Stuff You Should Know - Short Stuff: Charity Tips

Episode Date: December 15, 2021

It's the end of the year so we thought we might give you some advice on how to better pick out a charity, Short Stuff style. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, I'm Lance Bass, host of the new iHeart podcast Frosted Tips with Lance Bass. Do you ever think to yourself, what advice would Lance Bass and my favorite boy bands give me in this situation? If you do, you've come to the right place because I'm here to help. And a different hot sexy teen crush boy bander each week to guide you through life. Tell everybody, yeah, everybody about my new podcast and make sure to listen so we'll never, ever have to say bye, bye, bye. Listen to Frosted Tips with Lance Bass on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hey, and welcome to the short stuff, you generous person. You, I'm Josh and there's Chuck,

and this is short stuff. And that means what we should begin now. That's right. This is from our buddy Dave Ruz at How Stuff Works from their website. And this is one that I want to wedge in there before the end of the year because if anyone is like me, you have a mad scramble at the end of the year to find the charity that you want to align with or charities. And I feel like we do that every year and we're doing that again this year. So this is one of those good helpful advice ones about how to find and suss out the good ones. Yeah. And it basically comes down to this. There are groups and organizations that have websites that are dedicated to pointing you in the right direction to where you can

confidently and comfortably donate your money and know that it's being put to good use. And also, which ones just you're clear of too. So there's a bunch of different points that this covers. I think this is just a helpful one, Chuck. It was a good pick. Yeah. Those sites, and we're going to talk about Dave interviewed some of these people from these sites, but charity watch and give well, those are the two standards. If you want to go find out if these charities that you're looking to are good and worthy and honest and effective, that's where you should start. But you should also dig into, like if your first question is, are they effective? Dig into the charity a little bit, go to their website. They will probably,

if they're a charity worth supporting, have an outcome section in their annual report and check it out and see if they have concrete goals that say, we fed this many people this year or with this much money, we can house this many people. That's a really good first thing to look for. Yeah. And you might say, huh, that seems pretty good. All right, here's a check kind of thing. You can also go to other sites like charity watch, give well, charity navigator is another good one. And they've done a lot of this homework for you. And in particular, give well has identified like nine particular areas that certain charities are like really killing it at. And the idea is, is that these charities that they've picked that you can go and be like, I'm picking this and you

will know you're donating to one of the top best charities that's going to put your money to the best use that you could possibly find. And the criteria is that they are evidence based, so they can definitely show that the money you're donating is having an effect. They're cost effective, which kind of ties into that. They're also very transparent. That's a really big one too. You don't want it to be opaque and you want to be able to get a straight answer about how your money's being used. And then lastly, and this is really important check that I think a lot of people don't think about, they're underfunded. They need money. They actually need money because there's a lot of charities out there that actually don't need your money.

They're doing just fine. These guys pick charities that actually need money that can really make a big impact with that money. Yeah. And if you don't have a lot of money to give, it's not like some places need millions and millions of dollars to build this new big whatever. For some charities, they mentioned from GiveWell, it doesn't cost a lot of money to get insecticide-treated nets in countries where they have a malaria problem. Give a little bit of money to them. You'll know that you paid for this many nets and it's a really sort of inexpensive way to make a difference if you don't have a lot of dough to give away. Exactly. GiveWell in particular focuses on global health and global poverty because those are

the two areas where a little bit can make a big, big difference, like literally saving lives with just a few dollars a year. Yeah. It's awesome. Yeah. Another question is, if you start to dig into charities, you're going to find one of the things they broadcast is how much their executives make, how much their overhead is, administrative costs. Another big one is fundraising costs. How much money do they have to spend to raise a dollar in donations? Even when you start to dig into them, you might not really have much frame of reference. Is half a million dollars or a million dollars? Is that a lot? It seems like a lot for somebody who's running a charity, but is it? These sites have actually gone to the trouble of really getting into the nitty gritty

to say, actually, this is a really good charity despite that metric. Yeah. What you need to look at is percentages, and they will help you break it down, or the website usually breaks it down for you, but they recommend to look for a minimum of 60% of the charity's budget going on direct program services. If you really want an efficient charity, that'll be closer to 75%, but don't look at the raw numbers because just because a charity spins next to nothing doesn't mean that can make them actually less effective running on a shoestring. You got to spend a little money to raise the money like you talked about and to be effective. Don't just look at a larger number for administrative costs and dismiss it out of hand.

You want to look at that percentage. Yeah. Another thing that they do is also, they see through, they know the kind of tricks that some less reputable charities will do to make themselves feel or look more efficient like they attract more money, and so they'll have sorted through all this when you go to these sites. Also, just while we're talking about this, Chuck, are a beloved co-ed, cooperative for education. A highly efficient charity spends about 75% on programming. Co-ed spends 85.2% directly to program. Also, Joe, the executive director, he breaks in 75 grand a year for this, and he runs the show. They also have an efficiency rating so where they spend nine cents for every dollar that they raise in donations, which is really

outstanding. Plus, lastly, Chuck, they're underfunded too. They can survive 1.57 years on their current funds, which means that they can actually use the money that you send them, and then you'll know they're putting it to good use too. Yeah. Some of these charities that you go to can survive the next 20 years without getting another dollar, which is great. That means a lot of people have given, but maybe seek out the underfunded is some good advice. Yeah. Should we take a break? Yeah, let's. All right. We'll take a break, and we'll be right back with a few more tips for you. Do you ever think to yourself, what advice would Lance Bass and my favorite boy bands give me in this situation? If you do, you've come to the right place because I'm here to help.

This, I promise you. Oh, God. Seriously, I swear. And you won't have to send an SOS because I'll be there for you. Oh, man. And so my husband, Michael. Um, hey, that's me. Yeah, we know that, Michael. And a different hot, sexy teen crush boy bander each week to guide you through life step by step. Oh, not another one. Kids, relationships, life in general can get messy. You may be thinking, this is the story of my life. Just stop now. If so, tell everybody, yeah, everybody about my new podcast and make sure to listen so we'll never ever have to say bye, bye, bye. Listen to Frosted Tips with Lance Bass on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm Mangesh Atikala. And to be honest, I don't believe in astrology.

But from the moment I was born, it's been a part of my life in India. It's like smoking. You might not smoke, but you're going to get secondhand astrology. And lately, I've been wondering if the universe has been trying to tell me to stop running and pay attention. Because maybe there is magic in the stars, if you're willing to look for it. So I rounded up some friends and we dove in and let me tell you, it got weird fast. Tantric curses, Major League Baseball teams, canceled marriages, K-pop. But just when I thought I had to handle on this sweet and curious show about astrology, my whole world came crashing down. Situation doesn't look good. There is risk to father. And my whole view on astrology, it changed. Whether you're a skeptic or a believer,

I think your ideas are going to change too. Listen to Skyline Drive and the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right. Good tip so far. Another one. Great tip so far. I agree. And boy, I knew that about co-ed, but every time I hear it, it's just heartwarming. Yeah, it is. It's a good charity that we got aligned with many years ago. One question that a lot of people ask, is it better to give small donations to a few charities or one bigger donation to one? And this sort of is a personal decision to a large degree. What they really suggest is don't just spread it around to spread it around. Only spread

it around if you can really dig in and do this kind of research to make sure you're doing the right thing. Yes, which is a great, I mean, that's just great advice. As long as you're not following for the marketing and you're actually giving each charity that you're donating to the same amount of thought that you would if you just focused on one, why not? It doesn't hurt at all. But there's a person over at GiveWell who points out, if you're going to pick a charity though, there's a way you can even maximize it further, which is to give roughly the same amount every year, about the same time every year, because then they'll start to see that, oh, wait, we can depend on this check from Chuck, who's a super nice guy. He sends it in every year. They'll actually figure

that into their budget and then start planning accordingly. Rather than being like, we can only afford this this year, and then all of a sudden they have more money for nets, but they didn't order nets early enough and now there's a problem and malaria is still spreading, they'll be able to budget for more nets if they know that there's a certain amount coming from you each year. That's right. And if you give them a pretty good donation, they'll probably email you and say, hey, this is great. Can we count on you for next year? Yeah. Because that helps them. They got to figure out that budget and it really helps them to know what they're looking at year after year. That's right. Also, Chuck, if it's really big enough and it's a terrible charity,

they'll send you a gold-plated diamond-incrusted malaria net as a thank you gift. So you can wear it around to your fancy holiday parties. That's right. And just be like, oh, this, I got this for donating. Another question is, are you being scammed as this charity of fraud? There are frauds for sure. I think in 2018, Dave points out that the FTC investigated and found more than 100 actions against dozens of fraudulent charities. Sadly, a lot of these were claiming to serve US military veterans and their families, which is just reprehensible, of course. But it doesn't happen as much as you might be afraid it does, but you need to make sure you're donating to the charity. A lot of them have similar names to

really great charities. So one example that Dave pointed out was the Breast Cancer Research Foundation versus the Breast Cancer Research and Support Foundation. And Breast Cancer Research Foundation is great. They get an A plus, 90% of their budget goes to supporting breast cancer research, and they spend $7 for every 100 it raises. The Breast Cancer Research and Support Foundation earns an F from Charity Watch. 8% of its budget goes to actual programming, and it spends $87 for every 100 that it collects. Yet not on programming. Yeah, $87, yeah, of course.

Gold-plated mosquito nets, probably. Maybe, but that's just the point. It's like, I'm not going to call them a scam or anything, because I haven't done a lot of research on them, but those numbers are really bad, and their name is awfully close to a really good breast cancer organization. Yeah, and the fact that they are just seems a little fishy. But I think an even bigger trap that you have to watch out for, especially if you're trying to suss out whether a charity is a good one or not on your own, is that there's a lot of charities out there that just, they mean well, and they're trying to do well, they're just not that good at it. And so your

money's just not going to be spent as wisely as it might with another charity. Again, the way to resolve this is just go to Charity Watch, Charity Navigator, give well some of those sites that really know what they're doing and say, oh, this is highly rated, I'll give them some money. Yeah, I think sometimes people forget these are non-profit businesses, and running a business is still running a business, and some people aren't very good at it. That's right. What's the last one here? The last one is, and a lot of people want to give locally to help their communities,

and that is absolutely great. But the... But don't do it. Well, the thing is, if you are doing that, there's a good chance that if you stop and reflect on it, you might come to the conclusion that you're doing this to feel good about yourself, maybe, for the feels you get out of it. And if you really stop and look at that, with just a kind of sober view of how to help the most people with whatever money you're donating, you're probably going to find that there's people outside of your community, whether wherever you live in the developed world, that might even benefit from it more.

Who knows? I don't think anybody in Charity says, don't give locally. It's just saying, don't overlook global charities, including big ones, entirely in favor of giving locally. Like, consider both. Yeah, and I think one piece of advice they gave, which is really good, is look at it from a cause point of view. Like, if you're into the environment, let's say, and you really want to support the environment as your only cause this year or next year or every year, maybe look into a local thing that's doing something like planting trees locally in neighborhoods, and then maybe also look at a big global environmental cause that can... or charity that can really have a big impact. And

that way, you're kind of spreading the wealth and covering a cause that you love in both ways. That's right. And whatever you do, just make sure that you're giving to a good charity and bless you for donating in the first place. However you donate. Bless us, everyone. And since Chuck said bless us, everyone, of course everyone, that means short stuff is out. Stuff You Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.