_Kim_ said:
Personally, I prefer to donate to individuals, rather than causes. It may not solve the bigger problems, but if I'm going to part with my money, I want to be sure that it is going to help someone directly.
I think there may be more of that in the US than other "developed" countries where there is a better safety net.
Also for me, this is somewhat different.
I give to research partly (or perhaps mainly?) to help myself. I want more treatment options open to me, with the hope that I might improve if not fully get better.
I also want the illness to be at the same level as other illnesses.
So, to me, giving to research is to some extent anyway, a bit like spending money on a treatment. It's something that will hopefully help me in the long run.
Of course, you end up also helping others which is a nice "side-effect".
But it is frustrating if a lot of the others don't chip in - progress is much slower.
When I got involved in Ireland, nobody was raising money for research (and it looks like that's the case in a lot of countries even now). It wasn't that everyone was poor - lots of people had money to spend on all sorts of treatments. But it was frustrating to me that people couldn't invest in research which might lead to more treatment options, as I say, as well as changing attitudes, etc.