Are you still giving as much to your charitable organization of choice as you can?

No. And I should be. Thanks for reminding me that I have a check or two to write. The organizations I support need the money desperately, and they can do more good with it than I can.

I give what I can when I can to the disabled and paralyzed veterans societies. I only wish more people would. Our veterans deserve the very best, and our paralyzed ones should get at least the same health care choices as the politicos that are partially responsible for sending our military to war.

I’d like to load a few politicians into a Hum Vee and send them to Afghanistan, and preferably send the chicken hawks that avoided going to war in the 60’s

No. It’s unfortunate but my resources are such that I’m lucky to be keeping myself and another afloat.

I’m in the same boat as @hungryhungryhortence But we do make sure to donate clothes, we seem to always have clothes to donate a couple times a year. It’s not a big contribution, but I truly believe every little bit helps.

No, I already support my sons and their families, and provide as much support (which is not financial, but costs money) to aging parents.

I still donate gifts to the charity thrift stores which I make from supplies that are donated to me. They can sell the items and provide help for others.

I make use of the internet sites that are helping to end world hunger by donating food.

I do the the same thing, and it bothers me, but every time I do give when I can’t, I seem to get rewarded back in one way or another, and that is not what I am expecting.

This recession started just about the same time I retired, and with my husband already retired there’s just not the income there used to be. I regret having had to cut back – I had several favorite charities and had to cut back to just a few. I do find myself gathering up more clothes and things than I used to for Salvation Army and Purple Heart – I guess if I can’t help with cash as much as I once could, I figure at least I can share some of my “stuff.”

I do still give to several, although not quite as freely, but there are some I have dropped. I try to give to the ones I think will be less popular charities and causes because they are probably suffering more.

The recession has caused a general feeling of fear, or more like anxiety about life. Two years ago, I seldom questioned a spur of the moment purchase——those purple leather gloves that were so cool, a new set coffee mug just for fun. I gave to charities that I had given careful thought to and did so without hesitation. Now this anxiety has permeated my behaviors more than I like to admit. And I have reduced my charitable dollars. It is just so uncomfortable to have this feeling of watching every dollar and being conservative with each and every purchase.

I don’t think people should feel badly about having to give less when you are having trouble with finances yourselves. Taking care of your family prevents you from becoming a charity case yourself. It is a time for reflection on wasteful spending that we have done in the past though, that we would not be so tight on our own finances if maybe we were not buying items that are so extravagant. I am not speaking to anyone directly, just a generalization about our society in America.

I would give as I have in the past, but my wife is too scared to let me give away that much money. I feel like organizations need it more than ever, and we’re being more self-centered than ever. We can afford it. It’s not going to make much of a dent in the kid’s college funds.

It is amazing after you have been giving to organizations after a while, the number of new ones that come out of the wood work, it now seems exponential. My concern always has been is the money going toward its intended objective, or it being siphoned off, in some cases, to over compensated salaries, or for political objectives that I don’t agree with. So, it always takes me some homework before I start giving to an organization.
My brother sponsors or gives to a child In Latin America, and he shows me these heartwarming pictures and letters from this little girl. I don’t want to burst his bubble, but lots of times these are scams. Well, it makes him feel good at any rate.

Due to my own financial constraints I find that these days I am more likely to buy an extra item/s at the supermarket and put it in the container that then gets collected by an agency (e.g. Auckland City Mission) that makes up and gives out food parcels to people that are struggling financially.

I think that is great way to give. Aukland? is that, sorry I could look it up, Tasmania?

@Garebo Tasmania? No, Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand. Tasmania is part of Australia.
Just a comment about Child Sponsorship. I have very good friends who have been sponsoring a boy in India through World Vision for a lot of years. He is now training to become a teacher and they have continued sponsoring him so that he can complete his training. Only a couple of weeks ago my friends’ daughter actually travelled to India and visited this young man. She was enormously impressed with what she saw, met with his family and World Vision representatives and wrote a very favourable report about what she found and saw there. She also visited the school he is training at and met the children and gave them gifts of books and pens and erasers etc. I saw the photographs that were taken during the visit and everybody looks very happy. So it is more than possible to attach oneself to a reputable charity that is performing effectively and be assured that one’s child sponsorship money is indeed having a measurable impact on the lives of individuals.

I agree, there is a lot of very effective and great organizations out there that do great deal of good. Unfortunately, I have heard and read about the opposite, where there are those that fraudulently take advantage of peoples giving. That’s is why it is always a good idea to talk to and research the organization; or as in your case, talk to the giving spongers and get true substantiation of their claims. I do believe these disreputable organizations are in the minority, nevertheless, it is always something to be aware of.

@Garebo Point taken :)

@Adagio: Sorry, I was stretching my geography, w/o looking. Either place, I’d trade locations, I will give you my house in exchange, :o).

@Garebo Not a chance!