Very Small Good Causes

[Lat-Literal]

What very small good causes do you either support financially or intend to financially support? These might be local to you or to use a colloquialism "niche". They will employ between one and 200 members of staff, rarely advertise for donations if at all, receive minimal or no support from private companies, local authorities or celebrities, and anyone involved who is paid a salary will have a salary that is no higher than average pay. Ideally when you do give money you will walk through something like a garden gate and hand it to them in person.

[greenilex]

I volunteer for the local cooperative development agency, which helps people to start coop enterprises and acts as the association of local independent cooperatives. We have very little cash apart from small donations. It is satisfying work.

[gradus]

I volunteer with a small-scale charity aiming to improve adult literacy. My admiration for it's founder is unbounded given the scale of the problem and the extremely meagre resources she is able to deploy.
Adults aside, illiteracy amongst some children at 11 is truly alarming but seems to continue unchecked despite everything. I can't recall the rate of failure but within the last 2 years I was told that two or three of our local primary schools are failing to educate a surprisingly high % of their children to the basic level of literacy needed to embark on post 11 education. There must be many adults who would be only too willing to give up some of their time to assist schools overcome this problem but I never hear any appeal for help by any of the schools concerned and I think that is disgraceful.

[Lat-Literal]

Thank you, greenilex and gradus. You are both doing very good work and I admire you for it. I was going to let the thread continue for a while until I commented. However, I think it already speaks for itself. No one has spoken about making financial contributions to small concerns. I bet tens of forum members if not hundreds donate to massive charities which are run like multinational businesses. Some of it is based on hard sell and dominance of the news. But there is also the point about a lack of identifiable structure for sending money to good causes which are so small most of us wouldn't know that they even existed. That is a social problem which would probably not be resolved by political involvement although politicians and the media could contribute to a cultural change. Local networking with the use of the internet is a better option.

People need to know where there is the woman who quietly devotes her time to rescuing animals, how to identify which food banks for the homeless are not supported to any great extent by local authorities or churches and how to meet with a small group of supposed oddballs who have decided to protect a beautiful field for as long as they themselves survive. Actually, gradus, I disagree with you on it being disgraceful that those needing money should rarely appeal for it. I think it is laudable unlike, say, the National Trust which has now joined the usual suspects in advertising on buses for donations in wills from the over 55s. It has had the reverse impact on me. I might write to them to tell them it has completely backfired. But there does need to be a way of identifying where there are small concerns with need as I have outlined.

If two identical people appeared to need money and I had just a penny, I'd give the penny to the one of the two who didn't ask for money - this seems like common sense to me.

[Petrushka]

I bet tens of forum members if not hundreds donate to massive charities which are run like multinational businesses.

This is the precise reason why I haven't given to these people. The latest Oxfam saga comes as absolutely no surprise to me whatever and am more surprised that no thread here has emerged on the issue as I wouldn't have thought it would have been deemed 'political' in any way.

It's less easy to find local charities that aren't just there one day and gone the next.

[french frank]

No one has spoken about making financial contributions to small concerns. I bet tens of forum members if not hundreds donate to massive charities which are run like multinational businesses.

It possibly depends on whether such concerns cross our paths. There has been one local 'non-profit' (it can't call itself a charity, apparently) which helps rehabilitate ex-offenders, drug addicts and the homeless. If they come to my door selling their little magazine - which for some reason often seems to be well out of date - I always buy it. Looking online, one forum discussion declared it a scam (opinions rather than evidence) and a nuisance. Given the miserable looking individual who usual calls, I'm not sure that I care too much. I don't see what else I can do.

But I confess that I sent a larger donation to Oxfam recently, with a message of encouragement.

[Pianorak]

. . . rescuing animals . . .

Talking of rescuing animals - I do short-term fostering for a small dog rescue and pay for the food, toys, vet bills etc. But you are right, it's mainly "the woman who quietly devotes her time to rescuing animals" - women who bring up children, who don't go out to work, who are in part-time work or who are retired.

[Lat-Literal]

It possibly depends on whether such concerns cross our paths. There has been one local 'non-profit' (it can't call itself a charity, apparently) which helps rehabilitate ex-offenders, drug addicts and the homeless. If they come to my door selling their little magazine - which for some reason often seems to be well out of date - I always buy it. Looking online, one forum discussion declared it a scam (opinions rather than evidence) and a nuisance. Given the miserable looking individual who usual calls, I'm not sure that I care too much. I don't see what else I can do.

But I confess that I sent a larger donation to Oxfam recently, with a message of encouragement.

You are right that at present it depends on whether such concerns cross our paths. An example might be a son or a daughter from a known family that is clearly having problems making ends meet. They want to take up music lessons. But that sort of thing happens if it happens, otherwise it does not. It also, unfortunately in my opinion, sounds just a little old fashioned. Patronage. I was hoping for examples as I don't have anything of that or any other sort crossing my path. Many people will be in a similar position to me in that sense.

But, yes, it works on another level. I want - let's use that word - nothing less than a revolution. One in which not only those who ask the loudest get something but a wider range of the needy because the culture shifts dramatically back to an emphasis on the social advisability of giving. In parallel, most advertising would be reined in by law to the way it was for the first 40 or 50 years of Oxfam's and other now corporate charities' existence. Of course, that want will not lead to any give even non financially because it is about moral imperatives.

To clarify, the way this works is that within five years society is changed so that asking is in the main regarded as an anti-social activity and not giving is in the main regarded as an equally anti-social activity. That then takes away the competitive power of corporate charities but doesn't dent the finances of charities, small or large, and good causes as a whole.

[gradus]

Thank you, greenilex and gradus. You are both doing very good work and I admire you for it. I was going to let the thread continue for a while until I commented. However, I think it already speaks for itself. No one has spoken about making financial contributions to small concerns. I bet tens of forum members if not hundreds donate to massive charities which are run like multinational businesses. Some of it is based on hard sell and dominance of the news. But there is also the point about a lack of identifiable structure for sending money to good causes which are so small most of us wouldn't know that they even existed. That is a social problem which would probably not be resolved by political involvement although politicians and the media could contribute to a cultural change. Local networking with the use of the internet is a better option.

People need to know where there is the woman who quietly devotes her time to rescuing animals, how to identify which food banks for the homeless are not supported to any great extent by local authorities or churches and how to meet with a small group of supposed oddballs who have decided to protect a beautiful field for as long as they themselves survive. Actually, gradus, I disagree with you on it being disgraceful that those needing money should rarely appeal for it. I think it is laudable unlike, say, the National Trust which has now joined the usual suspects in advertising on buses for donations in wills from the over 55s. It has had the reverse impact on me. I might write to them to tell them it has completely backfired. But there does need to be a way of identifying where there are small concerns with need as I have outlined.

If two identical people appeared to need money and I had just a penny, I'd give the penny to the one of the two who didn't ask for money - this seems like common sense to me.

To clarify, I am critical of certain primary schools who, perhaps because of insufficient funding, repeatedly fail to educate their children to basic levels of literacy yet do not seek help from the many willing adult volunteers who could help them to overcome the problem.

[Lat-Literal]

To clarify, I am critical of certain primary schools who, perhaps because of insufficient funding, repeatedly fail to educate their children to basic levels of literacy yet do not seek help from the many willing adult volunteers who could help them to overcome the problem.

Well, yes, who could disagree and it is very newsworthy.

There has been discussion in the media about the literacy or otherwise of 13 year olds because of earlier problems.

Talking of rescuing animals - I do short-term fostering for a small dog rescue and pay for the food, toys, vet bills etc. But you are right, it's mainly "the woman who quietly devotes her time to rescuing animals" - women who bring up children, who don't go out to work, who are in part-time work or who are retired.

That is very good but again it is active involvement which is better than just money but you will no doubt have the required expertise.

I suppose if I knew someone like you locally I could contribute on my demise to the bills.

I'd much prefer it than to think of money going on massive salaries and wide scale unaccountability.

[Dave2002]

Even a low standard of literacy is better than none at all. I know of at least one case. In one a young lad could read, but not particularly well. However his father thought this was great, as he himself could not read, so the boy would read out bits of menus in restaurants in a natural sort of way - e.g. "do you fancy the fish, or the chicken tonight, dad?" so that nobody was embarrassed.

[oddoneout]

To clarify, I am critical of certain primary schools who, perhaps because of insufficient funding, repeatedly fail to educate their children to basic levels of literacy yet do not seek help from the many willing adult volunteers who could help them to overcome the problem.

Using such help requires organising, training, supervision and admin. I was involved for a few years with a charity run mentoring scheme for getting groups and individuals growing their own veg. Even though I came ready trained(not just in my subject, but also safeguarding etc), CRB checked, insured, and with materials, helping schools even when they had requested help was very hard. The usual problem was reluctance or inability to allocate/find someone to be at least the liaison, let alone the project lead. Lack of continuity can cause problems; an enthusiastic person gets a project going, but then moves on and there is no-one to take over.
Schools with pupils whose first language is not English may present challenges in the use of volunteers which staff are unable (or unwilling) to address.

[Dave2002]

Re literacy again - there is still a fair percentage of people who are functionally illiterate. Some get round this with subterfuges. For example, trying to read notices off a notice board when someone else is nearby “I’ve left my glasses at home again - can you tell me what that notice says?”

[greenilex]

Oddoneout explained the schools’ difficulty very well..many schools are currently running on empty where funds and teacher energy are concerned.

[gradus]

Oddoneout explained the schools’ difficulty very well..many schools are currently running on empty where funds and teacher energy are concerned.

I entirely accept that funding is missing but to my mind that underlines the need for cohorts of volunteers. The thread is about small-scale charities and I think schools could at least try to use this approach. Of course I stand to be corrected if some schools already do this but hearing of 2 or 3 state primaries in our area regularly turning out illiterate children at 11 is unacceptable.