Charities you trust?

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The_Magdalene

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Are there any charities that help the poor that you trust? As Catholics, should we aim to support Catholic/Christian charities? and then the next preference would be non-religious I suppose?

Please provide names of charities if you can.
Thank you and may God bless you.
 
Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Archeparchy of Philadelphia…
 
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Good for raising the question.
There are self-called charities who take the money and give little to those in need, those running the charity taking most of the money for themselves. So I only give money to charities I am sure about–such as Catholic Charities.
 
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Caritas, Mary’s Meals, Street lights (first Cro magazine by homeless that help them to survive in cooperation with Franciscans)
 
With so many people unemployed, check out your local food bank. They are getting unprecedented levels of requests for help.
 
I support Catholic Charities, support parishes locally and far away, I support the Knights of Columbus in the area where there is a disaster.

In my own city, I support the Food Bank (they supply feeding programs and food pantries).

Sadly, when dealing with overseas charities, often the Christian charities are actively working to take people out of the local Catholic church/school. This is from a priest friend in Haiti.
 
The_Magdalene said:
As Catholics, should we aim to support Catholic/Christian charities? and then the next preference would be non-religious I suppose?
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Catholics have no obligation to give to specifically Catholic charities, and are not discouraged from giving to secular charities. How and where you give to the poor is purely a prudential decision, and a matter of personal judgement.

Religious charities, as a whole, tend to have huge problems with lack of transparency, accountability and oversight, and with widespread diversion of funds. Many border on being frauds or scams, and probably most are just that. Catholic charities are no exception: the good apples are outnumbered by the bad ones. Even the Pope’s own personal charity is wracked by scandal and criminal activity at the moment.

Make sure you do your research before you give to any charity. Be extremely careful about giving to charities that find you, rather than the other way around. Guilty until proven innocent is a safe rule. Trust no one until you have thoroughly investigated them. Sadly, religious charities attract criminals because the are not as stringently regulated as secular ones. Even bishops have been known to break the law or play close to the edge when they think no one is watching.

If you want to help the poor, you would get the most bang for your buck by giving to your own parish food bank or other volunteer organization that you can personally keep an eye on, and watch where every penny is going. Earmark your donation for a specific purpose, rather than letting it be entered into a general fund.

Never be afraid to ask for financial statements and reports, and immediately run if they are not provided promptly and with alacrity. Never be afraid to ask question, and never be afraid to say “no” to anyone, even a priest or bishop, if you are not 100% satisfied. Never give large donations without running it past your attorney first.

Also, apropos of your question, do your own research. Put in the effort to make sure that the charity you are giving to is legit and actually does help the poor.
 
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My new strategy is to give to a few organizations. I trust them all, but by spreading across several I figure it does just as much good.

-World Villages For Children
-Father Al’s Children’s Foundation
-Aid to the Church in Need
 
I like to give to Philabundance, an organization that supports many food banks in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. I also give to Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services, St. Mary’s Franciscan Shelter, Society of SVDP, ChildFund International, Team Rubicon, Building Homes for Heroes, Red Cross, Catholic Medical Mission Board, Archdiocese for Military Services, and our local volunteer Fire Departments and ambulance services. And of course, our home parish.
 
I personally am starting to think all those big multi-million dollar charities are corrupt. Too much money at stake.
Catholic charities gets a ton of money from the government, and doesn’t necessarily promote Catholic ideals. So, what’s so Catholic about it?
 
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Sorry I don’t trust your sources. Caritas has done much much good worldwide. No further comment.
 
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