4 ms·

No, the author covers this pretty well: > And lastly, something that is probably the most uncomfortable fact about all this; it doesn’t feel as good to donate

No, the author covers this pretty well: > And lastly, something that is probably the most uncomfortable fact about all this; it doesn’t feel as good to donate money. As much as we like to pretend that charitable giving is a selfless act, a lot of it is driven by the human need to feel special and magnanimous. > As donations go, it’s much more satisfying to donate a minivan filled with Ragu than to send a $100 e-transfer. > Charities know this, and it’s another reason why they are so hesitant to pooh-pooh canned food drives, despite the extra logistical cost. Non-profits know that people get a buzz from loudly dropping $6 worth of cans into an office hamper, and they’re happy to channel that urge towards something good. I personally donate cash to GiveDirectly. Money is always best.

j-c-hewitt 7y ago
Well, I know the charity administrator can just pay himself with a cash donation, but they can't do much with cans of food other than either distribute them or destroy them.
- munk-a 7y ago
  Another portion of the article touches on the overhead to sort and store all these items for later distribution, that sorting might be done by volunteers (and thus be free-ish) but there's always an opportunity cost, the labour used for receiving these items is labour lost on other important projects. If the charity is a responsible one then you're wasting more money by forcing them to sort your cans, clothing and miscellaneous junk than the slim chance that someone's going to misuse those funds
- hyayz 7y ago
  Exactly. Reminds me of panhandlers who ask for money to buy food. But if you give them food they refuse to take it. Yeah, right...
  - javagram 7y ago
    You can actually vet a charity unlike a panhandler. You might even be able to volunteer for them yourself for a few weekends and gain trust in them before setting up a scheduled cash donation, if you really want to verify it.
- nulbyte 7y ago
  This is not normal, and you shouldn't be giving any organization where that happens. The board pays the executive. The executive should never write their own check.
- x2f10 7y ago
  I just surveyed my small team at work (5 ppl). Every single one said they'd rather donate canned foods than cash due to this reason alone. 3 said they would "never" donate cash.
- scott_s 7y ago
  Look up the charity on https://www.charitynavigator.org https://www.charitynavigator.org to vet them. If you don't trust the charity with money, then find one you do trust with money and give to them.
- RHSeeger 7y ago
  Bear in mind that if everyone gave canned food, there likely wouldn't be a charity in the first place. Someone has to run things, and that someone generally needs to get paid for any sizeable charity; it IS a full time job.
- rtkwe 7y ago
  If you're worried about that look up the charity's pay filings. Most are very efficient at distributing donations into services and pay very little as a percentage they take in. If you live in a reasonably large city chances are good there are multiple charities that give 95-97%+ of their donations out again in services. Even if they don't reach that lofty level it's hard to beat a 5x multiplier between the money paid for a donated can and the amount a purchaser could get with that money.
  - DonHopkins 7y ago
    Then on top of the 5x amount of food argument, there's also the nutritional argument: a jar of Ragu sauce without any pasta or cheese or vegetables isn't a balanced meal. And it's better to spend money on fresh food and vegetables and milk at the time it's needed, than to throw away donated perishables, and only distribute canned food.
com2kid 7y ago
> No, the author covers this pretty well: Partially, I am also saying that the food we donate is what makes it special. Part of it is donating a mass of Ragu sauce, as the author says, but part of it is that the person who donates all that Ragu sauce probably really likes ragu sauce and wants to share that joy with others. And in reference to winter food drives, the holiday season is all about sharing joy. Be it sharing one's favorite dishes at thanksgiving, or giving the perfect gift. American society values putting thought and effort into ones gifts, and canned food allows people to do that. For some people it likely is about feeling good over sheer quantity (and local news reports do show off the mounds of donated cans!) but I do think another part of it is wanting to do something more personal.
sdfsaf 7y ago
He doesn't it at all! He, acknowledges that this is a problem, but doesn't resolve the point -that there would be less donation- against his argument. To do that he would either have to prove that money donations would increase in lieu of canned goods and/or that the administrative costs are higher than the value of the canned goods (which maybe true for very specialized and/or very corrupt charities, but not for your local volunteer run pantry)
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

j-c-hewitt 7y ago

Well, I know the charity administrator can just pay himself with a cash donation, but they can't do much with cans of food other than either distribute them or destroy them.

munk-a 7y ago
Another portion of the article touches on the overhead to sort and store all these items for later distribution, that sorting might be done by volunteers (and thus be free-ish) but there's always an opportunity cost, the labour used for receiving these items is labour lost on other important projects. If the charity is a responsible one then you're wasting more money by forcing them to sort your cans, clothing and miscellaneous junk than the slim chance that someone's going to misuse those funds
hyayz 7y ago
Exactly. Reminds me of panhandlers who ask for money to buy food. But if you give them food they refuse to take it. Yeah, right...
- javagram 7y ago
  You can actually vet a charity unlike a panhandler. You might even be able to volunteer for them yourself for a few weekends and gain trust in them before setting up a scheduled cash donation, if you really want to verify it.
nulbyte 7y ago
This is not normal, and you shouldn't be giving any organization where that happens. The board pays the executive. The executive should never write their own check.
x2f10 7y ago
I just surveyed my small team at work (5 ppl). Every single one said they'd rather donate canned foods than cash due to this reason alone. 3 said they would "never" donate cash.
scott_s 7y ago
Look up the charity on https://www.charitynavigator.org https://www.charitynavigator.org to vet them. If you don't trust the charity with money, then find one you do trust with money and give to them.
RHSeeger 7y ago
Bear in mind that if everyone gave canned food, there likely wouldn't be a charity in the first place. Someone has to run things, and that someone generally needs to get paid for any sizeable charity; it IS a full time job.
rtkwe 7y ago
If you're worried about that look up the charity's pay filings. Most are very efficient at distributing donations into services and pay very little as a percentage they take in. If you live in a reasonably large city chances are good there are multiple charities that give 95-97%+ of their donations out again in services. Even if they don't reach that lofty level it's hard to beat a 5x multiplier between the money paid for a donated can and the amount a purchaser could get with that money.
- DonHopkins 7y ago
  Then on top of the 5x amount of food argument, there's also the nutritional argument: a jar of Ragu sauce without any pasta or cheese or vegetables isn't a balanced meal. And it's better to spend money on fresh food and vegetables and milk at the time it's needed, than to throw away donated perishables, and only distribute canned food.

com2kid 7y ago

> No, the author covers this pretty well: Partially, I am also saying that the food we donate is what makes it special. Part of it is donating a mass of Ragu sauce, as the author says, but part of it is that the person who donates all that Ragu sauce probably really likes ragu sauce and wants to share that joy with others. And in reference to winter food drives, the holiday season is all about sharing joy. Be it sharing one's favorite dishes at thanksgiving, or giving the perfect gift. American society values putting thought and effort into ones gifts, and canned food allows people to do that. For some people it likely is about feeling good over sheer quantity (and local news reports do show off the mounds of donated cans!) but I do think another part of it is wanting to do something more personal.

sdfsaf 7y ago

He doesn't it at all! He, acknowledges that this is a problem, but doesn't resolve the point -that there would be less donation- against his argument. To do that he would either have to prove that money donations would increase in lieu of canned goods and/or that the administrative costs are higher than the value of the canned goods (which maybe true for very specialized and/or very corrupt charities, but not for your local volunteer run pantry)

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]