Many of you would have heard about the uproar generated by the Susan G. Komen abruptly terminating its funding for Planned Parenthood. Suspicions are that they did it as part of right-wing attack on that organization. Because of the massive backlash, they have none gone into serious damage control mode.
Tbogg takes down the Komen organization in his own inimitable style.
I was never much of a fan of the Komen organization, suspecting it of being one of those megacharities that end up existing to primarily serve itself and enrich those in it (the CEO and founder gets a salary of nearly half a million dollars) rather than actually seeking a cure for breast cancer, a suspicion that was reinforced when they started suing other, smaller charities for using the phrase ‘for the cure’ as part of their fund-raising organizations. It smacked of bullying.
Despite my misgivings, I had given money to them on a couple of occasions because a friend of mine asked me to sponsor her on Komen fund-raising walks. But I will decline if my friend asks again.
They’ve already reversed course.
http://news.yahoo.com/komen-struggles-defuse-planned-parenthood-crisis-000134809.html
The point in my life that I discovered ‘charities behaving badly’ was a very sad one. In the UK we have a great many ‘fake charities’ that are funded by the taxpayer and have an agenda. Many charities that started out with a genuinely humanitarian mission have realised that if they actually solve the problems that they originally set out to address they will all be out of a job.
I run a snack shop at my workplace and give the proceeds to charity. It is becoming more and more difficult to find a charity that is actually going to make the world a better place rather than make some cynical bastard a little bit richer.
No, Komen hasn’t changed course. They’ve said they’ll honor the extant grants to PP and allow PP to apply for new grants. It’s just a PR spin.