Poverty For Profits

Have you paid attention, lately, to where your donation money might be going?

It might be going into 'business models' instead of toward the needy you were intending to assist!

Have you seen 'campaigns' crop up in flashy fashion, showing you what your local shelter is doing to eradicate homelessness in your area? If so, have you noticed a 'polish' to the stories (they might be 'scripted'), a sophistication of presentation (television crews, special effects, use of 'a media budget' dedicated to the 'effective presentation of poverty'), or other' IMPROVED WAYS TO SHOW POVERTY?

If you donated to the latest 'self-improvement program' initiated at the local shelter - or you supported an existing program by putting your money in a bucket - did you follow up and ASK QUESTIONS...and, indeed, make sure that the program is up and running?

Do you know whether or not the local (or larger, Global) programs you have donated to or plan to donate to - have statistics to back them, showing EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS?

Check up on your 'stuff' people.

A lot of programs are still just 'band-aid' solutions flashed in the media as 'end-all,' miracle, life-saving devices for the poor.

The truth of the matter is that many places are just BURYING the problem, segregating the poor, placing them in areas further away from 'the general public,' so that they are less visible.

Media campaigns show 'worst-case' scenarios and utilize 'case study' information and 'volunteers' unable to articulate sufficiently to tell their 'real story' and 'scripted versions' are over-dubbed by 'associations,' reporters, etc.

(First-hand experience - this happened to me...my 'story' became a 'worst case scenario' while my words conveyed a rising above local difficulties! My REAL Story from MY mouth wasn't 'good for the camera' so my words were dubbed over).

If you are unsure - jot down the phone numbers flashed across pages and screens - phone and ask pointed questions - before you engage in 'helping the poor.'

You might be shocked - indeed - APPALLED at the way that big business is using 'poverty' and 'poverty topics' for profit in our age!

Ask questions, and a LOT of them!

Make sure that organizations and individuals who represent agencies, programs and causes that you plan to help, are able to provide you with all the fine details about exactly how your money will assist the people that you want to help.

The current statement in circulation is that 'it all takes money to keep these agencies/programs/organizations running' and although SOME of this is true, if a greater portion of your money will NOT be going directly to the people you intend to help - then the agency/program/organization you are donating to IS NOT DOING ENOUGH LEGWORK to make sure that they adhere to 'the cause' they are promoting!

More and more 'facilities' are taking in profits while claiming to need more money for 'administration costs' and are launching heavy campaigns for raising funds - whereby funds are feeding 'employees' and padding higher admin worker paycheques - not the cause. At the same time 'volunteers' are often brought in to provide 'the look' of 'functioning' programs, so CHECK THINGS OUT before you donate.

As with anything related to money or involving money turnovers, there is always a potential for corruption and gross misuse of donated funds.

Just because a local charity, facility or organization utilizes a church spokesperson, a celebrity or any other 'well-respected' speaker, this does not mean that your money is in safe hands once you donate.

You have the right to know EXACTLY where your money will go if you make a donation, and if an answer you receive upon asking about these details is given as VAGUE, then continue to ask questions until you receive acceptable answers down to YOUR LAST PENNY.

If the portion of the donation you plan on making will go to 'administration details' and this figure is acceptable to you, make the donation - but not before finding out if there will be a way to verify if the money actually travels along the routes that you are hearing about.

Facilities/organizations that are not willing to disclose information should be considered with a wariness. Any place that is truly dedicated to assisting the kinds of people they claim to help should have no reason to hide details and should have a transparency that allows the general public to see where donated funds are placed within programs.

You have the right to make 1, 2, 3 - 10 'contacts' including phone contact, email contact, in person contact, with places before you make donations, so if you encounter hesitancy in this area or feel you are being rushed to make any donation that you propose, take a step back and gather more information.