grammy thats a very good point..I think that many people are hesitant to donate when there is a concern for how their money will be allocated and how much is actually serving the purpose in which it was donated.
Its very important to know how it will be used and how much of it is taken for 'other' costs. As you say its important to do their homework. The problem with that also is that many people dont want to have to 'research' to find this information out, so some individuals just wont donate if it becomes work.
It would be worth the universities who can say they take very little percentage or none at all to actually promote this fact and let people know. On the other hand fundraisers could do this on their behalf. It would be a great way to encourage more people to donate and donate with confidence.
Not all Universities take donation shares. Some allow every last penny to go straight into the lab and will frequently help with matching funds from their various benevolent recourses. Know specifically what research project you're wanting to fund and ask for help in driving every dollar possible into the project rather than having portions going elsewhere. It takes some homework, but the effort is well worth it.
I'm with you on that 100%
When I did that right to know request at Rutgers I was given a breakdown that was too general and I have my doubts about those justadollarplease funds being spent prematurely just as the announcements about people walking were made pre maturely. Those funds were disbursed 2 years ago and they were to be used to train trial investigators, at the time there were none. The funds were also to be used to apply to the FDA for a cord blood and lithium trial, however that work couldn't be done 2 years ago, because the application was to show the results of a trial in China which had not even finished yet.