Right or wrong I decided that there were a lot of shenanigans in charities way back and have refused to give to any major organizations.
My CO on one of my ships in the 90’s was very displeased when I refused to participate on a recurring basis in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). I made the minimum 1 time donation just so his ship’s 100% participation wouldn’t be impacted.
I remember being pressured to do similar. I think it was for United Way at work. Knowing what I know now, if I had to do it again, I’d refuse. They rely on peer pressure (we gotta make it 100%) to suck us all in. You don’t want to be the 1 person who ruins the it for the rest by not making it 100%, do you? Well, yeah, now I do.