Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics figures show that Taiwanese donate up to NT$42.7 billion (US$1.3 billion) to charity every year. But do the 5.35 million people who donate to charities know if their money is really going to those in need?
United Way said it collected NT$374 million in donations last year, which it used to subsidize 389 organizations and 494 projects throughout the nation. All, it said, must apply for funding. United Way immediately recoups money from any group discovered to be using money for private purposes and then bars the group from applying again for two years.
United Way said that for every NT$100 it receives, NT$11 to NT$13 is deducted for administrative expenses, approximately NT$85 goes to charities or individuals in need and another NT$2 is held in a special budget for emergency disaster relief.
United Way's figures showed that 39 percent of donors want to know how the recipients used their money, 27 percent request receipts and 11 percent want the organizations to publicly release the amount of money they receive.
Many groups, however, have no transparent system to account for how they manage the money they receive. Moreover, a lack of human resources in government has made it difficult to enforce regulations on transparency.
Chen Chieh-ju (
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