Editorial: Charity with no end is not always good

Posted 9/28/18

Social media sites like Facebook and GoFundMe have done wonders for nonprofits and worthy causes around the world. They have also hurt them in ways that cannot be measured.

Anyone with a social …

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Editorial: Charity with no end is not always good

Posted

Social media sites like Facebook and GoFundMe have done wonders for nonprofits and worthy causes around the world. They have also hurt them in ways that cannot be measured.

Anyone with a social media account is familiar with the plethora of causes funneled through these sites.

Everyone has a “friend” sharing a worthy cause — a family provider who’s sick, a school short of funds, a couple who lost everything in a fire. The social networks have given voice and exposure to thousands of individuals and families who could never have achieved such publicity. Their woes are shared with the world, and the world responds.

Yet too frequently, the world’s response is not commensurate with the need. Simply put, people sometimes give too much.

It happened this month when people fought the injustices of “lunch shaming” in the Bristol Warren schools. This is a program where students receive a standard, no frills lunch once their school lunch debt gets too high. Activists say the “cold lunch” humiliates the child in front of his or her peers.

Last year, the unpaid bill for the entire school district was about $500. Nonetheless, donors raised $2,200 and counting in a matter of days, with much more expected. Community groups are rallying to the cause and promising more money.

The same has happened in other causes where there is no identified need. People see a tragedy, and they are moved to tears — and to donate. They give money to the cause, without any understanding of what it will be used for or why. Organizers set a modest goal to help the family, and within hours, the goal is surpassed four times over.

It has happened with causes small and large, worthy and questionable.

The generosity is astounding, and the grassroots, community aspects make everyone feel good.

But there are unintended victims.

Every time people over-donate to a cause, they take money from other very worthy causes.

Established nonprofits that cannot live without community generosity cringe as they see donations flow to the cause of the moment. They sit quietly on the outside, watching as the crowd donates freely and without restraint, surpassing the established “need.”

This phenomenon will not stop upon the publication of this message. It will flourish, as it should, with many wonderful benefits for many in our community. But as people feel the urge, or pressure, to follow the crowd, they should consider the ceiling for the cause. Every dollar given is also a dollar lost.

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Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.