Reply To: Honest Tzedakah

Joseph — I guess you’re right, I didn’t think so much about that. Well, I still prefer to give to the yeshiva directly than to a meshulach, so that more of the donation goes to the yeshiva (no meshulach would get a cut). Same reason I prefer to use check than credit card when I can to tzedakose, so the tzedakah receives more.

Actually, Joseph’s question makes me wonder — what fraction of a place like the Mir’s expenses go to fundraising costs. Is it 5%? 25% 50%? I imagine it’s on the relatively low side, and would be disappointed if I heard it was even 20% or 30% of the overall budget.

I think in the ideal world, the Mir and other tzedakose would not need to spend any money on travel, phone calls, etc, and people would send in the same amount, and the yeshiva would end up in a much better state. I imagine if there something of a “ceasefire” and all yeshivas/kiruv organizations/etc agreed to limit their spending to X, then we’d end up with much less waste. Or maybe that’s wishful thinking?