FREE MONEY
Yes it's true certain local charities & not for profits receive special consideration by elected officials. Yes many taxpayers resent officials passing out others hard earned tax dollars to their personal favorite causes. Part of what makes the situation worse is that neither city nor county government require even the most basic of information. for a group to apply. Added to that is there isn't any "neutral", consistent evaluation process where criteria & rating scale are used to select the best charities to receive your tax dollars. Additionally one of the most significant local arguments against officials selecting their charities for your tax dollars is that the officials require no form of return on investment - meaning unlike state & federal grants the funds are given blindly for no specific purpose, without even an application, detailed budget, project purpose etc. Basically the money is a handout to favorite organizations, on short notice without any valid reason for distribution other than the official likes the group. To my knowledge there may be only a few organizations that are conscientious enough to provide a contract detailing services. I know of only one contract- but there may be a few more however it's clear the vast majority do not. Sadly, because there is no application process some organizations receive tax funds but don't report the income, misuse/misdirect the income or simply pay someone's salary rather than address a specific task, project or goal. Many organizations don't even attempt their own fund raising but simply expect their annual "handout" so they don't have to bother with gathering public support, soliciting donations, creating & working fundraisers. Many groups don't even have at least one annual fundraiser designed to generate revenue to sustain the organization & have come so dependent on official favors they complain they "can't exist without support".
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