The Netherlands has too many charities
Tuesday 03 July 2012
The Netherlands has around 9,000 charities, many of which overlap, and the Dutch are being driven mad with all the appeals they receive, according to Theo van Loon, who runs a charity for the mentally handicapped.
Van Loon, whose organisation merged last year with a charity for the physically handicapped, says joining forces is the only way forward. There are considerable cost savings to be made in having one central office.
However, charities are loathe to combine resources on an emotional level, Van Loon told Trouw. 'Whether you collect money to fight cancer or for hungry Africans, it is about an ideal,' he said.
Competition
He also thinks charities see each other as competition and have difficulty in putting their books on the table for discussion.
The government should encourage mergers by rewarding charities, for instance with the cost of the merger, says Van Loon.
Mergers would also be an advantage to the public, as less money would go to overheads and more to the people in need, he told Trouw.
Would you like fewer charities and more of the money to go to good causes? Have your say on the comment form below.
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Definitley! Anyone can setup a charity and then by the time the director's salary's cars, and offices are paid for whats left to go to the cause? I'd like to see a % of whats given actually goes to the good cause.
By MC | 3 July 2012 10:12 AMIf the charity is for an international project, I give my money to international recognised organizations, there is no point in supporting local charities for international projects. They usually lack the skills and the network for making good use of the funds.
By joanna | 3 July 2012 2:51 PMI usually do not support any of charities which stops people on the street or send people door to door.I prefer to find flyers about an initiative and decide whether to donate or not.
I work in the non-profit sector and can say from firsthand experience there is a lot of borderline fraud going on.
Basically it works like this: You start a charity, give it a good name like 'Food for the Third World' or whatever popular cause, hire a fund-raising company (they work for a %), rent a nice office in Amsterdam or The Hague, hire your friends or college buddies, throw numerous social events to 'raise awareness', go to Africa a few times a year, take your picture with some kids, then hand a local politician a check. It's a great deal. You get to live the high life, socialize, travel, and everyone will praise you for your good work.
By TJN | 4 July 2012 10:33 AM