--- In another thread, I snided: > > Actually, there IS one scenario in which I would > rejoin the TM movement. If it succeeded in raising > 10 trillion dollars and agreed to give *all* of it > to me, I'd gladly pretend to be part of the TMO > again. It's not like I'd teach TM or attend any > meetings or anything, but I'd agree to pay lip > service to the TMO by keeping my mouth shut and > not criticizing it. Meanwhile, I'd take the money > and give it away to spiritual and charitable > institutions *other* than the TMO. Every penny of > it.
Interestingly, the issue of *how* to give money to spiritual organizations in the "cleanest" possible way, one that insures the highest benefit for all concerned, has been discussed recently on another forum of which I am a member. Here's a compilation of ideas that came up there for how folks there felt that charitable donations should be handled. * Never give money to an organization without specifying exactly what it is to be spent for and receiving a written agreement from the organization that it will be spent for that purpose and *only* that purpose. Include wording that spells out what happens if the money is *not* spent as agreed. (For example, the full amount has to be returned to the donor.) If the organization does not agree to this, more often than not you really don't want to support it. * Never give money to any organization that does not agree to do a *public* accounting of every penny they received for the project you are supporting, and what each penny was spent on. * Only give money to pay for goods and services, not to pay for the lifestyles of people in the receiving organization. That is, if you are donating to help teach meditation, specify that the money has to be spent on renting halls, pay- ing for advertising or posters, and for giveaway materials, but *not* to pay the rent for the teachers themselves, so that they don't have to work at a "day job." (Almost everyone on the forum where these suggestions came up has been a teacher of meditation and self discovery. Almost everyone on the forum agrees that it is a *bad* idea for teachers of meditation to be paid for their services. ) * Require the receiving organization to provide you (the donor) with quarterly reports in which they detail the progress that has been made on the project you supported and how the money you donated has been spent so far. If they balk at doing this, chances are something is wrong. * Require the receiving organization to publish the incomes of *all* personnel who work for it full-time, including all "perks" that they may receive in lieu of actual salary. (For instance, houses and cars provided for free to clergy, vacations, travel expenses, etc.) * Require the receiving organization to publish at least yearly a breakdown of the percentage of money donated that is actually spent on projects and not on supporting the organization itself. For example, if you read the "fine print" in the United Way brochures (which, sadly, no one does), you learn that less than 40 cents on every dollar raised goes to the charities it supports. The rest goes to salaries for the full-time workers (many of them six-figure salaries) and to support the bloated structure of the organization. If more potential donors *knew* this, they would give their money -- 100% of it -- directly to the charities that the United Way claims to support. Other ideas were equally interesting, in my opinion. I'm just "crosspollenating" the subject here on FFL to see how people here -- many of whom have given money to the TMO and other organizations in the past or are still doing so -- feel about the subject. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/UlWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
