My prickly demeanor notwithstanding, charitable involvement has long played a vital role on my life. I’ve enjoyed a blessed life, and I know it.  Others have not, and I want to help.  It is my hope that you, dear reader, feel the same, on this Thanksgiving day and every day.

This year presents grave problems for charities, as it is far harder to part with donations when you are suffering as well.  For some, it simply won’t be possible.  But for those who can, it’s critically important that you reassess where you give, as all charities are struggling in this economy, and most will fall far short of their goals.

There are two hard questions that must be asked this time around.  How does the charity seeking your donation spend its money, and how critical is the purpose of the charity at this moment in time. 

During the course of my involvement in charitable work, I’ve come to learn that some “charities” are so fundamentally wasteful with their money, even to the point of being called shams, that donating to them is little different then throwing your money in the toilet.  I’m going to address this based on my experiences.  Yours may differ. 

Given that charities may well die this year from lack of donations, it is critical that you know that your contributions are being put to the use that you intend, to help the cause the charity purports to represent.  This may require a little digging, perhaps spending a few minutes to check out CharityWatch.org, the website of the American Institute of Philanthropy, to see what percentage of donations actually make it to the cause.  However, many smaller or local charities are not included, so you may have to do the legwork yourself.

One local charity does a brilliant job of marketing itself and its cause, collecting a huge amount of money.  None of it actually goes to the purported cause.  Zero.  The funds are spent entirely on salaries and expenses, self-promotion and lobbying to maintain its influence and continued existence.  You would never know this from its literature, which is very glossy, very professional and very false.  Is this where you want your contributions to go?  If not, then you need to know this.

In yesterday’s mail, I received more than a dozen holiday solicitations.  All but one spoke to the hard times we face, and the harsh reality that it is struggling to fulfill its mission.  One, in stark contrast, touted that it had just squandered a pile of money on an utterly pointless vanity expense, wholly unrelated to its mission.  Apparently, those running this charity, which happens to do good and important work otherwise, thought it more important in this time of need to create a grander self-impression than to serve the purpose for which it exists.  Do you want your contributions to support the underlying goal, or to pay for someone’s vanity? 

The second issue that needs to be addressed is how critical the cause is in this time of scarce resources.  While creating a baseball cap museum may be deemed by some to be worthy during flush times, when charitable contributions are so plentiful that they can be spent on any wild idea that generates sufficient appeal to support it, this is a year to think in terms of life and death.
 
The mission of a charity may well be important and worthwhile, but it has to be viewed in relation to the irreparable harm that will result should the charity fail to fulfill its mission.  This year, it means that people will die for lack of food, shelter, medical care, warm clothing and other necessities of survival.  Not to denigrate many other worthy purposes, but imminent death trumps a lot of good causes.

Regardless of your expectations of government to help the needy to survive, it will fall short.  No criticism of this failure will help a human being to survive the cold tonight.  We can argue about why we have hungry in so rich a nation another day, but need to keep that person alive in the meantime.  So I ask you to bear this in mind when deciding where to contribute.  No matter how important other causes may be, and they are important, this is a year for charitable triage. 

To my readers, to my friends and even to the many who don’t like me one bit, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving.  And I ask you to give thanks to others as well.  Just do it wisely.