I watched this piece last night on ABC Primetime, the article accompanying this piece is pasted below. It is called,
Glitz, Glamour Affecting Charitable Giving?
One stunning image in the piece was when a celebrity limo drove to a fundraising benefit for an opera or something like that and to get to the glitzy benefit they had to drive past like 20 homeless people sleeping on the street.
OK celebrities are easy targets so before I judge them and poke at the speck in their eyes. I have to ask why do I give? Who do I give to? More importantly do I give to fulfill a need or is it to make me feel better? Do I give to things that benefit me? Is their a difference between philanthropy and generosity? Do I give money to my kids school to make a difference for the other kids or do I do it to make my kids more successful. Another statement made in this piece was it is a good career move for these celebrities to been seen giving to charity. And all I could think was Jesus and Widow who gave her 2 cents.
Luke 21The Widow's Offering 1As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.[a] 3"I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."I ask myself do I give like her or like the people that Jesus chastised?
Article from
http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1387620Glitz, Glamour Affecting Charitable Giving?Charities Serving Poor Sometimes Take Second Place to More Alluring Causes
It's the season for giving -- and for opulent charity events where the rich, powerful and famous mingle. But charities that help the poor aren't doing as well as more glamorous causes. (ABC News)
By BRIAN ROSS
Dec. 8, 2005 — This year alone, charitable giving in America is expected to reach at least $250 billion, with many Americans writing their checks in these last few weeks of the year, so their donations will still count toward this year's tax deduction.
And for some of the wealthiest Americans, it is not only the season of giving, but also the season of lavish black-tie events. According to publicist and society columnist R. Couri Hay, "It's all about charities. Social life in New York revolves around giving, and so every single night there are five, six, maybe even 10 parties during the busy season a night where you can go and give to a worthy cause."
The charity game is now in full swing as the rich, the powerful, and the famous mingle in circles where the level of opulence can seem incredibly out of place if the true goal is to help the needy.
"It's glamorous, and the room looks beautiful, and everyone's dressed up in beautiful gowns and jewels, but they're raising millions of dollars while they do it, and they're looking good," says Hay of the charity game. "Wow, I mean, what could be better than that?"
Over the last week, New York's charity circuit has included galas for scholarship funds, music programs, the blind, a variety of diseases and a star-studded event to raise money for a museum program to teach children about classic movies and television shows. Director Ron Howard was the guest of the honor at that even, where tables cost $25,000 each.
"Celebrities really help," says Hay. "We're still in a celebrity culture so everybody wants our celebrities at the party. You know, you add a celebrity, you have an excitement. And people pay money to be near a celebrity."
Neediest Overlooked?
Yet, while most of the grand events, such as a charity gala at the Waldorf Astoria, each raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, some people are left out in the cold.
"Americans are giving more and more and more to charity, they're giving less and less and less to the poorest citizens in this country," says Trent Stamp, who runs a non-profit Web site called the Charity Navigator, which evaluates and tracks where America's charitable contributions go.
"There's no doubt that American donors have abandoned the poor in terms of their philanthropic decision-making," says Stamp. "These are not the right types of charities that are endorsed by celebrities. These are not the types of charities that send you a tote bag when you make a gift."
Last year, contributions to charities working with the poor decreased to 8 percent of all money given, marking the third consecutive year of decline.
"For the most part, the large donor, the wealthy donor has turned away from these types of charities," says Stamp. "Nobody wants to be seen at the local homeless shelter, but they would like to be seen at the Symphony Hall."
Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, a former New York City social services commissioner, attests to that. She works with many of the city's smaller charities that deal directly with the poor and the homeless.
"I have donors that will give a $25,000 check to Lincoln Center, and they'll give us a thousand dollar check," Barrios-Paoli acknowledges. "You know, the big universities get a lot of the money, the big cultural centers get a lot of the money. And again, I'm not saying they shouldn't, but the reality is that we have the, we don't have access to the money, and we really need it."
All of this leads to the question, recently posed by The New York Times, whether all charities and non-profit organizations are equal.
Universities are considered non-profits and in some cases have billions in assets. For example, Harvard has $22 billion, and Yale's endowment is $12 billion.
Ivy League Criticism
Television personality Ben Stein, a Yale Law School graduate, met a lot of criticism when he first suggested universities with billions of dollars in assets were getting a disproportionate percentage in donor dollars.
"The generosity of individuals is much more meaningful to a local soup kitchen than it is to Yale," he said.
Yet all charities are created equal in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service. A donation to the museum featuring classic movies and television shows gets the same tax advantage as a donation to a soup kitchen in Harlem.
"If you're working with citizens in this country who are not eating tonight, to me, that's a much more worthwhile cause than people who like to hear a symphony," comments Stamp. As for this winter, he says, "I think it's going to be a very cold and very hungry winter for our most vulnerable citizens."
