Here’s a good rule of thumb for determining whether something is a charitable act: if you have to steal money to do it, and you’re not Robin Hood, it’s probably not gonna count as a good deed.
charities
Will Ferrell Introduces Sunscreen For Men
By 6.3.09
Okay, maybe it’s not just for men, but you can’t help but feel studly when you look at the labels for these bottles of 30 SPF sunscreen. And yes, it’s real; apparently Ferrell is pulling a Paul Newman and selling Completely Random Products for charity. In this case, the proceeds go to a scholarship fund for cancer survivors.
Don't Buy Your Magazines From Door-To-Door Salesmen This Summer
By 5.5.09
A couple of years ago, the New York Times did a piece on the poor treatment of teens hired to travel the country and sell magazine subscriptions door-to-door, but they’re not the only ones getting the raw end of the deal.
Here Are Some Of The Companies Behind The Car Warranty Robocalls
By 4.29.09
Verizon continues its recent campaign of turning robocallers into charitable contributions, this time by settling a lawsuit against two of the companies behind those awful car warranty calls. Last time it was for $25,000; this time it’s for $50,000, all of which is being donated to the Joyful Heart Foundation, which Wireless Week describes as “a nonprofit devoted to empowering survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.”
Personal Finance Roundup
By 12.18.08
Our weekly roundup of the best personal finance news. Inside: Good charity-dar, scam detection, snow-removal tactics, rebuild your 401k, and warnings about store credit-cards.
Holiday Scams: Research Charities Before Handing Over Your Cash
By 11.24.08
This is the time of year when scammers try to weasel nice people out of their cash by pretending to represent a charity. Don’t fall for it! When considering giving to a charity, take some time to do a little research. Here are few websites that will help you find a legit charity that will use your money for good — rather than evil. Or iPods.
By 10.7.08
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“If Radiohead can do it, so can we,” writes GOOD on their subscription page. They’ve temporarily changed their subscription model from $20 annually to pay-what-you-can, as long as it’s at least one dollar. If you’re on a restricted budget but want the hard copy version of GOOD, here’s your chance. [GOOD]
Nashville Electric Service Donates To Charity With Customers' Money, But Not Their Permission
By 10.6.08
Nashville Electric Service (NES) decided it would be a good idea to round up each customer’s bill to the nearest dollar, then take that extra change to donate to charity. It’s a great idea, and since the total amount donated per year can’t exceed $11.88, it’s not a hardship on most people. But there are a few problems. First, NES chooses the charities, if that matters to you. What’s more troublesome is that NES plans to opt-in every customer when the program begins on January 2009 without asking for explicit permission—if you pay your electricity bill through NES, you’ll donate to their charities next year, thank you very much.
Flipswap Cell Phone Buyback Doesn't Work As Advertised
By 9.16.08
A Consumerist reader tried to trade in some old cellphones via Flipswap, and it did not go well. Actually, it pretty much didn’t go at all—he may as well have dropped them off at a Goodwill.
Woman Donates Cellphone To Charity, But It Ends Up On Ebay With Personal Info Intact
By 9.15.08
People! Always wipe your cell phone before you sell it, give it away, or trade it in. Do not assume or expect that someone else will do this for you! This was just one of the mistakes that led to Rachel Swanson being called by strangers several weeks after she thought she donated her old phone to charity. But the store that handled the donation, and the company responsible for actually processing the donated phones, screwed up their parts, too. Here’s how it was supposed to have work, and what you should always do before donating your phone to any organization.
Former Theater Employee Confirms: There Are Better Ways To Donate Than Via Usher
By 6.10.08
At the last place I worked, we unfortunately encouraged ushers to do whatever they could to get as much money as they could. Why? Because the theaters that collect the most get special bonuses, or some other sort of incentives (I forget what exactly). So, some of our staff became quite aggressive with the customers in asking for their coin. They’d make remarks behind the backs of people who didn’t give, for instance, or otherwise attempt to make non-givers feel guilty in some way.
Regal Cinemas: Can You Ask Your Ushers To Stop Panhandling?
By 6.4.08
Everyone likes to help the less fortunate—at least, that’s what we’re going to go with publicly for the sake of this argument. That said, is it really appropriate to be asked to pony up donation money when you’re sitting in a theater waiting for your movie to begin? You’ve already paid more than you probably wanted to for the tickets, not to mention any refreshments—shouldn’t that ticket price also include an implied guarantee that you won’t be asked to tithe?
How To Say No To Charities
By 5.19.08
Trent at The Simple Dollar blog has a post about how to say no, especially to charitable requests. One of his readers describes the problem:
(Product) Red Responds To Dell Pricing Controversy
By 1.28.08
Responding to a Dell pricing controversy that boiled over last week, a spokesperson for (Product) Red, an initiative whereby company color some of their products red and donate a portion of the profits to an AIDS fighting charity, left a comment on our blog to try dispel some of the confusion they felt had arisen over the issue. At stake was a computer Dell sells for $1,299 that you can get in the (Product) Red version for $1,599, with $80 of it going to the Global Fund. What about the other $220, asked gizmo blog Engadget? Well, we could tell them that it’s because you’re getting Windows Vista Ultimate and Microsoft Office and Student 2007 instead of Windows XP and Microsoft Works, but we’ll let the comment from Bich Ngoc Cao of (Product) Red do the talking…
Is Dell's Pricey (Project) Red PC A Ripoff?
By 1.25.08
Over at Engadget there is a debate going on about Microsoft and Dell’s collaboration on a (Project) Red XPS PC that is $300 more than the standard XPS, with $80 going towards AIDS relief.
Gift Idea: Porn Star's Old Breast Implants (Autographed)
By 12.5.07
Mary Carey recently had her crappy 36-D implants replaced with a more suitable set of all-weather steel belted 36-DDDs, and “while under anesthesia she realized [the old implants] could be used to raise money for breast cancer research.” Yes, anesthesia does crazy things like that, we hear. She’s auctioning them off on eBay (up to $210 as of noon today).
"Green" Credit Cards Are Silly
By 9.25.07
Bankrate has an article about co-called “green” credit cards that donate a portion of your purchase to environmentally friendly causes. Why are we saying they’re silly?
Joyriding Jerks Steal Food Bank Truck, Ruin 1 Ton Of Food For No Reason
By 9.18.07
A local non-profit wants to know who would steal food from the hungry. A thief took a refrigerated Food Bank of the Rockies truck Monday that was stocked with enough food to feed 1,500 families.
