Cashier: “Would you like to round up your amount so that we, a company making billions in profits, can get the tax break and good will of donating your change to a charity?”
And there’s no way to know if they’re even donating the change.
I think a lot of lawyers make their living in that gap between "we moved someone else's money" and "we took someone's money and agreed to spend it a certain way"
Fuck Komen, but awareness does matter. When you aren't close to a cure, working towards the cure is important, but prevention and early detection are the most effective tools to fight cancer, and those require awareness.
I had one of those groups come though my town this year. Wasn't Kommen, but a different one. They were stopped in parking lot at a grocery store. I went up to chit-chat with them a little. One of them said they were doing a march to the capitol to raise awareness of child abuse.
Anyway, I got a good look at their vehicles and they had two giant buses with custom wraps. They also had two brand new identical BMW's with custom wraps. I was just thinking to myself, that's a lot of money. Money that could have been used to help victims instead of a dozen or so people's jaunt. I found the whole thing super sus.
I've always thought similarly, but you also have to remember that if they can use that $1M of vehicles to get more than $1M in donations, it's a net win. get $2M and you broke even, any more than that and you're getting more than you would have had if you just plunked down the $1M on research or whatever instead of investing it.
Doesn't mean they should be squandering it on BMWs though.
Only as long as the people who donated that second million weren't going to do anything good with it. Lots of charity advertising seems to be competing with other charities for the same donation budget, rather than increasing the size of the pie.
Can you actually name a celebrity who did a promotion deal for a charity and didn't donate any of their own money? Or is this just a hypothetical villain?
Generally these celebrities will promise to match fan donations. Either on a 1:1 basis, or some other ratio “for every dollar you donate, I’ll donate two” or “I’ll pledge ten dollars for every 20 we raise…”.
Sure some shitty Celebs don’t donate at all and expect their fans to cough up, but any decent celeb knows that their influence can be used for the common good, and their own donation can be doubled or tripled or more, just by making their pledge public.
It’s shallow and cynical to assume that every celebrity-endorsed charity is a scam. Sure many bad eggs exist (cough trump foundation cough), but many more are legit. There are services who rate charities for their legitimacy.
More like pressuring 1,000,000 of your friends to give away their Mars bars. Collectively, they can do more good than you giving away your whole hoard.
I dont think its the celebrities hoards that are the problem, though. Those tend to be a drop in the bucket compared to the actual capitalists.
Not saying that there isnt occasional crossover, but just being well known doesn't make you a billionaire, and they often work longer and harder than most billionaires.
Some international celebs are really rich, but most celebrities in my home country have an income around the median income or up to 10x the median income. Nowhere near the 1000x income of a regular person.
43 Comments
Nusm@peachpie.theatl.social · 56 pts · 45d
Also -
Cashier: “Would you like to round up your amount so that we, a company making billions in profits, can get the tax break and good will of donating your change to a charity?”
And there’s no way to know if they’re even donating the change.
red_bull_of_juarez@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 18 pts · 45d
Isn't that thing with the tax break a myth? Because they're only collecting money and don't spend their own, they can't claim it as an expense.
ceenote@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 45d
I think a lot of lawyers make their living in that gap between "we moved someone else's money" and "we took someone's money and agreed to spend it a certain way"
AmbitiousProcess@piefed.social · 3 pts · 45d
Yeah, as far as I know it's not legal (in the U.S. at least) to claim that money as your own donation as a company.
Doom@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 45d
It's true. In case anyone doubts.
https://checkyourfact.com/2021/12/09/fact-check-customer-charity-tax-deductions/
https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-000329849244
Now whether the charities being donated to are "good" ones is an entirely different conversation.
givesomefucks@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 45d
Waaaaaay too many people got brainwashed during the Susan G Kommen walks and now think "raising awareness" matters more than actually helping...
The vast majority of the time it's a grift
chiliedogg@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 45d
Fuck Komen, but awareness does matter. When you aren't close to a cure, working towards the cure is important, but prevention and early detection are the most effective tools to fight cancer, and those require awareness.
DocMcStuffin@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 45d
I had one of those groups come though my town this year. Wasn't Kommen, but a different one. They were stopped in parking lot at a grocery store. I went up to chit-chat with them a little. One of them said they were doing a march to the capitol to raise awareness of child abuse.
Anyway, I got a good look at their vehicles and they had two giant buses with custom wraps. They also had two brand new identical BMW's with custom wraps. I was just thinking to myself, that's a lot of money. Money that could have been used to help victims instead of a dozen or so people's jaunt. I found the whole thing super sus.
ellieficent@reddthat.com · 2 pts · 45d
I've always thought similarly, but you also have to remember that if they can use that $1M of vehicles to get more than $1M in donations, it's a net win. get $2M and you broke even, any more than that and you're getting more than you would have had if you just plunked down the $1M on research or whatever instead of investing it.
Doesn't mean they should be squandering it on BMWs though.
jdr@lemmy.ml · 8 pts · 45d
Only as long as the people who donated that second million weren't going to do anything good with it. Lots of charity advertising seems to be competing with other charities for the same donation budget, rather than increasing the size of the pie.
MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz · 4 pts · 45d
People who think awareness helps: "I know about this problem now" immediately stops thinking about it
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 45d
Can you elaborate? Was there some sort of scandal?
givesomefucks@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 45d
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_G._Komen#Controversy_and_criticism
gedaliyah@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 45d
Heaven forbid that someone with a large influence use it raise money for sick kids instead of a beer company.
Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 45d
The money they collect: goes to friends who manage the gala.
Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 45d
The celeb can't ask other people for money while having lots of money ready to donate themselves.
gedaliyah@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 45d
Can you actually name a celebrity who did a promotion deal for a charity and didn't donate any of their own money? Or is this just a hypothetical villain?
Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com · -1 pts · 45d
I don't follow the celebrity world so I couldn't say
FishFace@piefed.social · 4 pts · 45d
"can't"?
OhStopYellingAtMe@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 44d
Generally these celebrities will promise to match fan donations. Either on a 1:1 basis, or some other ratio “for every dollar you donate, I’ll donate two” or “I’ll pledge ten dollars for every 20 we raise…”.
Sure some shitty Celebs don’t donate at all and expect their fans to cough up, but any decent celeb knows that their influence can be used for the common good, and their own donation can be doubled or tripled or more, just by making their pledge public.
It’s shallow and cynical to assume that every celebrity-endorsed charity is a scam. Sure many bad eggs exist (cough trump foundation cough), but many more are legit. There are services who rate charities for their legitimacy.
Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 44d
Do you have any examples? Just curious
Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 44d
Heaven forbid they use their own money.
Zephyr@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 45d
No one has to do anything. Anyone donating their time and/or money to a worthwhile cause and charity is a champion in my book.
PlaidBaron@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 45d
Who tf keeps Mars Bars in a fucking fridge?
Soup@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 45d
You should really start, cold chocolate and chewier taffy really is pretty awesome.
PlaidBaron@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 45d
You should be commited.
lobut@lemmy.ca · 8 pts · 45d
They're quite commited to cold chocolate! 😁
Soup@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 45d
Have you tried it yet? Or does the concept of cold chocolate scare you?
PlaidBaron@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 45d
Cold chocolate is fine. Cold Mars Bars are not.
man_wtfhappenedtoyou@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 45d
You'll really hate me then; I like to put my Reese's cups in the freezer.
Soup@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 45d
Have you tried one yet?
PlaidBaron@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 45d
No. And I will not.
Soup@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 45d
Unfortunate for you.
hakunawazo@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 45d
I used to freeze Snickers bars. It was a nice sensation chewing through them and frozen they were less overly sweet.
bizzle@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 44d
I just put a milky way in the freezer at work really looking forward to it
toxicbubble@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 45d
i put Oreos in my freezer
PlaidBaron@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 45d
Thanks, I hate it.
starik@lemmy.today · 8 pts · 45d
More like pressuring 1,000,000 of your friends to give away their Mars bars. Collectively, they can do more good than you giving away your whole hoard.
Nonconfrontational@lemmy.ml · 17 pts · 45d
Maybe if all the hoarders were forced not to hoard, we wouldn't need to give away our mars bars, because everyone would already have 5.
Zorque@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 45d
I dont think its the celebrities hoards that are the problem, though. Those tend to be a drop in the bucket compared to the actual capitalists.
Not saying that there isnt occasional crossover, but just being well known doesn't make you a billionaire, and they often work longer and harder than most billionaires.
Nonconfrontational@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 45d
I mean it's a simplified analogy for inequality, but yeah, yes.
jack_of_sandwich@lemmy.sdf.org · 5 pts · 45d
Then they share their lifestyle on tiktok for likes
gray@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 45d
Some international celebs are really rich, but most celebrities in my home country have an income around the median income or up to 10x the median income. Nowhere near the 1000x income of a regular person.
Billionaires on the other hand...