Breast cancer charity collection.

[retropants]

oops!

[Myrkk]

We had the same when my Gran died. A lot of her stuff was still in its original wrappers and they didn’t want it. Went to a less well known one and they were happy to have it.

We took a nice wooden tv stand to a charity shop and they didn’t want it because one tiny handle was missing, we went and bought new handles, then they took it. A few weeks later we got a letter saying they’d sold it for £145. Hilarious as we’d put it up on gumtree for £20 and no-one wanted it.

I think some of the charities are fairly well off nowadays and feel they can be fussy. I looked up the finances of one that is always on tv and is close to a lot of peoples hearts. Pre-CV19 £70k in the bank approx (can’t remember exact amounts), post covid £2.5mill. It now makes me cross when I see their adverts on tv as there are many smaller, equally as deserving charities that could do with a fraction of that.

[Westi]

Probs selling the donations directly overseas to get that sort of boost in income! It needs to be regulated like any other business. The food bank we donated our excess veg to has now opened a bit more of the old church they operate from, which originally started for school uniforms, but will now accept any decent clothing which is given to those registered there requiring support, but it is still mainly children's except early winter when adult coats are requested.

[Stravaig]

Westi, what is "decent clothing"? Jumpers that don't swear, pants that don't smell? Crotchless knickers? I'm not sure if I have any decent clothing.

[Geoff]

I'm very dubious of the whole so called charity sector. I feel a lot of them are just middle class job creation schemes with permanent staff being subsidised by volunteers. If the new government wants to spend more without raising taxes this could be somewhere to investigate. I think they are already looking at the way private schools avoid taxation through charity structures. An organisation shouldn't be considered a charity unless more than a certain (high) proportion of its income is used in a beneficial way.

[Myrkk]

I really like the idea of social enterprises Geoff, at least as far as my limited understanding of them goes. But like anything it can be abused.

It all really frustrates me, I’ll keep schtoom as I seem to be quite attached to my soap box at the moment lol… is this the start of grumpy old womanhood?

[Westi]

That is a valid point Geoff. They don't even share how their money is spent & tbh some of their shops are kitted out like department stores not a charity shop, so how much did that fit out cost? I suppose if you had a few hours to spare you could probably find their financial reports online somewhere. Not all mind hide their achievements; we have a hospice shop who is transparent that puts a wee sign in the window that states what this particular shop raised & where it went or is going.