Yes, even if you’re doing the dreaded deed that is “paying someone’s salary”.

In recent years I’ve heard a lot of people say that they hate giving to charities because their money will be used to pay people’s salaries.

Sorry…why is that such a bad thing?

I worked for a nonprofit for 3 years. My salary was right around $2,000 a month. I was on food stamps even though I worked full time because I lived in a major US city. I had seven roommates. Once, while working for a nonprofit, I had my heat shut off in the middle of winter because we couldn’t afford our electricity bill. I’m not making this up, people.

My boss — who founded the organization, was never truly “off work”, and did the work of at least 3 people while in his late 60s — made $45,000 a year at most. That’s still quite modest for a man who had two Masters’ degrees.

My job was difficult — 70-hour work weeks weren’t uncommon. It also wasn’t rare for me to leave crying, because I didn’t have the manpower or resources to help the people I needed and wanted to help.

These same people who claim that giving money to charity is a bad idea also tend to be the ones who complain about the world not being a great place.

If you aren’t personally out there working 40 hours a week to make the world better (and most people can’t do that), then you have one other option:

Donate to charities that are doing what you can’t.

A person - probably a woman - stands with their hands out. Their hands are full of change and a slip of paper that says "make a change".Photo byKatt YukawaonUnsplash

Organizations Need Money in Order to Actually Help People

Seems like a no-brainer, right?

Yet, here’s a thought for you:

Would any of you, regardless of how passionate you were about a cause, stay and work at an organization if you knew you’d never stop living hand-to-mouth?

Would you go to work every day, knowing that $45k a year was the most you could expect to make, but only if you became the CEO? People, the average living wage in the USA is $68,000 a year for a family of four. If you live in a city it’s almost double that.

NO! You 100% wouldn’t, and if you said yes then you are definitely lying. No one wants to work 70 hours a week and still be toeing the poverty line. When I worked for the nonprofit, I had about 4 different job titles. It’s fricken’ stressful!

Yet real change starts when small, grassroots organizations are able to work within their communities. Volunteers are great, but who has the time to volunteer 40 hours a week? Who wrangles said volunteers, and organizes nonprofits’ day-to-day, and makes sure that everything runs smoothly?

Obviously, the paid staff does that. They need money to make that happen.

Especially because in my years of working at a homeless shelter, we averaged about 4 volunteers a year. Obviously, if we didn’t have paid staff we wouldn’t have even been open.

So if your donation goes to making sure that people providing stability to these same organizations get a living wage — and thus don’t quit and can continue to help others on your behalf — then why in the world is that horrible?

Part of the reason why nonprofits fall apart is that they can’t get anyone to work there, or they won’t work there long term. A nonprofit needs stability in order to function.

A lot of red and green bags are lined up with food, probably to be delivered to a food pantry or from a food pantry to a person in need.Photo byNico SmitonUnsplash

Grants Are Not a Nonprofits Saving Grace

I hear you — you’re saying, “Why can’t these 501(c)3's just get a grant and stop whining? That’s why they exist, right?”

Yes! Most grants will cover the cost of supplies and programmatic needs in order for the nonprofit to actually do the good it wants to do. I know this because I used to do grant writing for a nonprofit (“Grant Writer” was one of my four job titles. Literally I had four job titles people and made $2k a month, I cannot stress that enough).

There’s a catch though: many of these grants won’t cover administrative costs. Meaning you’ll have a nonprofit that has the money to run a homeless shelter but can’t afford an accountant, volunteer coordinator, or… drumroll, a grant writer.

Possibly the worst option is that they can’t pay for their office mortgage because grant’s often don’t cover that either. I shouldn’t need to tell you why this is a terrible idea.

There’s a huge caveat when it comes to grants anyway — a nonprofit must be able to actually get one.

Yoooo, grant writing is hard. Ask me how I know.

Usually, in order to secure a large grant, the grant writer knows someone from the organization or foundation they are soliciting money from. However screwed up it is, it’s ultimately a trust thing — the foundation wants to know to whom they are handing off 200 grand, for their own peace of mind.

There’s a reason why major NGO’s and nonprofits have a Major Donations Coordinator position. It’s because it’s all about who you know.

To this end the first thing I did when I started writing grants for my nonprofit was I met with the organizations I solicited money from. I went out into the community to meet people. How was that time paid for, you might ask? Aahaha, a grant. The circle of life.

The next step is that once you manage to even get a grant, it comes with a lot of strings attached. Grants usually won’t go to fledgling organizations. They are usually incredibly strict on what you can and cannot spend the grant money on. Plus, grants usually require a lot of reporting and hoops to jump through if you even get them.

That’s why even major organizations get the majority of their money from private donations — that is, from individual people who give a little every month.

So give your money directly to a charity, and help them keep their lights on. If it really means that much to you, then specify when you give your donation that you don’t want your money going to administrative costs (but again, I advise against this for the above reasons).

Writing grants does not look like this: a hand on a table in a well lit corner, writing by hand on a cute little journal.Photo byHannah OlingeronUnsplash

So… Big Organizations Are the Exception, Right?

You might agree that giving to small grassroots nonprofits is the right thing to do, but you would never give to a large charity. You probably assume that these are just money-seeking, useless mega-corporations disguised under the label of NGO (Non-Governmental Organization).

You’d be wrong.

Generally, the only nonprofits that can afford to pay decent wages are the huge household names — Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, etc. Again, why is this a bad thing?

For instance, the Executive Director of Greenpeace makes $103,292 a year. Which is still only firmly middle-class. I’m not saying that NGO directors or nonprofit employees should be rich, but they should be able to pay their bills and take vacations, too. That’s honestly not a respectable income considering the amount of work and schooling it takes to become the Executive Director of an organization that large — a Masters, at minimum.

Especially because organizations like Greenpeace have far-reaching, bigger picture capabilities than smaller organizations. You might personally think poorly of an organization like Greenpeace — and that’s fine. Just find a different one.

NGOs and nonprofits have to file under either a 501(c)3 — meaning they are a charitable welfare group, or a 501(c)4 — meaning they are a social welfare group. Each is held to certain tax and profit standards. Here’s an in-depth look at the differences.

Essentially, donations to a c3 are tax-deductible. Donations to a c4 are not tax-deductible. Neither a c3 nor a c4 filed organization can be organized with the intention of turning a profit.

These organizations are held to these standards regardless of their size if they are able to operate in the USA.

Both c3s and c4s are worth donating to, depending on why you want to donate and what you’re wanting to change. Find an organization that has one of these tax exemption codes — it’s not hard, they will almost always tell you in their bio.

Then find one that lines up with your values. Do your research on your chosen organization through a 3rd party like Charity Navigator. Aim to give to organizations that are transparent with where their money is going, if you’re really worried.

Once you understand this, you can give with confidence.

The hand of a Caucasian person hold a very cute very tiny little clock.Photo byLukas BlazekonUnsplash

Give Money if You Can’t Give Time

Better yet, do both.

I give $5 a month to the Sierra Club. It’s not a lot, but it’s an amount that I can give that doesn’t hurt me financially and adds up for them over time.

Because I’m fricken broke, I also volunteer my time and energy when I can. I take food to the local shelter, and when I have a spare day I will go on stream cleanups or volunteer to plant trees.

Giving to organizations should only be part of your strategy to enact change in the world. Yet giving money should be part of that strategy, if you can afford to give.

Remember:

• Grants don’t provide enough money to most organizations in order for that nonprofit to function
• Grants often won’t pay to keep the lights on and are usually incredibly restrictive in terms of what they’ll pay for
• Most nonprofits run on volunteers, but they need paid positions to keep the nonprofit stable
• Most paid positions at nonprofits have pathetically low salaries, yet often work over 40 hours a week.

So give your time, and give your money. If you don’t do either of those things, then don’t complain if the world doesn’t look or function the way you want it to.

A man stands in front of an ocean at sunset, the ocean is backlit. The sunset is painted in gorgeous shades of ombre orange and yellow.Photo byMarcos Paulo PradoonUnsplash

Thoughts? Prayers? Donations.

To conclude, if you know someone who works for a nonprofit buy them a beer because they work harder than you do. Almost guaranteed.

That’s actually not the conclusion but I thought it was worth saying.

The real conclusion:

• It’s not a bad thing for money to go to charities to pay administratige costs. Even the World Wildlife Fund has to keep the lights on and pay the janitor.
• If you can donate money, do it. If you can donate time, do that too. Either or: it all helps.
• Seriously if you know anyone who works for a nonprofit, give them a well made meal.

Off my soapbox. Out.