October 17, 2019, 03:17 PM
fpuhanWhere Does "Doctors Without Borders" Get Its Funding?
According to the organization, about 89 percent of its funding comes from 5.7 million donors worldwide. The rest comes from "governments and international organizations."
I just returned from a vacation trip to Vienna, Austria, and DWB had a major display set up in one of the city's parks. Tents, signage, pamphlets, etc. OK, it's a major European city, sympathetic to the cause, and it's, well, Europe.
But then shortly after I returned home, I received a letter soliciting a donation. It was a big, fat envelope, like most begging letters go. Why did I get it? I've never donated before, and other than my church, a museum I have an interest in, Hillsdale College, and the Wounded Warrior Project, I am not a known donor. That makes me think DWB has gone on a major fundraising campaign.
So, who's given them a hefty chunk of change? I respect the overall intention of the organization, but I'm a little leery of them trying to build a political base. Maybe I'm just too suspicious?
October 17, 2019, 03:26 PM
12131quote:
But then shortly after I returned home, I received a letter soliciting a donation. It was a big, fat envelope, like most begging letters go. Why did I get it? I've never donated before,
Your phone knows where you've been.
October 17, 2019, 03:29 PM
GaryBFI get solicitations from them frequently. They likely got my name from another charity that I do support. I have never donated to DWB.
October 17, 2019, 03:31 PM
dusty3030I got one too. It had one of those cheepy reusable tote bag type things in it with their name on it.
I have never donated to them either.
October 17, 2019, 03:45 PM
sigfreundI donate to MSF and get solicitations from charities I’ve never donated to, never heard of, and wouldn’t donate to if I had.
I suspect mailing lists get shared.
As for DWB/MSF, I don’t agree with all of their social/political positions, but that’s true of the NRA or any other organization I can imagine. When I did write a letter objecting to one of their missions that I thought was an unnecessary use of donors’ money (like mine), at least I received a personal reply—not something I could probably say about most charities.
October 17, 2019, 04:38 PM
cyberiadI have donated to MSF and a select number of other charities. I assume all of them sell or provide their mailing lists to other charities. That's fine with me because (1) few if any of them call me which I don't like and (2) I toss envelopes from charities I don't want to donate to unopened in the recycling bin and forget about it.
October 17, 2019, 05:28 PM
MikeinNCThey all sell their lists to each other...
I donate to Shriners Hospitals because they helped my brother when he was little.
Mrs Mike donates to St.Jude.
October 17, 2019, 05:40 PM
Sig2340I give to the
CIA Memorial Foundation. They never release donor addresses.
I tried giving to the NSA Memorial Foundation, but they don't admit they exist, never release their address, and sent an armed team in a black helicopter to interrorize me. It worked, starting when they shot my mouse.