What They Do Not Tell You in the ALS Challenge

(Newswire.net — August 23, 2014) Portland, OR — 

Now there are rumors that Planned Parenthood is doing the same thing. You remember the old Muscular Dystrophy one where they set up an imaginary jail and you get your friends arrested. Then the person in jail has to get so many people to post ‘bail’ before they can go back to work. This is just the newest innovation on that old theme.

Why do these fundraisers work? Activity of any type is more fun than just writing a check to the charity. When people are put on the spot they are more likely to give something than to stand their ground and refuse to do so. It is also more fun to do things in the public eye with your friends than to sit home by yourself.

Is it wise to give to an organization just because you are put on the spot? I wonder how many people will give to an organization that doesn’t hold the same moral convictions as they do because it is easier than researching where that money will go.

Most of the disease related charities claim that they are looking for a cure. They may be. They may be looking really hard, or hardly looking. Why do I say that? If you are on salary to find something and you know that as soon as you do you will be fired how hard are you going to look? If you get rewarded for finding it you may look harder, but you might weigh the one time reward against the life time wages and decide that you need to keep looking.

If you are really looking for a cure are you going to use methodologies that are in line with all of your supporters? A lot of health research these days is geared toward stem cell research. Only a small amount of that research is adult stem cell oriented. A majority of it is embryonic stem cell research.  As someone that is giving a small amount to a charity do you think you have the clout to tell them how to spend your money?

I remember an old United Way advertisement that said you could designate what you wanted your money to go to. That sounded great unless you stopped to think about the undesignated funds. If the check writer wanted 10K to go to Planned Parenthood and you wanted your hundred to go to fight abortion wouldn’t the check writer just pull an extra hundred out of the undesignated funds to go to what they really wanted to support.

You may think I am cynical, and I may be. I would rather give my money to organizations that I would also give my time and my name to. If I wouldn’t want my picture prominently posted on their website then I am not going to give them my money. Instead I will save it and give to the charities that I know always do things the way I would do them. Those charities are out there, you just have to look harder to finding them, and they don’t always have fun gimmicks in order to bring in money.