I would like to think that we all care for our fellow man in this world, but sadly, this is not true.

Charities rely on the support of kindhearted people, who want to make the world a better place. There are so many deserving causes, but not enough donors to ensure that no one has to go hungry, sleep rough, be denied basic services or be abused.

I’m reminded of an ongoing conversation I have with a friend, where he firmly believes that ‘charities waste money on people like me’ and ‘I will never give to charity as the money never goes to the people who actually need it’.

I have done my best to convince him otherwise: 1) you have to speculate to accumulate, and charities make far more money than they spend – without fundraising they would not be able to help as many people as they do; 2) charities do not spend lots of money on administration (normally under 10p per pound), and many are transparent with regards to how the money is used; 3) without charities to help those in need, there would be even more problems in the world.

Until we can convince people like my friend to care about someone other than themselves, and get them to start trusting charities to spend donations wisely, then charities will have to rely on that small minority of society, who care enough to part with their hard earned cash.

Charities have a part to play in this – more transparency, disclosure of how and where money is spent, honesty about their running costs and how much money they actually spend helping people. Any negative stories regarding a charity, and how they spend/misspend donations impacts the sector as a whole.

Things are only going to get harder in the future, with so many charities in the marketplace, there is increased competition to recruit and retain your supporters.

I therefore send out thanks, to all of those who support a charity – if only there were more people like you.

Fatima Talidi