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I'm with you on transparency, but I don't know how you expect charities to survive without paid employees.
by ReadEvalPost 14y ago
I'm with you on transparency, but I don't know how you expect charities to survive without paid employees.
- lowmagnet 14y agoI'd guess through volunteer time, as a lot of charities are run on the ground. Anything to reduce overhead cost.
- cbr 14y agoThis is a false bargain. Spending money on overhead can make the money the charity spends on its program go much further. http://blog.givewell.org/2007/01/16/which-of-these-boasts-is-not-like-the-others/ http://blog.givewell.org/2007/01/16/which-of-these-boasts-is... http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/06/09/why-ranking-charities-by-administrative-expenses-is-a-bad-idea/ http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/06/09/why-ranking-charities...
- sliverstorm 14y agoVolunteer time is valuable, but it can help to have full-timers in administrative/organizational positions. Of course, this observation is mostly based on larger charities, with assets and property and non-trivial operating costs. I could see how a tiny charity without these burdens could get along fine without.
- PotatoEngineer 14y agoThe trouble is that ultra-low-overhead charities can be completely ineffective. If a charity doesn't pay for computers, utilities, sorting machines, postage meters, etc. (or pays for only the bargain-basement minimum), then each hour of volunteered time is less effective than if there are sufficient facilities available. Overhead is, in reasonable quantities, a good thing.
- loceng 14y agoI think the issue is more with motives. If people have money incoming from elsewhere then it shows, at least some, that they're not doing it because they just want a paycheck.