Am I being unfair?

mysteron347

Personally, I gave up contributing to charities many years ago...not that I've had an appropriate income for years, anyway.

One reason was the small print on the UNICEF form which said that $2 from each contribution was for 'local advocacy' (ie. feeding fat lawyers)

Then there was the heartbreaking tale from the Red Cross. Apparently, this character had children that he couldn't really afford and when the wife produced a pair of twins in addition, it was really, really difficult for them. Now the wife's pregnant again, so I really, really need to dip into my pocket to help them out...

I used to give to the Flying Doctor when I was working, and I also volunteered at a disabilities-support charity while I was waiting for a phantom job to come up. That ended when I finally got sick of the boss systematically un-doing (with paid labour) what I had been doing.

So now, about all I do is to toss my income from survey sites to KIVA. KIVA allows you to underwrite loans made mainly to people in third-world countries. You provide $25 and then choose which borrower you'll trust to repay the loan. The borrower pays interest to pay for their local administration (better rates than the local money-lender) and the loan you made is returned to you monthly over typically, 8 months to 2 years.

Since the borrower repays the loan and chooses the purpose, they take ownership of the situation - it's not something provided as a handout.

According to their figures, 98.93% of loans made are repaid. When you get repaid, you can do what you like with YOUR money. Put it in your pocket, if you want. Most people just underwrite another loan. It's addictive.