Advice on animal charities

dochara

I need some good advice. A friend of mine has indicated that she wishes to leave all her estate (property and a considerable amount of money) to animal welfare in Ireland. She has a (confusing) list of more than 300 sanctuaries, societies, rescues, associations and while she wants to help as many groups as possible, she is worried that some groups might not use the money in the best possible way.

Are there any animal charities to be avoided? Which are the really worthwhile ones who would use the money wisely? Any genuine advice would be welcome.

P.S: She doesn't intend dying yet so there is no mad rush!

VonVix

I will drop you a private message, dochara.

It would be advisable that your friend volunteers at a number of charities to have an idea of what they are like, without letting them know her intent.

Cherry Blossom

Everyone's opinion of what makes an animal charity reputable varies. My advice when donating money to any charity is to choose those that have helped someone you know.

With mod hat on, please be aware that discussing rescues is not permitted here under the forum charter but I am sure you will get a few PMs with suggestions and advice.

Ms Doubtfire1

1)
Do NOT ever rely on what you see on facebook. If I were your friend, I would have someone check into every single animal charity in person and review their operations.
2) where there is smoke, there's fire
3) Some charities have open books. Examine those into the finest details
5) I will be sending you a PM with ONE charity to be avoided at all costs. And I can prove why.

pawrick

I can't emphasis enough what other posters here have said re volunteering with a charity first to see what they are like in person and also not taking facebook or other PR related items on face value. I have some experience with a number of animal charities and how effective they are can vary considerably. Often people mean well setting them up but could do with more experienced people especially in dealing with the finance side to spend donations to best effect and get value for money. Best of luck to you and your friend in finding the right charities to help out, I'm sure posters here will send you in the right directions.

baby and crumble

Your first stop should be the Charities Regulatory Authority website, where you can check if a rescue is a registered charity, and therefore bound by rules.

Next stop should be Benefacts.ie which pulls information from the CRA website and also individual organisation published information such as accounts, whether they have signed up to things like the governance code or responsible fundraising code. Avoid Charities who have not done so, or who don't know what they are if you ask.

Then after that it's worth visiting or volunteering with the groups you have shortlisted. Ask questions about their governance, insurance, etc. Good Charities will be more than happy to answer those questions. Some will have a specific legacy program for exactly your friends situation.