I agree that there are power differences. I disagree that the likelihood and consequences are radically different. For those ancestors who were banned, tortured, and/or killed because some neighbor said they were a heretic, witch, bad omen, etc. the consequences seem pretty consequential. I think the scale and proximity may be different.
I donated to a non-profit. Just today, I received paper mail from six other non-profit organizations, and I am completely convinced (without proof, of course) that the one non-profit sold my address to others.
This is not at all surprising. I am convinced that there is a “sucker list” that all non-profits share with each other. Any time I give to one organization (could be any of them), I get dozens of solicitations from others that I’ve never before heard of.
They really should know better. Behavior like this makes me want to avoid donating to any of them.
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I have experienced the same with multiple types of charity.
I have reached the point where I want to only donate cash. No phone numbers, no address, no nothing.
Sure, that way it’s not tax deductible, but I’m donating to a charity first and foremost because I want to advance their efforts (and I trust they put my cash to that work), not lower my tax bill. (obviously less taxes is great, but not at the expense of my privacy)
Isn’t it awful we have to consider these things?
That said, if you do want to donate money to charity try World Central Kitchen. It’s one of the most cost-efficient charities on the planet and in the several years I’ve been sending them money I have never noted other charities piling-in on my credit card charge.
Dave
I am a big fan of World Central Kitchen’s mission. Unfortunately, as with many non-profits, it has had problems with its internal culture and its financial controls:
Staffers called for reforms to a range of basic WCK procedures. Some of these changes they proposed in response to safety concerns. Others they sought in response to a Bloomberg News report that WCK leadership had spent years ignoring allegations that its director of emergency relief was a serial sexual harasser. Still others, they say, were intended to head off the potential waste of millions of dollars in donor funds directed to questionable partners.
[…]
WCK has acknowledged missteps, including failing to respond to allegations of sexual harassment and losing money to fraud, but said in a statement that it’s setting up safeguards to prevent such issues. WCK is “committed to mitigating any and all risks to the safety, security and wellbeing of staff, contractors and volunteers,” Chief Executive Officer Erin Gore said in the statement.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-12-08/jose-andres-world-central-kitchen-charity-faces-internal-crisis
He was one of the most powerful men at one of the world’s most prominent disaster-relief nonprofits. And then, in a surprise to staffers, he was gone; an unceremonious exit punctuated by a brief Slack message.
[…]
Kilcoyne had been director of emergency relief at WCK, the nonprofit co-founded by celebrity chef José Andrés that collects hundreds of millions of dollars a year and was the subject of a documentary by Oscar winner Ron Howard.
[…]
What wasn’t apparent from Mook’s note to the staff: Kilcoyne’s departure wasn’t by choice. He was dismissed following an internal investigation related to allegations of sexual harassment over the course of years, according to the nonprofit and interviews with women who flagged his behavior. The probe hasn’t been previously reported.
[…]
By the time Kilcoyne was sent to Ukraine, several employees and volunteers had complained, the first time to Mook and then to human resources once a dedicated staff was established, about Kilcoyne’s behavior, allegations ranging from inappropriate flirting, to talking about his sex life, to pressuring them into meals, sleeping in his hotel room and even having sex. Bloomberg News corroborated these claims through interviews with 10 current and former employees, volunteers and contractors, including five who say they were directly harassed.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-12/sexual-harassment-claims-spurred-shakeup-at-jose-andres-s-world-central-kitchen
I recognized that some charities seemed to be sharing their mailing lists years ago, when the solicitations were all on paper. You see the same thing on political mailing lists, which are pretty openly shared. When I worked for a trade magazine many years ago, they were quite protective of their mailing lists; they would rent the mailing list by sending copies of mailings out themselves or by a mailing company rather then send out actual lists that the advertisers could copy. They still seem to do that, although I am no longer inside that business.
Apparently so, but that was two years ago. That said, let’s not get into charity peccadillos, here, and I suspect most of the huge ones have similar ugly episodes.
For me, it remains true that I’ve not detected any list selling from them (wouldn’t it be great if you could donate truly anonymously; yet have IRS approved verification?) and I dearly like their near instantaneous response to people in need.
Dave
The political mailing lists are horrifying. Donate to one and you get inundated. I have clients who are seeing 20 emails a day from political fundraisers. Oh! For the days of Empire Carpet’s newspaper inserts. . . . 
Dave
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