Why do we have Charities? Surely governments should be helping those societies that have problems? It is a nice thought, but I would suggest governments around the world are struggling to cover pensions, education, homeless and health to be able to assist with small charities that keep popping up.
There are the Red Cross, Lions and Rotary, St Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, to name a few big ones, but every week, there seems to be someone starting up an organisation to assist people who have a debilitating disease which has claimed the life of their loved one. Those organisations are of great help to a few who suffer with the problem, but generally the organisation can survive on supportive donations it can raise.
Even the big charities do not get support from a government and are dependent on donations from businesses. Generally, its supporters are listed on its website.
But why do people start charities? Usually someone sees people in poor situations and organises a group to help them. This happened with the Red Cross, who got involved with the first world war and established ambulances to take the wounded to the medical areas. The Red Cross or Red Crescent in some countries, has grown since the First World War and helps now with not only being there assisting during wars, but also collecting blood for transfusions.
If you ever get the chance to go to Geneva, go to the Red Cross museum. There you will see a section where the names of people who died in the First and Second world war are kept. Relatives who could not discover what had happened to a family member can write to the Red Cross, which will search its records and see if it has any details on the person being sought. It is a fabulous area and shows how charities can assist. So many people have found details they never knew, simply by contacting the Red Cross.
So, charities cover the needs that Governments can’t provide. But of course, like any organisation, money is needed to keep them going. The Governments of most countries help in some way, by allowing those people who support the charity to deduct the money donated from their income, hoping that it will reduce the amount of tax they owe.
But where does this leave the society? Why do we have to become so reliant on a charity to help? Basically, because there are so many people in need, one way or another, that society has to support them. I guess it is a bit like volunteering. Those who assist are paying back to society.
Now as I stated early, there are so many charities, if you are going to support one, which do you choose? And I think this is where it becomes a problem. Everyone wants and needs money to survive. My local Orchestra, is always asking for money to keep alive. At the end of each year and financial year we receive in the mail several “help us letters” pointing out what our donated money can buy and how we can assist the organisations involved in keeping people alive, providing food for third world countries, and supporting children from families that cannot afford the cost of uniforms and school outings for their children. So many that eventually one gives up.
That is the problem. So many people are in need, it becomes an insurmountable cost that most people cannot cope with. Is there a solution? Well, there could be, but even then, that presents problems.
Let’s say everyone who worked and received wages were asked to allow 1% of their salary to be donated to a charity? Do you think people would mind? 1% wouldn’t be missed, and if it went to your chosen charity, it could very useful. But once again, like all good ideas, a problem very quickly presents itself. Who is going to deduct that 1% and pass it on to the charity of your choice? If it is your employer, it would have to get new software to cover that deduction, and then allocate one employee to work out the amounts and the names of the charities, and organise for that deduction to be transferred once a month to the organisation.
In Australia we have a percentage of everybody’s salary deducted for Superannuation. I believe other countries have similar systems. But it presents a problem to the employer who has to collect the Super payments and make sure the correct deductions are transferred to the Superannuation Fund the employee has chosen. Now if there was a further 1% deduction then that is extra work for one of the staff. But what if the Government got the money and passed it on to the charities?
Not as simple as it sounds. We also have in Australia a deduction from our salaries that assists people with disabilities. Lots of money goes into the fund, but it is the distribution that is causing a problem. People with disabilities have to prove that they need the allocation of funds, and there has grown a huge government department working on how and where the money has to go as well as using some of that money to keep the workers of that department employed. The employment costs reduce the money available, and what was originally a brilliant idea passed by parliament, has become a nightmare to distribute and assist those in need.
So, what are we left with? People still sending out begging letters, and organisations with employees spending more time on raising money to cover the costs than spending time on helping the people the Charity was started for in the first place.
There is no doubt the charities need the money, but an answer to how and where that money comes from is becoming more and more difficult. If you work for a charity and you have an answer to this question, I am sure other charities would love to know how you do it.
Julie Finch-Scally ©
Add comment
Comments