Category Archives: Charity

Here’s what’s wrong with the Ice Bucket Challenge

Raising money for a worthy charity is a good thing. Raising awareness about a (currently) incurable disease that afflicts 30,000 people in the U.S. and many more worldwide, is a good thing. Encouraging people to think about the needs of others is a good thing. Doing all this using social blackmail that is guaranteed to… Read More: Here’s what’s wrong with the Ice Bucket Challenge »

What’s the Macular Degeneration Association up to nowadays?

In 2008, I wrote about the Macular Degeneration Association (MDA), a questionable charity whose actual mission seemed to be more about lining the pockets of its founder and his cronies than about supporting macular degeneration research or people suffering with the disease. The charity doesn’t look any better now than it did then. Here’s an… Read More: What’s the Macular Degeneration Association up to nowadays? »

Yad Sarah: Good work, bad fundraising

I periodically post about organizations which can’t handle one of these two simple requests: (1) don’t spam me; (2) don’t send me junk mail. If an organization is incapable of implementing effective policies and procedures to accommodate these two straightforward requests from donors, they are probably also incapable of implementing effective, efficient policies and procedures… Read More: Yad Sarah: Good work, bad fundraising »

American Foundation for the Blind (AFB): Lying, unrepentant spammers

My wife and I have supported literally hundreds of charitable organizations over the years.  I donate on-line whenever possible, which means that many of these organizations have my email address.  The vast majority of them are smart and reputable enough not to send me bulk email I didn’t agree to receive, or at worst to… Read More: American Foundation for the Blind (AFB): Lying, unrepentant spammers »