|
|
|
|
sonnylax
Member
|
|
|
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Posts: 2942
Location: Living in a lollipop and unicorn world
|
| Back to top
|
|
 Posted: 12/26/05 - 17:03 Post subject: Overheads take up to 1/3 of tsunami funds
Wonder how much UN overhead money could have been diverted to the actual victims?
| Quote: | Overheads take up to 1/3 of tsunami funds
NEW YORK, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Up to about a third of the $590 million U.N. fund spent for the Indian Ocean tsunami relief may have gone to pay for overhead.
The Financial Times says its two-month investigation showed the money appears to have been spent on administration, staff and related costs. The $590 million was part of the United Nation's $1.1 billion disaster flash appeal.
The newspaper also found several U.N. agencies continue to refuse to disclose details of their relief expenditure in spite of earlier pledges of transparency by senior officials.
The flash appeal covered the money donated by governments to the world body in the first weeks after the disaster to fund the early aid work, the Times reported.
The newspaper said details of that appeal it obtained from U.N. agencies such as the World Health Organization and the World Food Program showed 18 percent to 32 percent of the expenditure related to staff, administration and other costs.
Some agencies say non-profit aid organizations should claim no more than 10 percent of project funds for administration costs, the report said.
|
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051223-010515-8477r
|
|
|
|
|
Gogirlgo
Member
|
|
|
Joined: 25 Jul 2002
Posts: 4777
Location: No deal, stalker.
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 12/29/05 - 10:39 Post subject:
We could ask the same question of FEMA or the Red Cross, and yet we never do.
I would say 10% is a little low, it depends on the organization and cost of mission. If it's raising money for an ongoing cause and doesn't require things like emergency medicine or int'l flights, maybe 10 is close. But as costs get higher, that percentage has to increase.
|
|
|
|
|
runaroundsue
Member
|
|
|
Joined: 18 Sep 2002
Posts: 6629
Location: supporting GREENer pastures
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 12/29/05 - 19:24 Post subject:
| Gogirlgo wrote: | We could ask the same question of FEMA or the Red Cross, and yet we never do.
I would say 10% is a little low, it depends on the organization and cost of mission. If it's raising money for an ongoing cause and doesn't require things like emergency medicine or int'l flights, maybe 10 is close. But as costs get higher, that percentage has to increase. |
I thought there was some numbers on Red Cross awhile back. I could be wrong and maybe it was just salaries. I just remember not.being.happy with them.
|
|
|
|
|
blue
your favorite weapon
|
|
|
Joined: 21 May 2002
Posts: 7010
Location: armed and ambitious
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/17/06 - 14:48 Post subject:
i have issues with certain large charitable organizations.
i'd just as soon give $40 to a homeless guy on the street.100% in his pocket.
|
|
|
|
|
kristin31
Member
|
|
|
Joined: 15 May 2002
Posts: 8045
Location: Caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/17/06 - 16:53 Post subject:
That is a shame. One of the main reasons I despise the United Way is because of their overhead, which they state is in lower than 12%, but I have a hard time buying this. I think that it is much higher. More people would be willing to give to responsible and reputable charities (IMO) if they knew that their dollars were actually reaching the people that they are trying to help, rather than an overpaid administrative staff.
|
|
|
|
|
sonnylax
Member
|
|
|
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Posts: 2942
Location: Living in a lollipop and unicorn world
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/18/06 - 10:33 Post subject:
| blue wrote: | | i'd just as soon give $40 to a homeless guy on the street.100% in his pocket. |
So he can use it for drugs or alcohol? That's not a productive way to spend your money.
|
|
|
|
|
crazyfrog
Kermitologist
|
|
|
Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 7610
Location: atlanta
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/18/06 - 12:02 Post subject:
| sonnylax wrote: | | blue wrote: | | i'd just as soon give $40 to a homeless guy on the street.100% in his pocket. |
So he can use it for drugs or alcohol? That's not a productive way to spend your money. |
not all homeless people are druggies or alcoholics.
|
|
|
|
|
runaroundsue
Member
|
|
|
Joined: 18 Sep 2002
Posts: 6629
Location: supporting GREENer pastures
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/18/06 - 15:01 Post subject:
| sonnylax wrote: | | blue wrote: | | i'd just as soon give $40 to a homeless guy on the street.100% in his pocket. |
So he can use it for drugs or alcohol? That's not a productive way to spend your money. |
that's a discussion in itself. $40 might make that person feel lucky that day regardless of what he did with it. Maybe important enough to feel that someone cared enough to notice you because they "wanted to" rather than they are "paid to" notice you. Did the FEMA card have "strings attached"? I'm with Blue, the $40 is better, no matter if the guy spends it on something to "get him through the day" our agencies spend more with the same results and that homeless guy probably didn't feel that he was entitled to the $40.
|
|
|
|
|
blue
your favorite weapon
|
|
|
Joined: 21 May 2002
Posts: 7010
Location: armed and ambitious
|
| Back to top
|
|
Posted: 01/20/06 - 11:15 Post subject:
| sonnylax wrote: | | blue wrote: | | i'd just as soon give $40 to a homeless guy on the street.100% in his pocket. |
So he can use it for drugs or alcohol? That's not a productive way to spend your money. |
or maybe he buys food. who knows, but if a guy is down and out, i'd like to do something to help.
i gave a kid on the bus $40 to help him get busfare up north - i may have be taken (he'd be a convincing con)... he smelt bed, and had tears welling up as he was doing everything he could to ask for some money, without asking.
hopefully i helped him out... and if he used it for something else... well, i tried.
what i won't stand for is the one fellow that stands on the corner everyday in the summer - and makes decent coin tax-free. he would come in sometimes and exchange his coin for bills - and order food (if your poor and down and out, why are you spending $8 on soup and sandwhich - when you could go get three tins of soup and a loaf of bread for the same price??). that man has made more then enough money to buy a cheap suit, get cleaned up, and spend a few days looking for a job.
...as students we often wondered what we would get if we stood out on the curb with a sign that said "full time student - needs money". the only thing that stopped us was we didn't want to land up on the front of the newspaper.
|
|
|
|
