I was sitting in the park at the weekend when a charity collector asked an unsuspecting woman for a donation.
She may as well have asked for a kidney and the arranged marriage of one of her daughters.
“I’ve only got a $50 note,” the woman answered, which is an odd way to shirk a donation, pleading unbreakable wealth and all. The charity collector countered swiftly. “That’s fine, we have change.”
Awkward pause. “I’d rather not.”
Charity is a quirky thing. Some of us give merrily and without discretion, others with a cynical eye. Some of us don’t give at all. Even the ones who can most afford to.
“Only six in 10 of the wealthiest Australians give money to charity and philanthropic causes, according to a 2008 report by researchers at the Australian Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies at the Queensland University of Technology.
”Given the propensity of this group to benefit from professional tax advisers and utilise the tax system, some 40 per cent are likely to be engaged in minimal – if any – giving,” the report said.
There are those who give generously, as Fairfax noted when it spoke to Simon Mordant, a multi-millionaire Sydney financier.
”I hope my last cheque bounces. I want to die with nothing.”
That’s the aim of the game for people like the mega-rich Bill and Melinda Gates (who have so far given away some $28 billion of a $61 billion fortune) and billionaire Warren Buffet who has joined the Gates’ in doling out massive cheques for global health programs.
But Aussies? Well, our wealthy are ‘morally bankrupt’ according to a former Microsoft executive. The rest of us aren’t too bad, but are we generous enough?
So, wealthy or not, what’s your take on giving? How do you do it, how often, is there anything that charities do that make you keep your change?
Have you checked out Mamamia Cares? A huge range of touching stories from Mamamia readers sharing their favourite charities and causes. Have a look.
Top Comments
I am becoming reluctant to donate money to any charity, working in real estate we have many tenants who take advantage of charities such as Salvos, Smith Family. Rather than paying their own rent they cry poor to these charities and get them to pay their way, while they spend their money on luxuries that I can not afford - the problem is charities dont ask questions, just give blindly to people that waste their money on smokes, artificial nails and take away. I would much rather give time or clothes/food than money.
How many people are getting help from the smith family and salvos and then spending money on luxuries? that members of the real estate industry cannot afford? How many artificial nails are on these recipients? I dont know but I am curious. Certainly some that probably most deserving and need at times help are often the last to ask for it, but I see banks, oil, mining and insurance and marketing companies as the least deserving charities that we can stop giving our nations resources too first?
I agree clothes and food if rejected may indicate a false recipient but their are times money is needed dont you think? and that addictions to substances particularly alcohol cigarettes and other drugs including fast food, gambling and religions can be a part of the problem, and there are vicious cycles within vicious cycles
In some ways the smaller and more localized the charity the less likely it is a too squander has been my observation
I regularly donate to several charities and understand that there are many deserving causes out there. However, I have become increasingly irritated by the number of calls I receive each week (probably about 12) from charities. They used to almost always occur while I was trying to cook dinner or get my young kids to bed, now they call in the day too (and I work four days so dread to think how many more calls I'd get if home everyday). I hate the fact that I either feel compelled to donate against my will, or awkward and guilty for saying no. I think these calls should be illegal and I am seriously thinking about having my landline disconnected. In my case, the calls have certainly made me less inclined to donate.