The Role Of Public Charities

By Charles Anderson


Every year, millions of people help the disadvantaged. There are organizations that help the poor with food and housing, that seek to raise public awareness about an environmental threat, or that rescue animals. Today there are both public charities and private ones.

An organization that promotes the common good without asking for payment is known as a charity. The earliest one was the Foundling Hospital started by a compassionate aristocrat in London in 1741 to provide shelter, food, and a better future for abandoned children who were existing on the streets. Shortly afterwards another wealthy philanthropist founded the Magdalen Hospital, where girls for whom prostitution was the only means of support could be given other options.

Some, like the Foundling Hospital begun in 1741 in London or the Magdalen Hospital founded a few years later, sought to keep helpless children off the streets and educate them for a better life. Others gave plots of land to the poor, which allowed them to grow food for themselves. This 'teach a man to fish' approach was a practical way to offer help.

Today there are educational non-profits, ones that provide food, clean water, and shelter to the poor, others that hope to save endangered species or environmental treasures, and others that work with the homeless. The classification of 'public' or 'private' is dependent on tax codes and civic regulations. These will differ in every nation, as charities abound around the globe.

In the United States, a publicly presented charity is one that has many donors and is actively and directly engaged in furthering its mission. Private ones are foundations that are funded by one individual, corporation, or other donor. For example, industrialists like Andrew Carnegie funded public libraries, founded children's homes, built hospitals and universities, and did other good works with their money.

All the money that a public charity requires does not necessarily come from citizens. The government provides funding for many of them, and they can qualify for grants from private groups. There is some fraud, greed, and mismanagement among the many entities that solicit support, but the majority of these groups do a great deal of good.

People who would like to make sure their gifts are used wisely can check the rating of charities they are interested in. There are organizations (non-profits themselves) which evaluate other organizations. They give high marks to those with low administrative costs, effective use of funds to accomplish their missions, and visible benefits.

A charity may work in a certain area, like the Appalachian Mountains where many live in poverty or among the Native American tribes. Others are international, like Feed The Poor or the World Wildlife Association. Some are targeted to certain segments of the population, like those that provide scholarships, while others, like the Salvation Army, serve all who are in need. Some have political clout, while others work in obscurity.




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