Inquiry Three: Research Blog 5

Cowen, Tyler. "ECONOMIC SCENE; Investing in Good Deeds Without Checking the Prospectus." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 June 2006. Web. 20 July 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/15/business/15scene.html?_r=1>.

I like this article because it talks about one of the biggest criticisms of charitable organizations I have found throughout my research: people don’t really know what they are giving to. I think this would work well in my paper, because I plan to discuss what makes a charity successful, as well as educate my readers on ways in which they can be more educated and informed philanthropists. The author does a really good job of examining the motives of why a majority of people gives to a campaign. He explains this as, “many donors seek a sense of affiliation and wish to be a part of large and successful organizations — the "winning team," so to speak.” This is another similarity with the Kony video criticism I found in previous research. Critics said that people threw money at the campaign without fully understanding the problem or organization, and as a result could have done more harm than good. This is similar to another piece of research I found about how charity can negatively affect people, and I feel that including this research into my paper would tie in nicely with the other research. The author also offers insight as to why people need understand the campaign they are donating to, as for it to be a success, it need constant support from the donator. The author says, “If donors do not abandon failing causes, those efforts will continue. Perhaps the content of donor pride needs to change. Rather than taking pride only in their generosity, donors should also take pride in their willingness to confront unpleasant news.” This also ties in with the Kony criticism, as critics say that many people failed to continually support the campaign when the creators, Invisible Children, came under scrutiny.