have suffered to the breaking point for several years now. No one except Angelina Jolie has ever said as much as one word about helping them.

it's true that removing some of the refugee population from those squalid camps will only cause more refugees to flee over the borders into the same 3 countries, namely T, L & J. So some kind of humanitarian aid has to be given to T, L & J, if they are to serve as the world's first triage centres for the rescue of what appears to be several million human beings.

there's more bad news in the zone, though. It's reported that ISIL took out a key oil refinery couple days ago. Those air strikes don't seem to be working? but the british have suddenly decided to send drones over syria, the french are now saying they won't be far behind.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

Looks like US will be more proactive now 

Potential Russian troop deployment in Syria draws U.S. concerns.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2...op-deployment-in-syria-draws-us-concerns.html

Russia starts building AIR BASE in Syria so its pilots can launch airstrikes against Isis
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world...mic-State-Isis-Bashar-al-Assad-Vladimir-Putin


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

^^

so sorry? do these have anything to do with Charity, the topic of the thread?


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

Does your post dicussing about charity?! :biggrin:


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

yes it does discuss, all about Charity in the current migrant crisis. Reasonable, measured, appropriate, humanitarian Charity.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

and in links I provided , Russia also talking about "charities" to Assad government


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

oh, _those,_ never click on embedded links, they have virus ... 

you talking just about some new russia air base, how russia trying to make sure it keeps its foot in the ME oil door


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

I like approaching charity the way I do any other investment: how can I achieve the most benefit for each dollar donated? This has absolutely nothing to do with overhead, by the way: some of the most effective charities in the world have higher overhead costs than some of the least effective ones.

GiveWell has evaluated hundreds of charities and has come up with a list of four charities where there is strong evidence to show that your donation will do the most good per dollar donated: http://www.givewell.org. Of those, the Against Malaria Foundation is listed as a tax-deductible charity in Canada. You can also give to any of the other GiveWell recommended charities and get a tax deduction by giving through Charity Science at http://www.charityscience.com/donate.html

You can argue about whether these are the best "causes" to donate to, but there's a lot of evidence behind these recommendations. You'll do the most good by giving to charities that save/improve lives in developing countries; your donations go a lot further there. And yes, GiveWell has considered all of the usual arguments why people say you shouldn't give to charities that work in developing countries; none of those arguments apply to these charities. See http://www.givewell.org/about/FAQ/research#Whydomostofyourrecommendedcharitiesworkoninternationalaid for details.


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## Emma (May 18, 2013)

I give to Cancer Society, Heart & Stroke, CF, and Arthritis. This year I will add MS as I have a family member recently diagnosed. So basically I give to Canadian charities doing research, etc into illnesses affecting my friends and family. At Christmas I give my grandchildren gift cards for Plan Canada so they can purchase school supplies, mosquito nets, etc for children in underprivileged countries. First year I did it the youngest was so happy she cried and asked if I would do it every year. I did not research this charity but I do not know of any others that offer this type of gift card and I get a receipt for the donation.


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