Spense, that site doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t show local charities, I guess? It needs a search function.

This one has a search function

A lot of local Better Business Bureau offices do reports on local charities as well. And, they usually know if one is not on the level.

The Chicago Food Bank is a member of the “Feeding America” network (formerly America’s Second Harvest). They wouldn’t be a member if they weren’t giving out a whole lot of food to a whole bunch of hungry people, so I’d say you’ve made a good choice

PJ- I agree with you. Liked the video…but not the song.

Spense, that site doesn’t show local charities, I guess? It needs a search function.

cochem, the link doesn’t work for me. I especially want to see it since it was filmed at the Clipper! LOL.

Do you have the inside scoop for each show as they are coming up?

Not really. I expect most of the performance shows will be live after next week.

That makes sense for next week, but how do we know in the future? (Not that it REALLY matters, I guess.) Do you have the inside scoop for each show as they are coming up?

Okay, so does this mean that not all of the shows are live? My husband and I had a huge discussion on this and he told me to ask on here. I told him I would when the the time seemed appropriate.

This question is a point of confusion every single Idol year.

Typically, the first few “live” performance shows are taped to broadcast. Which shows are taped are different every year.

Last year I think only the first week’s performance shows were taped. The year before it may have been the first two. Season three, the Top 12 and Top 11 were taped to broadcast.

There is no telling what will happen from year to year.

While this week will be live. Next week will probably be tape to broadcast, because the shows are moving up a day to accommodate the State of the Union address.

If and when the charity is classified as a non-profit -what is that, 501 (B)??- then Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll consider it legit.

501(3)c. But – the 501(3)c designation is simply how a nonprofit is designated under the tax code. It doesn’t automatically mean that they’re a charity you want to give your money to. Most of the services that rate charities based on how much actually goes out to the needy vs. how much is spent on administration costs are doing so based on voluntary reporting. Most of the larger, well rated charities run a completely transparent operation. At any time they’ll tell you where every penny they collect goes. And, they’ll allow anyone with a legitimate reason to audit their books.

There are rules and reporting requirements for all 501(3)c’s, but as has been reported many times in the press, those rules do not necessarily keep a charity from spending 70% of the monies collected on salaries and administration and 20% on supplies and only giving 10% to the charity they’re collecting for. The veteran’s charities are a prime example. For every legitimate veteran’s charity there are 20 that are nothing more than profit centers for some scumbag. And, their names always closely resemble those of the organizations that actually help people.

There are a lot of charities out there that spend 75 to 90 cents in costs per dollar they raise, which is the exact opposite of the ratio a good charity should have. Those charities are nothing more than fronts for the guy running the call center.

This agency is very good at getting to the nitty gritty of how charities are allocating their funds, and the top rated charities are those that spend 25 cents or less to raise a dollar. Therefore, at least 75 cents of every dollar they raise goes to the program they are supporting. It’s a good formula to follow if you want your money to actually help people as opposed to lining some dirtbag’s pockets.

Again, I wouldn’t donate to any charity without first seeing their financial report. I’d want to know how much was spent on programs and how much was spent on administrative costs. It’s not a hard thing to report in this day and age. Many charities update this info in real time on their web sites.

I don’t have an opinion on whether Danny’s charity is “legit” or not at this point, as they don’t present any evidence either way. It’s very new, so there’s no history and their web site doesn’t tell you how much they’ve spent on any of their programs so far.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m hearing that this weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s show is going to be live. Someone at IDF has tickets for tomorrow afternoonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dress rehearsal.

Okay, so does this mean that not all of the shows are live? My husband and I had a huge discussion on this and he told me to ask on here. I told him I would when the the time seemed appropriate.

Looks like it’s appropriate. LOL.

Top Idol clears up the bruhaha over Sophieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Heart HERE.

Thanks for this mj! I saw this. (I think widz) posted this at the end of yesterday’s headlines thread and I commented on it there. I’m just glad that Danny seems to no longer be an employee of that church! I’m also glad Sophia’s Heart seems legit too. (However, I didn’t and hadn’t/haven’t planned on giving money.)

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m hearing that this weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s show is going to be live. Someone at IDF has tickets for tomorrow afternoonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dress rehearsal.

Thanks, MJ! I like it better when it’s live. Maybe we can hear some song spoilers tomorrow afternoon.