Muddled in charities

In a parody on the Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” entitled, “The Twelve Pains of Christmas,” one of the twelve pains mentioned is charities (along with rigging up lights, facing in-laws, sending Christmas cards, etc.). Granted, this misses the holiday spirit and diminishes the festivity of the season to a chore rather than elevating the servant spirit that is highlighted during the Christmas season. Yet, this is the time of year that charities are calling out for our money. They make the year end push for catching up financially and finishing the year in the black, striving to take advantage of the generosity of the season.

Part of this push for funds involves telemarketers. I generally disdain telemarketing (though I actually did it myself for a brief time in college). But what if it were the March of Dimes or American Cancer Association or some other charity calling? If you say, “no” to their pleas for money, you are made to feel like you don’t care about kids with disabilities or you are a Scrooge in the fight against cancer.

Yet, I believe there are some legitimate concerns as to why I don’t give to charities over the phone, and even why I don’t participate much in giving to charities outside my church.

My primary concern is the amount of money that actually gets to the cause I care about. I understand that sometimes, ten cents of every dollar I give actually goes to the cause of the charity. For example, a charity I have never supported but seems like a great cause, is the Youth Development Fund (YDF). They exist to educate children in drug abuse, health, and fitness. In an article written in June of this year, it was reported that 2.6 cents of every dollar raised actually goes to educating youth.

Another concern I have is the substantial salaries the leaders of some charities are making, especially some Christian charities. I understand that a portion of my money must go to administrative costs and fund raising costs, but I find it hard to give to a charity where the CEO or leader of the organization is getting paid exorbitantly. For instance, Donald Thomas, COO of the American Cancer Society makes $974,000 dollars a year and Harold Varmus, President/CEO of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer center makes over 2 million dollars a year (source: Charity Watch).

With these concerns, I still have both a desire and a mandate God has given that I be charitable. I would love to support these causes and take confidence in my giving – who am I to give to?

I did a little bit of research and have come up with several ideas of Christian charities that seem to manage their financial resources well and have Christ centered ambitions:

Charities that help the persecuted:

WorldServe ministries serves the suffering and persecuted Church around the world. WorldServe encourages, supports, equips and strengthens our suffering brothers and sisters in order to continue the advancement of the Gospel and the expansion of church planting movements around the world. You can see Charity Watch’s evaluation of World Server here.

** I recommend you watch the “lights of Christmas” video .

Voice of the Martyrs is an interdenominational organization working with Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ. You can check up on their Charity Watch rating here.

Charities of compassion :

Desire Street Ministries serves the impoverished Desire neighborhood within New Orleans’ 9th ward with programs that meet the residents’ specific needs. They are a very strategic ministry following hurricane Katrina. Their Charity Watch profile is here.

Compassion international exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, physical, economic and social poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.
Of all the organizations that allow you to “adopt a child” by monthly supporting them (and getting a picture of that child and being able to write to that child), I have been most impressed with Compassion International. Here is their Charity Watch profile.

And as we do Christmas shopping, here are a couple of great ideas I commend with a bit of hesitation :

World Vision’s Christmas catalogue

My personal hesitation is that the CEO makes $366,000 a year - though it seems that most of the money given to the charity goes to the cause.

Samaritan’s purse gift catalogue (again – the CEO makes over $641,000 a year, yet most money given goes to the cause - source: Charity Watch)

So, with some discernment that may seem "Scrooge" like, I do commend heartily the joy of serving the needs of others in mercy ministries. And if this is a new concept for you or you have questions about what Scripture says about mercy ministries and charity, I commend the following series of sermons recommended by a good friend:
R. W. Glenn, "The Ministry of Mercy"