The Chesed Fund - no more verified stamp?

imorethanamother

Tue, Aug 30 2022, 7:33 pm

I haven't donated to The Chesed Fund for a while. It used to be that they had a verified stamp of approval on specific causes. Now, I can't find them on any. It just lists the word verified in their description, but I don't know who's verifying.

Can we be honest? There's a lot of lying, and I don't want to donate to some random dude in a basement. I want to donate to a specific type of cause, and I want to make sure it gets to where it needs to go.

Anyone know extremely trustworthy causes that help orphans brides that don't give most of their proceeds to the director/secretary/treasurer/50 random people on staff?

Cheiny

Tue, Aug 30 2022, 7:47 pm

imorethanamother wrote:

There’s no need to besmirch any chesed organizations. It happens to be that I just read about a very well know gadol years ago (sorry, can’t remember who it was) who told a wealthy donor who handed money directly to the gadol rather than to an organization, (because he “didn’t want any of his money to go to the collector or worker,”) that he was refusing his donation because the Jews who were working for the organization deserved a parnassa also, and without them, the organization wouldn’t be getting funds.

So you might want to rethink your position.

imorethanamother

Tue, Aug 30 2022, 8:01 pm

Cheiny wrote:

Well. You’re right. But I happen to see some tax forms by some well known organizations and their reimbursements for the people at the top is a lot.

I’ll rephrase. I’d like to donate to an fund that is helping a particular person, and that person will see 92% of the money donated.

Last edited by imorethanamother on Tue, Aug 30 2022, 8:04 pm; edited 1 time in total

gr82no

Tue, Aug 30 2022, 8:07 pm

imorethanamother wrote:

Anyone know extremely trustworthy causes that help orphans brides that don't give most of their proceeds to the director/secretary/treasurer/50 random people on staff?

Ik kscvk is a really good organization, there is very little staff and I heard they don’t take any money. It’s not specifically for orphans but they do help orphans.

Ten yad is also a great organization

SYA

Tue, Aug 30 2022, 8:15 pm

gr82no wrote:

Kscvk - Keren simchas chosson vekallah and ten had help both orphans and families who are struggling to make a wedding.
I know several families who were helped.

imorethanamother

Tue, Aug 30 2022, 8:18 pm

Cheiny wrote:

Also, sorry, I wanted to add that it’s not the tzedakah per se. It was that famous story about RW that had a terrible shalom bayis issue and there was a lot of crowdfunding, and then it turns out that her brother had pocketed the whole thing and she didn’t get any of it. I never forgot that, and started wondering how to make sure someone else doesn’t benefit off of a tragedy.

scintilla

Tue, Aug 30 2022, 10:26 pm

SYA wrote:

Kscvk - Keren simchas chosson vekallah and ten had help both orphans and families who are struggling to make a wedding.
I know several families who were helped.

I second this! Was personally helped by both, I know they're both amazing and for sure KSCVK the founder doesn't take a cent from the organization even though she spends most of her time on it.

Roots

Wed, Aug 31 2022, 1:11 pm

I personally stopped giving to organizations almost completely
I now mainly give 3 families I know well all who need it
iim sure you know ppl like that as well. reach out to them straight I think its like aniyey ircha kodmim, I cant stand the thought that my money is going on advertisements or money for the big bosses etc

Plonis

Wed, Aug 31 2022, 2:06 pm

Roots wrote:

I generally do the same, but to point out the other side of the coin, there are many who will not be able to collect on their own or will be too embarrassed to accept from an individual.

There are some organizations where the fundraising cost is extreme, but in some of those cases it results in more money going for tzedakah. Compare an organization making a small dinner which brings in $100,000 for tzedakah at a $10,000 cost, vs. an organization spending $200,000 on a larger dinner - but bringing in over a million. Is the $200,000 justified?

I.e. is it better to keep fundraising cost proportions low, or to maximize dollars available to distribute? Obviously it's a balance, but where do we let the pendulum swing?

Organizations like KSCVK are unique, and tend to depend fully on the capacity and energy level of the founder and an incredible spouse who can fully support the family. It simply can't be replicated for larger or more complex organizations.

PinkFridge

Wed, Aug 31 2022, 3:46 pm

I only go to The Chesed Fund when directed there by an email, knowledge of a particular story, etc. So I assume that if this was the fundraising platform chosen it's secure and donations go where they're supposed to.

sequoia

Wed, Aug 31 2022, 3:49 pm

PinkFridge wrote:

They do

*waves*