Questions about charity ads and wintertime generosity

Having discovered I don’t find the cold weather as exhilarating as I once did, I’m currently watching a little more TV than I normally do. So along with my old dislike of musical health cures, I’m beginning to wonder about all the long commercials asking for money for various “charitable” organizations.

The one, of course, that brings me closest to donating, is the poor dogs who have no homes, are mistreated and dying. The animal lover in me will not keep the tears back when I look at those forlorn beings. I cannot bear the thought of a mistreated animal, because, smart as they are, they do not understand why they are treated badly, why they are starving etc.

Still, I wonder how much of the money donated actually goes to saving animals. Anne Paddock of the Paddock Post, an informational organization that focuses on nonprofits, said reports from 2023 showed the organization raised $379 million and spent more than half of it on staff, office-related expenses, travel and conferences. Sixty-one million dollars was spent on advertising and promotion, with $16 million on veterinary medical services and operating supplies. President Matt Bershadker received a salary of $1,203,267.

I have no idea what the president of the SPCA does, but it seems like the amount of the salary should be commensurate with the amount of work. There must be an awful lot of work. It seems like a better idea for contributing would be to support the animal shelters in our own area. We could probably just come right out and ask how much they spend on the animals.

I would hate to think that the organizations like Shriners who are asking for money for childcare, are spending the majority of it on salaries. Then I wonder why each of those organizations will send you a blanket or little stuffed dog, or T-shirt so you can prove you donated to them. I wonder how much more they would have if they didn’t give gifts back. Shouldn’t giving be the gift itself?

Speaking of gifts, some of the nice things that have come out of our recent snow storm are the many stories of people helping people. I can’t begin to tell you how many have said, “Our kind neighbor, or friend, just showed up and plowed us out.” There seem to be a large number of kind and generous people in the area.

The snow was fun for two days, but the cold, not-so. It has been a good time to catch up with reading, start new projects and do a little deep cleaning. I’m already hunkering down with seed catalogs, garden dreams and planning to paint the patio. I guess I’m ready for spring.