Survey

Id like those of you willing to answer this survey for me. Please answer honestly.
1. How often do you give to charity?
2. Would you rather volunteer money or time for charity?
3. What are your main incentives for giving to charity?
4. What are your incentives for not giving?
5. What causes do you choose to support? Why?
6. Would you rather choose a religious organizion over a non-religious one, or vice versa?
7. What are some qualities you look for when choosing an organization to support?
8. What are some red flags you look for when deciding an organization shouldnt be supported?
9. Do you prefer to support causes close to home or abroad? Which do you think is more beneficial?
10. Do you prefer private charities or government charities?
11. How much regulation do you think governments should impose on non-profit organizations?
Also if you dontcmind giving your age and where you live.

 

Anyone who wants to answer privately feel free to pm me.

 

1. When I can, I donate more time than money mostly
2. Of the two, time
3. To improve the lives of those less fortunate than I
4. Either no time or money at the moment
5. My current "adopted" charity is All Childrens Hospital as the local MLP group I support raises money for them
6. Preferably non, but it doesn't matter to me if I know the money isn't going to the organization, but for the cause
7. Their goal, how they go about it, if any of their staff is paid
8. Their staff being paid. In my mind, charity should consist of volunteers who's aim is to help others. Not chase a paycheck
9. Mostly at home, but some resources go to charities abroad.
10. Private
11. Just make sure every penny the charity makes goes to the designated cause.

Mid 20s, lives in Florida

 

1. rarely
2. if I have the time then time, if I don't have the time, Money
3. to try to help someone so they can help themself and others so they eventually will be self sufficient enough to not need the charity instead of becoming dependent on it
4. doubts that the people the charity is going too will actually use it to try to change or if it will just be enabling them to continue the same shitty choices/habits/lifestyles, cynical but I want realistic goals and progress
5. kind of a broad question, it depends on the circumstances of the target group for the charity and whether or not the charity organization is doing it purely for charity or because it's a trendy thing/politically driven
6. non-religious, and preferably non-political oriented either
7. how much do they skim off the top for "administrative/operating" costs
8. #1 religion/political leanings, #2 organization/trustworthiness, #3 are their goals realistic or idealistic
9. closer to home, more chance to see if it's actually doing anything and there are plenty of people who could use it here
10. depends on how they're run, the red cross is a good example of a charity I wouldn't give a dime too due to many issues with the administration and regulation. I want whatever I give from my own resources to actually have a positive impact, not end up in someone's bonus
11. have you seen how much money the NFL makes and are still considered a non-profit with tax benefits? not so much a need for more regulation but fixing what we already have
20s, Arizona

 

1. Rarely
2. I prefer giving money, but feel more emotional fulfillment from donating time.
3. Someone asked me to in person.
4. Not having money on me at the time.
5. I'll generally support humanitarian aid and research causes because I think those are worthwhile.
6. I would not donate to a religious charity
7. I don't really research charities ahead of time since it's a spur of the moment thing usually.
8. If I were to find out a charity spends more money on itself than the actual cause, that would make me not donate.
9. I don't really have a preference.
10. Also no preference
11. Enough to ensure that the charity is putting most of its money towards its cause.
22, Florida

I tried to answer as honestly as possible.

 

1. Practically Never.
2. Most likely money rather than time.
3. Mostly cause behind said charity or if someone asks me to support.
4. Don't have the time/money/patience to deal with it.
5. Mainly the cause of the charity, otherwise I'm disinterested.
6. I'd usually choose non-religious organizations over religious ones.
7. I don't really pay attention to the details, it's normally a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing when I donate.
8. When I hear negative things about it via the news or any other reliable source.
9. No preference and I'm sure they're all beneficial to someone in some way.
10. No preference.
11. I honestly have no clue.

Early 20's, North Carolina

 

Do answers from outside US count as well? Becuase if yes here's mine :
Id like those of you willing to answer this survey for me. Please answer honestly.
1. I don't really, maybe rarely as an impulse thing. I don't feel like it's really helping the ones it's supposed to.
2. If I were to do it, and knew it would benefit those who need it directly - then both.
3. Making people's lives better.
4. I know that a lot the charities are taking away some of the funds that they are supposed to spend on ones that need it. Maybe it works different in US, I don't know. In Poland it's really hard to come by a charity that is truly non-profit.
5. Look at point 1. If I were supporting, I'd rather support some kind of medical causes. Medical attention for people who can't afford it, et cetera.
6. I don't mind either, as long as they do their job.
7. I think it would be how much said charity has accomplished so far, and how their volunteers are treating other people (if applicable), and how much money is actually spent on helping instead of the charity and it's CEO's itself.
8. I don't really know to be honest. Can't think of anything that would make sense right now.
9. Close to home will be definitely easier to keep track of whether it's really helping or not.
10. Private charities have this advantage of being private instead of being controlled by (sometimes really corrupt) government. Here, in Poland, government stuff most often means bad quality stuff.
11. Only as much as is necessary to keep them running. Aside from some really basic, but well made and thought out regulations, I don't think there should be much control. People are free willed, if they're willing to give money for a thing that comes out as a scam later - well tough luck, think better next time.
22, Łódź, Poland.

 

1. How often do you give to charity?
With some frequency, I donate whenever there are drives at my local grocery store, I donate to a few other causes at least once or twice a year and I always participate in local toy drives and I always donate clothes and books I'm no longer using.
2. Would you rather volunteer money or time for charity?
Both! I donate money because it's more convenient but I do do some time donation.
3. What are your main incentives for giving to charity?
Supporting organizations that I think do good things for the community or society as a whole and making the lives of people better.
4. What are your incentives for not giving?
N/A
5. What causes do you choose to support? Why?
I support MS and Parkinsons research because of relatives impacted by those diseases. I support Planned Parenthood because I think everyone should have access to reproductive healthcare and I've used their services in the past. I also support local places that give food and other necessary products to homeless or disadvantaged people. And I support some conservation societies and LGBT youth homeless shelters
6. Would you rather choose a religious organizion over a non-religious one, or vice versa?
I refuse to support religious "charities". Frequently religious charities will only give support to those who are of the same religion as them or only those whom they think are "worthy" (like a religious homeless shelter that allowed a trans woman to freeze to death because they wouldn't let her in unless she went into the men's area and renounced being trans). I think these kinds of actions are despicable and want my donation to have nothing to do with such behavior.
7. What are some qualities you look for when choosing an organization to support?
I look for how much of the donation actually goes to doing the work I want it to do, what kind of work the organization is doing, if the work they are doing actually improves the lives of the people they are trying to help (like how it's better to give micro loans or livestock to people in developing nations and donations of clothes actually hurt the people you're trying to help) and if they have a history of turning away those in need for stupid reasons.
8. What are some red flags you look for when deciding an organization shouldnt be supported?
If they have tons of overhead, specifically if their CEO is making bank while very little of the money donated actually goes to the stated purpose (like the Susan G Komen foundation), if they have a history of shitty behavior or recycle donated money to organizations I do not support (like the Salvation Army) and if the action they're undertaking is actually hurting rather than helping (like TOMS shoes)
9. Do you prefer to support causes close to home or abroad? Which do you think is more beneficial?
I generally end up donating more to local organizations because it tends to be easier to donate to them (like I can easily take a box of food to the local great harvest) but I also donate abroad because I think it's important to try and improve the lives of people everywhere.
10. Do you prefer private charities or government charities?
What are we talking about here because if we're talking about like a welfare system as a government charity I definitely support those kinds of programs and think they should be expanded enormously but I also think that private charities can reach people in ways that the government can't or would find difficult.
11. How much regulation do you think governments should impose on non-profit organizations?
I think there should be caps on how much of every dollar donated must be spent on intended purpose rather than overhead to qualify as a non-profit charity. Because I think it's repulsive that some "non-profit" owners make tons of money and never pay a cent in taxes but do next to nothing that they sell themselves as doing.

22, Seattle WA