OzBargain 2013 EoFY Charity Donation - Vote for Charities!

scotty on 06/06/2013 - 13:36
Last edited 23/06/2013 - 21:43 by 1 other user

Post-Poll Update: Thanks to everyone who has participated! We now have the top 3 charities voted from our community members, and the donation will be distributed according to the votes they have got:

Charity Votes Donation
Fred Hollows Foundation 127 $5,902
Cancer Council 93 $4,322
Salvation Army 69 $3,206

I will be arranging the donation and post an update here once it's done.

Donation Update: Final amount — $13,430. Please use the poll to vote your favourite charity.

It's that time of the year again! We donated last year, and again just before Christmas. For the end of this financial year, OzBargain will again donate $10,000 to charities in Australia — and you guys are going to help us to decide which one to donate to. Do use last Christmas' list as a guide on which charities in Australia have minimum administrative cost, as we do prefer to give to those that put majority of donations to good causes.

However, there's more! For every unique commenter here (of published comments), I would be adding an extra $10 to the donation, until mid-night this Sunday 9th of June (or until my accountant calls in to cut this short :) So, if there are 100 people commenting in this thread, I'll be adding an extra $1,000 to the donation. Or an extra $2,500 if there are 250 people comment here (to the total of $12,500).

Do note that

  • Creating multiple accounts on OzBargain is against our terms and conditions, and might get your accounts banned.
  • Posting spam, personal attacks and trolling comments might get your comment removed (your account might be temporarily banned as well). Unpublished comments don't count towards the tally.

So,

  • DONE. Until Sunday 9 June, comment and suggest the charity that OzBargain should be donating to this year.
  • DONE. We'll finalise the amount (after counting the unique commenters), and then put up a poll for people to vote.
  • DONE. Voting will stop on 16 June. The top 3 charities will receive their portion of donation in proportion to the number of votes they get.
  • DONE OzBargain will then donate to these charity organisations the following week.

All clear?

Poll Options expired

  • 36
    Australian Prostate Cancer Research
  • 52
    Beyond Blue
  • 93
    Cancer Council
  • 127
    Fred Hollows Foundation
  • 9
    MS Australia
  • 29
    Medicins Sans Frontiers
  • 37
    RSPCA
  • 9
    Red Cross
  • 30
    Royal Flying Doctors
  • 69
    Salvation Army
  • 11
    Swags for Homeless
  • 7
    The Smith Family
Site Discussion

Comments

  • scotty on 06/06/2013 - 14:36
    +2

    I was sort of hoping there will be some discussions here, but not too keen when there are too many people joining in :P

    • onlyletters on 07/06/2013 - 19:49
      +1

      $10,000 smackos! I'd vote that you send it to Africa for the families that are actually dieing from hunger.

      • blighst on 10/06/2013 - 17:18
        -2

        The sad thing is that in many of the charities that appear to help Africa (ie World Vision), a lot of the money doesn't even leave Australia.

        • porkupine888 on 11/06/2013 - 11:41

          there has to be a correction towards this statement for those who haven't worked in or understand the core of these NFP operations.

          GENERALLY. what is supposed to happen is money make money. the mentality is that if they use $10 for advertising or hiring a fundraiser to parade on the streets, they should be able to recoup that $10 and get back $15-$20 (which at the end of the day is still worth their time).

          WHAT however is most aweful is that WHEN whatever gets exported. eg. there is an export of $1million (cash or food or materials), once it reaches its destination, the greedy locals who see an opportunity to make $$$ out or a "cut" for themselves, will take a huge 60% of whatever there is. THEN whats left is 30% towards a starving population which barely get a crumb at the end of the day.

          it's a vicious cycle as they are dependant or become dependant on such freebies and generosity. what is really of aid would be the schools the infrastructure and people actually helping there to make a difference to assist these people to learn about sexual education ( no point in breeding like rabbits if you can't feed your children is there?) and also bringing up core fundamental facilities to live in.

          aid such as food and $$$ are just temporary relief always.

        • cannedhams on 11/06/2013 - 14:45
          +2

          The problem is that the aid agencies are addicted to QuIPs (quick impact projects). They come, dig a well, hand out some mosquito nets, or perform vaccinations, and then they leave. They don't do anything that results in fundamental economic change.

          Compare that to China, which has been building some truly massive infrastructure projects in Africa. Sure, they are doing it out of their own interests, but the fact is that the infrastructure benefits the locals as well and the jobs and investment flowing from that has changed a lot of lives in Africa.

          Careerism in a lot of the NGOs has also become quite excessive.

        • [Deactivated] on 11/06/2013 - 17:30
          +1

          The sad thing blighst is that you are talking through your donkey. You can check the accounts for any bona fide charity to see where money goes and how much of their income is used for admin, fund raising etc. It's ludicrous to think that any charity won't have overheads but the better ones, such as World Vision, do everything they can to ensure costs are kept to a minimum - through volunteers, arrangements with service providers etc. http://www.charitynavigator.org/ is a good starting point for info about international charities.

  • No on 06/06/2013 - 15:03
    +27

    I'm going to suggest Royal Flying Doctors again.

    The nullarbor is probably heavily trafficked by Ozbargainers in desperate (but likely futile) attempts to find elusive Dick Smith clearance items. This is no place for ebay $9.99 first aid kits if you get into trouble.

    • justhooked on 07/06/2013 - 16:32

      My vote also for the RFD

      • MrLeE on 08/06/2013 - 13:32

        Same here. Great job Scotty

        • blighst on 10/06/2013 - 17:18

          Same

    • nothommus on 07/06/2013 - 17:54

      Ill second this.

    • romaau on 07/06/2013 - 23:21

      +1 P.S. Love what your doing Scotty

    • kelea on 08/06/2013 - 19:33

      RFDS gets my vote.

      Well done to OzB for doing this!

    • cvl on 08/06/2013 - 21:36

      +1 from me.

  • neil on 06/06/2013 - 15:04
    +10

    I'm going to defer to my suggestion last year:

    • The Salvation army allows you to sponsor children in a number of countries individually. It also allows us to send stuff to them as long as it is small (OzBargain t-shirt, random stuff bought through OzB, letters whatever). Malaysia seems like a good place to donate. There are quite a few Malaysians on OzBargain and we frequently have Air Asia deals to KL. 90% of donations go to the cause, 10% administration.
    • pyramid on 06/06/2013 - 15:40

      +1.

    • sama on 07/06/2013 - 17:23
      +4

      More than 80 cents in every dollar donated to the Salvation goes to directly to those in need. That's a pretty good rate too.

    • iratepirate on 07/06/2013 - 20:19
      +1

      Add me to the Salvos - they're my favorite militant christians…maybe has something to do with a salvos major that saved me from a flogging at the hands of the queensland police force back in the joh days

    • v1c on 08/06/2013 - 09:28

      Another vote for the Salvos!

    • Aureolus on 08/06/2013 - 23:03

      +1

    • BzL on 09/06/2013 - 05:48

      I agree. Salvos are amazing!!! Just joined ozbargain. This site is great! You are all great for sharing! I hope I can share something worthwhile soon too.

    • Charlatan on 09/06/2013 - 09:55
      +1

      I'll agree with this. As terrible as cancer and other conditions are, at least the people in our part of the world have a shot at doing something with their lives. I don't think we're entitled to complain that our lives may be cut short when lots of these people don't make it out of childhood or even past infancy.

    • blue_bug on 09/06/2013 - 13:00

      +1 from me too.

    • ReSublimity on 09/06/2013 - 14:03

      +1!

    • ModaMagic on 09/06/2013 - 14:22
      +1

      +1 to Slavos. They always get at least $10 from me everytime they come knocking on my door for donations. Everyone deserves the chance to live a better life.

    • french1e on 09/06/2013 - 17:34

      +1

    • Dalton on 09/06/2013 - 17:58
      +1

      +1 Salvos. Thanks ozbargain; you're doing a great job.

  • huntress_love on 06/06/2013 - 16:06
    +8

    RSPCA

    • meroveus on 08/06/2013 - 00:05

      Give generously. The animals need a voice!

    • taqi on 09/06/2013 - 11:35

      +1 From me. RSPCA needs all the help it can get.

    • Jarr0d on 09/06/2013 - 14:44

      RSPCA for me.

    • intergalactic on 09/06/2013 - 15:24

      Rspca is my vote.

    • twinbag on 10/06/2013 - 03:47
      +1

      Gets my vote, animals in need can't pay for themselves. Great work the RSPCA do.

    • LMN on 11/06/2013 - 11:47
      +1

      +1 from me. A great charity for the animals.

    • umoddbro on 12/06/2013 - 12:56

      +1

  • Helmuth on 06/06/2013 - 17:45
    +19

    Charities which alleviate suffering are good, but I prefer charities that try and solve the problem - e.g. medical research charities such as the Cancer Council or Heart Foundation. No disrespect to the women, but Breast Cancer gets all the press. How about Australian Prostate Cancer Research ? http://www.prostatecancerresearch.org.au/

    • issh on 06/06/2013 - 18:36
      +3

      +1 to this as well, just because finding a prevention is better than finding a cure(unless it is non-preventable)

      • deal88 on 07/06/2013 - 10:02
        -1

        Or as Julia Gillard's partner would support, research in to getting doctors with smaller fingers.
        http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-28/pm-gillard-partner-jok…

        But seriously, prostate cancer research is a great cause.

        • Macgyver on 07/06/2013 - 11:03
          +1

          I'd like to charities that research and solve medical problems(like the above) get some help from ozbargain.

        • k on 07/06/2013 - 17:01

          +1 to Cancer Council

    • Giraffe on 07/06/2013 - 11:38
      +1

      +1, I was going to suggest Cancer Council but I have no idea about the administrative cost percentage.

      • Lyssette on 07/06/2013 - 18:45
        +1

        Cancer research please. Lost a loved one to it.

    • Benesan on 07/06/2013 - 12:10
      +4

      Australian Prostate Cancer Research is something where great advances can be made, funding will help this happen.

    • zzyss on 07/06/2013 - 12:23
      +2

      This.

      +10 DOLLARS!

    • rjblakel on 07/06/2013 - 12:49

      +1

    • azndragon168 on 07/06/2013 - 17:23

      +1 for cancer council or any other cancer research organisation

      • blazed on 07/06/2013 - 22:26

        +1 for cancer council or any other cancer research organisation

    • scrimshaw on 07/06/2013 - 18:48

      You have my vote for the Cancer Council.

      …this sounds like LOTR.

      • johnno07 on 07/06/2013 - 21:16

        And you have my axe!
        Definitely +1 to Cancer Council from me.

    • pastrydemon on 08/06/2013 - 00:03
      +1

      my thoughts exactly! also, curing disease will benefit everyone, not just those who are receiving the money/assistance
      +1 for cancer council

    • winstonoftang on 08/06/2013 - 12:06

      +1

    • jimbojones on 08/06/2013 - 13:08

      +1 to prostate cancer research.

    • glumanda on 08/06/2013 - 20:22

      +1 to cancer council

    • mskram on 09/06/2013 - 18:46

      +1 cancer council

    • stig on 09/06/2013 - 21:36

      +1 for any cancer research.

    • Lenneth on 10/06/2013 - 14:55
      • for a cure.

      PS. I would have got in earlier but I didnt see this discussion until today. :(

  • jelko on 06/06/2013 - 18:44
    +46

    Fred Hollows Foundation. You can't put a price on sight. Being blinded by cataracts can affect a whole family if the breadwinner is affected. It's cheap ($25) and easy to get it fixed, but in 3rd world countries it's a barrier that many can't overcome. http://www.hollows.org.au/

    • No on 06/06/2013 - 22:12
      +6

      There was a 60 minutes piece on Fred Hollows. Total champ.. http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8240307

      • rekabkram on 07/06/2013 - 13:31
        +3

        +1 for The Fred Hollows Foundation.

        Here's a short little clip that explains who Fred is and some of the amazing things that he did.

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmSdt8uZ5qI

      • [Deactivated] on 09/06/2013 - 14:22

        +1 my good deed for the day!

    • moocher on 07/06/2013 - 09:29

      Yep, I was going to suggest them again this year :)

      • vipulrm on 07/06/2013 - 09:41
        +1

        +1 to this. It is appalling that people still suffer with something that is so easy to fix.

      • nickolanda on 07/06/2013 - 18:11

        +1

    • deal88 on 07/06/2013 - 10:04

      Great cause.

    • KBZ on 07/06/2013 - 10:45

      +1 as well.

    • siraitken on 07/06/2013 - 11:47

      +1 for me

    • pyramid on 07/06/2013 - 12:33

      I m with you jelko. Though i do not know much about this foundation, they are working for giving eyes and life to someone…

    • theguyrules on 07/06/2013 - 13:01

      This fets my vote too.

    • Dorka on 07/06/2013 - 13:36

      I'm gonna go with this one as well because they had an ad on appear on this page and ads always sway me.

    • ExPrinceHairy on 07/06/2013 - 14:10

      +1

    • Devils Advocate on 07/06/2013 - 14:53

      +1 Great cause

    • Ultraman on 07/06/2013 - 16:07

      +$10 Fred Hollows

    • Trance N Dance on 07/06/2013 - 16:55

      +1 to Freddy here.

    • xception on 07/06/2013 - 17:05
      +1

      Fred Hollows Foundation! Awesome charity being funded by an awesome service (ozbargain!)

    • Dbuiz on 07/06/2013 - 18:18

      +1 to this cause. Empowering those in need. Lots of worthy causes and a great sign of Scotty's generosity in setting this up.

      Good work guys!!

    • Member on 07/06/2013 - 18:30

      +1

    • Tink on 07/06/2013 - 18:52

      +1 Fred Hollows for their work with Aboriginal communities and developing countries. I like that they have a long-term focus (building clinics, training local health workers).

      Well done Scotty and OzBargain :)

    • battler on 07/06/2013 - 22:05

      +10

    • notout50 on 07/06/2013 - 22:19

      +1

    • CCDee on 08/06/2013 - 11:02

      +$10

    • itzinfinite on 08/06/2013 - 18:29

      +1 Agree ;)

      Great work, Scotty

    • JR63 on 08/06/2013 - 18:38

      Big fan of the Fred Hollows foundation, so that's where my vote goes.

      Great work Scotty and OzBargain!

    • friedsnowdays on 08/06/2013 - 20:03

      +1 everyone deserves the gift of sight

    • Kelalako on 09/06/2013 - 00:13

      gotta vote for this,

    • firedragon on 09/06/2013 - 08:37

      Definitely +1!

    • Agatha on 09/06/2013 - 11:07

      +1 Fred Hollows

    • B_S_D on 09/06/2013 - 11:48

      +1 for Fred Hollows

    • jzdhgkd on 09/06/2013 - 14:32

      My money's on the Fred Hollows too =)

    • toomuchdogfur on 09/06/2013 - 16:24

      My vote here!

    • woer on 09/06/2013 - 19:16

      +1 for a good cause!

    • anwen1286 on 09/06/2013 - 19:19

      I vote for Fred Hollows too. The gift of sight can truly change lives!

    • phamid on 09/06/2013 - 22:30

      +1 for FHF!

    • iChopstick on 10/06/2013 - 08:58

      +1

    • brilliances on 11/06/2013 - 02:31

      +$10!

    • mrmarkau67 on 12/06/2013 - 02:14

      Yup, Fred Hollows

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