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Beware Christmas charity gifts
By Sarah Coles
Charity-giving has become synonymous with Christmas. As we splurge on gifts and stuff ourselves silly with turkey and mince pies it seems only right to give something to those less well-off than ourselves.
But while you can generally be sure that the carol singers on your doorstep will hand the money over to a charitable cause, both retailers and the charities themselves are well aware that giving is big business at Christmas. That means many will dress up their offerings to look far better than they actually are, in order to win your business from the competition. That goat you bought for a needy family in Africa could turn out to be half a goat - or a chicken. And that charity Christmas card may well be giving less than 3p in every pound to the charity of your choice.
Charity Christmas cards vary enormously in their generosity, depending partly on where you buy your cards. Last year, a number of high-street shops cleaned up their act - Clintons and WH Smith gave an impressive 25% of the cost of the pack of their own-brand cards to charity. But others have been less generous. Harrods won the Charities Advisory Trust Scrooge Award in 2006, as its charity cards averaged donations of just 6.6%. Cards Galore was runner-up, offering just 7.4%.
Where the shop simply stocks cards that have been produced by the charity, they will negotiate the percentage of the sale price that will go to the charity. Smaller charities may settle for poor percentages. For example, the Meningitis Trust managed to negotiate just 2.9% with Liberties last year. Larger charities also arrange variable deals. The RSPCA, for example, agreed to 25% from John Lewis but just 5.7% from Harrods. So if you want to be sure of giving a decent chunk to charity, you need to read the small print on the pack carefully.
Alternatively, you can buy your cards from a charity shop. The charity pays for production, distribution and VAT, but all of the profits go directly to the charity. Oxfam, for example, sells the bulk of its cards this way, creating a strong saving for the organisation. Cancer Research, meanwhile, estimates that around 50% of the purchase price goes to the charity, after the costs of production are subtracted.
Multi-charity
There are also multi-charity shops - often set up in churches, libraries and community centres or online. These include cards for good causes, which give 81p of every pound of cards sales to charities, or Cardaid, which gives at least 40% of the purchase price to charities (60% when you buy online).
Charity Christmas presents, likewise, aren't always what they seem. Last year, a study by Intelligent Giving found that out of the scores of charity catalogues only four organisations would guarantee that if you opted to give someone a goat, that's what your money would be spent on. These were Help the Aged, the Good Gifts Catalogue, World Vision and Save the Children.
Oxfam also features a goat in its catalogue. However, it only guarantees that 90% of your money will be spent on the animal itself, and also, if you opt to give a goat, it only promises to spend your money on the "livestock most appropriate to the community", which could mean chickens or cows instead. Likewise, if you bought mango saplings for a community, it could be used 'to support other initiatives that give people the chance to earn a living' - which means your present may bear little resemblance to what you intended to give.
A more significant concern is whether some of these gifts are actually appropriate. The World Land Trust claims that livestock gifts can contribute to desertification - goats, for example, eat in everything in sight. They can also spread disease and put pressure on crucial water supplies. Animal welfare charities like Animal Aid are also critical because livestock will be condemned to a miserable existence without sufficient food or water and access to shelter and vets.
But a spokesperson for Oxfam says: "Part of the money donated for each goat is spent on training to ensure it has the care it needs. Oxfam will then monitor care standards and ensure there's no environmental degradation." She points out that because goats can live in some of the harshest environments, they are eminently suitable as gifts - during drought conditions mothers can at least be certain they have a little milk for their family every day. She also highlights that by being flexible in what each gift buys, Oxfam can ensure the community gets just what it needs.
From a large charity with a reputation such as Oxfam's, these reassurances are meaningful, but it's important to be aware of just what you are getting for your money. It may not be particularly festive, but if you really want to give to charity this Christmas you might find you get a warmer glow by simply giving your chosen charity a donation. Remember too to let them you know you're a taxpayer so it can reclaim the tax you paid on that money via the Gift Aid scheme.
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