But all they do is direct you to someone else that will actually help you. Motivating and inspiring are great, but it isn't a charity. The percentage of their donations that would, in any other case, go to the efforts of the charity, are merely donated to other actual charities like Kids Help Phone who really do provide desperately needed services - after both organizations have taken care of their own administrative costs. Why should I donate to TWLOHA, so that they can take their 80% to pay their staff and produce T-shirts, and then take the other 20% of my donation and give it to another charity that will use 20% of that 20% to prevent suicide and self-harm? Why not donate directly to those other charities?

It's like when McDonald's takes 10% of the profits from the sale of Happy Meal to support a charity. That doesn't make them a charity. It means they are a business, selling a product, that donates some of their profits to charity. They don't get to receive donations and have tax-exempt salaries. The charities they support are the ones who get those benefits, because they are charities - they provide a service that requires funding and generates no revenue. TWLOHA is doing the exact same thing as McDonald's and many other businesses. Selling a product and donating a portion of the proceeds to charities. Except they describe themselves as actually being a charity and receive the aforementioned benefits that go along. Sneaky.

In other news, 40k+ people will die of starvation today...
http://www.thehungersite.com

Oh I see. You're one of the "What've they done lately" sort of people. Fair enough. I thought you were one of those "fuck charities, my money's for me" kind of person.

You're using the term "charity" very loosely. TWLOHA references themselves as a non-profit movement. Not a charity. I think you both have a different idea as to what TWLOHA does or in your opinion should do. While I'm not a spokesperson for them and I know for myself I may be biased because of my personal experiences, I would just say do a bit of research if you're that against it. Look through their revenue breakdown, go to an event in your area. Actually experience it before you judge based on what you see online or hear etc. TWLOHA serves as a bridge to help. Or, agree to disagree :)

I'm not using the term "charity" loosely, I'm using it strictly. They do describe themselves as a charity when they ask for donations. They do describe themselves as a charity when they applied for 501(c)(3) status so that they pay no taxes.

How are they non-profit movement when their CEO made 80,000 dollars off them in 2008? How is that "non-profit?"

What they should do isn't my opinion. If you call yourself a "non-profit" that means no one profits from what you're doing. If you call yourself a charity that means you do some sort of charitable work. There is a difference between a business and a charity. Selling t-shirts for profit is a business. Businesses pay taxes. That's not my opinion. You can't just call your business a movement and get out of paying your taxes like everyone else has to.

Your questions can easily be answered on the websites FAQ. It didn't take me long to view their finances. Non-Profit organizations contrary to their name can make a profit as long as the soul purpose is not to make a profit.

Like I said, agree to disagree. This debate could go on forever.

No they can't. I read their FAQ. I read their finances. Did you read their actual tax returns or did you read the graphs they put on their website? Yes, non-profit organizations can "contrary to their name" make a profit (nice copy and pasting from their website.) However, individuals cannot profit from the organization. The organization itself can retain a profit for future endeavors.

I'm not sure why you're so against something that saves lives and promotes such a positive influence on the lives of so many people (including my own). I'm not going to change your mind and you absolutely will not change mine as my first hand experience with TWLOHA literally put me in the direction of saving my life. They make profits from their merchandise, stickers, tshirts etc. but that isn't their sole purpose. They don't say buy a shirt or we won't help you, they don't say donate to us or we won't talk to you about where to go. Do they? I didn't see that part when I was copy and pasting. I don't know what you're so bitter about (if you weren't bitter this debate would have ended long ago). They aren't taking donations from people and paying off their bentley. They're such a positive movement and help SO many people but because they also benefit from doing that they're evil? Nope.

It's not because they benefit it's because they actively deceive people into thinking they are a charity when, as I have demonstrated, they are not. They are a business that does some good things also. As I said before, just like when McDonald's donates some of the proceeds to charities. No objection to that. There's nothing wrong with a business that supports charities. If that business is pretending to be a charity in order to evade taxes and make more money, then that is absolutely despicable. Using people's goodwill against them? Pretty low, in my opinion. I am only as "bitter" about this as I was when I learned the homeless woman downtown wasn't actually homeless, but rather was pretending to be homeless in order to get money from passersby. Does that make you feel "bitter?" I'm not sure it's quite bitterness.