I like many others of my fellow Guppies donated to the Pakistani flood relief cause. I considered several factors before donating:
Who could I trust with my donation? There are so many organizations out there but, who’s legit and who will ensure to the best of their ability that the money will get to the people who need the assistance, as opposed to being pocketed by an underhanded politician or group.
To this end, I was more comfortable donating to an international humaritarian aid organization as opposed to a Pakistani group since I felt there was more accountability with an international aid organization. I’m not naive and know that even these international organizations barter humanitarian aid - but I’d like to believe it’s done to a lesser extent and there is still greater accountability.
The second factor which makes me a feel a wee bit guilty and the reason for my post- is, I did look for an organization that would enable me to get a tax receipt - was that selfish of me?
Re: Choosing who to donate to - self-interest as a consideration.
I think its not . Its your money and its your right to ask whatever in return . If I am not wrong you can check with Islamic Relief , they do provide you with a receipt if donated in person . But in the end what matters is that you do donate . May Allah give you ajar for it .
Re: Choosing who to donate to - self-interest as a consideration.
I don't think that it was selfish of you. You work hard for your money and if there is a benefit that you can obtain for your generosity then hopefully you will be encouraged to donate repeatedly. (Technically taxation is a social welfare system anyway.)
But I agree with CM.......I prefer to donate to a group/person that I know is allocating a greater percentage of the funds directly towards relief efforts rather than administration. And just yesterday I heard a newscaster report that the people furthest behind in donating for flood relief are the Pakistanis themselves.........
Re: Choosing who to donate to - self-interest as a consideration.
Quick question why did you assume they were more accountable than a Pakistani NGO?
This is why people ***** about Pakistanis. If they have the chance to support a Pakistani group or community, they will happily decide not too.
I'd like to think that regardless of who got my donation, I AM supporting the Pakistani community. My sister works for an NGO so yes I do know that administration costs eat up a large chunk of donations. But NGOs that provide reporting to their donors about how much they raised, what their mandate is and how they spent the money, create transparency and trust.
Am I opposed to supporting a Pakistani group - no, I would support a Pakistani group as well. But, I'll admit that to do the level of research and due diligence on Pakistani NGOs would have taken time that I did not have. So I opted for a safer/easier course of action.
I'm also cognizant of the fact that the need for aid is not merely short term. Pakistan will continue to need aid for long-term infrastructure rebuilding. Hopefully and i'A when I make my next donation I will be better informed and can donate the money where it will be best used and it may be a Pakistani organization.