In light of the abuses I've seen in the area I live in, I don't do charities or donate any longer. I don't like my good will being abused.

However, I do do volunteer work, for our local animal shelter heh heh. I refuse to do much for the people that abuse my good will. People who are in better shape than I am and younger and driving brand new vehicles deserve nothing from me.

You don't know who you are donating to anymore. I have certain things i want to donate to and certain things I don't want to donate to. Now you have to investigate everybody including the Girl Scouts to make sure you aren't donating to something you are against. I will only donate to maybe three charities that I know very well.

I still donate to st. Jude's children's hospital, special Olympics, and the disabled American vets. I checked a lot of the charities, and cannot believe the salaries of the ceo's. The head dog of the salvation army is the lowest paid of all the charities. A certain charity gives a female CEO over 1 million dollars a year. I won't disclose the name, but it's easy to find on-line. If it's a charity, how then can someone say that in order for me to run this charity (non-profit), I need at least 1mil or more to do the things I need to do to get the job done. Before you give to a charity, find out where the money goes, and who gets paid from the charity. Some of these charities are nothing but a ponzi scheme where they keep the majority of the money on the guise that it's needed to keep the organization going. BS.......................

This particular incident isn't what made me careful, there were scandals in the past (United Way, in particular) that have made me research and choose carefully before I write a check. For most reputable charities you can find at least the ratio of spending on administrative -vs- good works. With the INTERNET it isn't hard to do your own due diligence.

In the community I live in, there are over 100, yes 100 non-profit groups. Many are just fronts for people who have lost their jobs and formed the NP. It is really too bad that so many people do these types of things as it reflects badly upon those who are really helping individuals and causes. Be sure to check out the "so called" NP's