I met a donor a few days ago, who was running fundraisers for the first time. One of her plans is to buy school shoes for underprivileged children, so they have brand new shoes when they head back to school in 2013. That's a great idea, I thought. Donating items to fit the needs of these children that need our support. This helps shed the notion that homes, orphanages, senior citizen's residences and animal shelters are suitable places for dumping our used items, i.e damaged or dirty items. These communities need support, not pity and not to be treated as undeserving of clean, usable and new items.
We talked a bit more and she raised an issue. Do homes have the right to demand? She had encountered one such institution who made specific demands, or maybe requests for many, many items, with specifications to install, set up and construct the contributions at the shelter. Can home administrators ask for unlimited supply? If donors are uncomfortable with these requests, should they speak up?
Where do you draw the line?
It is better if NGOs tell us of their specific needs. I hv known of donors treating NGOs as dumping grounds for their old unuseable, unwanted stuff.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it better to donate something that is needed by them than giving them stuff that would end up as white elephants in the centres.