By being well informed and doing extensive research on the main issues of the organization of Invisible Children, as well as watching Kony , I have come to the conclusion that for being a young organization they have done a very good job. They have not only reached but exceeded their main goal, which was to capture the attention of literally the entire world.
They have made good use of their resources by using the media, campaigns, advertisements and protests. In the beginning I was skeptical of the trustworthiness of the organization due to the fact that the media bashed Invisible Children by what happened to Jason Russell, not knowing that it was due to a mental breakdown. Even though they have not resolved their financial management issues, I believe, for the time being, they are doing an excellent job, considering they are a young organization and all the experiences they have already been through.
Their future looks bright. That to me is the main problem that this organization has, which no clear objective. I feel uneasy not knowing precisely where my money is going and how it is going to be used.
Would definitely not recommend Invisible Children as a quality organization to commit to. My first experience with Invisible Children was coming across the Kony video on Facebook. I watched it and my heart was torn for the children of Uganda, so I decided to research this organization a bit more. Shockingly, I was confronted with many controversies about the leaders, mission and finances of IC. I spent the next few months dissecting and researching to discover whether there were truths in those claims about IC.
I continued to learn that a multitude of the other claims were just due to false rumors and were not true. I am now seriously considering supporting this organization and fully believe it deserves your support as well.
Having been a volunteer for Invisible Children and researched Invisible Children as well as Kony , my opinion of the organization has made a drastic change. Invisible Children is not helping Uganda by trying to get the Ugandan government to shift its focus onto Joseph Kony, because Uganda has larger problems than Kony. Uganda needs to put their time, effort, and money towards making their nation stronger, and by becoming stronger, then going after Kony.
I have volunteered with Invisible Children, and will continue to, I just do not agree with Kony and their goals.
When I first saw the film Kony , I was inspired to act to save the people who were being affected by Joseph Kony. I decided to research the organization to make sure they were worthy of my monetary and moral support. My conclusion after researching is, first of all; IC has questionable and unorganized finances according to their website.
Not only that, but through the showing of Kony , IC manipulates the facts they present, which causes them to be perceived as untrustworthy. In conclusion, although I fully agree that the people of Africa should have a better life; after my research, it is my opinion that Invisible Children is an unworthy organization to support. There will always be an organization that is not perfect or that will be criticized by the public.
The problem is that Joseph Kony is no longer in Uganda. Jason Russell even confirmed it in Kony video. It may seem like a wasteful effort chasing someone who is no longer there, but as long as everyone remember that there is a criminal on the loose then one of I.
Kony maybe out of Uganda, but one of the important things is to remember that he is still out there. This organization is doing well on getting everyone to remember that Kony still lives. This is an organization despite their flaws in some areas that deserves some support and attention. They got my support. When I was in high school, four members from Invisible Children came to talk about the pressing issue in Uganda regarding the exploitation of children at the hands of Kony and the LRA.
I was skeptical at first because this organization was fairly new and concerns were raised pertaining to how effective this organization is with their finances. However, after doing personal research about this organization, I found that their cause is honorable and that they should be given a chance because they are willing to take action and make a permanent difference for these children.
No child should have to suffer or ever be ignored when they are being exploited and robbed of their dignity which is why I support this organization. Like most people, after watching the Kony video for the first time, it left me with a sense of compassion and a desire to take action. However, after doing a more thorough research on this NPO and it's ways of going about and solving Uganda's problem with Kony and the LRA, it would not be the best organization to invest time and money on.
Where does all the money go? According to the Invisible Children's website, based on the financial statements, Personally, even based on this alone, I wouldn't donate to IC. Nonetheless, it is ultimately your decision if this organization is worth supporting. Although Invisible Children has been and still is a successful non-profit organization, I feel that they may have missed some steps along the way.
Their mistakes as an organization has raised a huge question, do we see where all the money goes? They only became financially transparent upon demand to do so. A huge issue I have is with some information I came across during months of research. I found that IC provided information via a spying operation to Ugandan authorities.
This information was on the Museveni regime. The U. The Ugandan officials arrested the men involved and they were executed via death penalty. If I support IC do I now support the death penalty in foreign affairs my country should have no role in?
Invisible Children is an organization for a good cause. They may have some flaws, but the organization as a whole has good motives. I am sure that Invisible Children wants to have a positive relationship with the general public, and is doing all they can do within their power to make everyone happy.
However, the truth of the matter is that Invisible Children is a charity organization, and they cannot live up to that standard. If you have further questions please feel free to visit the Invisible Children website and click on the questions and answers page.
I believe Invisible Children is an organization worth supporting. When I first saw the video Kony , I did not like the organization and what it stood for because I was evaluating the movie and not the organization itself. As I researched the organization in depth my opinion of the motives of the organization changed. I looked at the bigger picture which is getting Kony noticed so that he is one step closer to being captured,and the abduction of children are put to rest.
Invisible Children is a work in progress and there is always room for growth. I am aware that Invisible Children has questionable motives regarding the Kony video but Invisible Children is a growing organization that realizes their mistakes and are learning from them which was stated in the recent video "Move. For this very reason I will consider supporting this organization.
There is no other charity that has done more to support the end of the LRA conflict in the last 10 years. I've watched this organization's work since and also have been to N.
The organization is not just about rehabilitation work they also spend money on Advocacy and Awareness and some have pointed this out as a problem but to me that is a nearsighted evaluation. The political players that have the power to influence this conflict need to feel the pressure from the people so that is why advocacy campaigns are so important. If you want to put a band aide on the situation you can give money to groups that only do rehab work in Africa but i would advise to evaluate if the there is more needed for lasting change, which is what i feel is the case with the LRA that started in N.
At the same time, there were many criticisms surrounding the organization. Many of these criticisms came from money and amounts of donations. They also should release yearly financial reports, which IC has done since Ultimately, I would suggest that everyone should research for themselves before donating to any organization; but, I will definitely support them again and encourage others to as well!
Along with the rest of the general public, I was blown away when the viral video "Kony " outlines the horrible war crimes that Joseph Kony committed. However, I did want to research this campaign and the reasons behind it on my own. After researching IC, I realized that their organization was in some ways helping the people in Uganda.
However their is still much room for improvement with this organization. For example only around 37 percent of their finances go to helping rehabilitate and protect the children that the LRA would take.
This is a number that could AND should be drastically increased. I'm not saying to not donate to this charity, but do some research and carefully consider before you do. I was pretty late in learning about IC, and I suppose that is a good thing.
First off, I do believe that IC is a noble cause in what it is ultimately trying to achieve. According to charitynavigator. The rest goes to staff and management. However, just because it caught our attention for a bit does not make it ok for their finances to be split in such a way that does not make much of a difference to their cause. Lauren K. In the Kony video, Invisible Children claims that in order to keep the US advisors in Uganda Invisible Children and its supporting members need to raise awareness about the atrocities of Joseph Kony and his army.
To raise this awareness, they would wear the t-shirts and put up the posters that came in the action kits. I will not support Invisible Children, but anyone interested should do their own research and decide to support or not support Invisible Children based on that research. After being initially drawn by the emotional appeal of the Kony video, I did a considerable amount of research. The organization claims by sending a few dollars and purchasing the Action Kit somehow the Ugandan warlord will be captured.
My first experience with this organization was watching Kony After seeing the brokenness left by Kony, this film had me sold. The mission of Invisible Children directly fits with my heartbeat for humanity in undeveloped countries. It encouraged me to intensify my desires and make them actions.
I went home eager to share about the charity with friends. Instead, I was shocked to see so much controversy surrounding this organization-- criticisms about their leaders, purpose, and impact. This confusion left me to explore Invisible Children for myself. After months of researching their website, the form , and other sources, I found that the majority of claims are simply slander based on wrong assumptions, impossible to prove by evidence. Now I am seriously considering supporting Invisible Children and encourage others to do the same.
The political unrest can then be linked back to suffering people and an unstable government. Solve the other problems first like AIDS and hunger, by donating to organizations that focus on such causes- like Compassion International and World Vision. Once the media began saying how crooked the company was, I felt very betrayed.
When Invisible Children came out with their new video, it brought back all those strong feelings I had. I decided to do some thorough research on their finances. In my research I found that, for the most part, Invisible Children have a slightly lower than average financial standing.
They are definitely not the monster that everybody makes them out to be. They are a newer company though, so it is only natural that they put a lot of money into advertising. After having done this research, I feel somewhat renewed in my initial vigor to help Invisible Children. I am more than likely going to donate to this organization. I was judging them based entirely on the video, and personally find their method of getting Kony famous absurd.
But the video worked and achieved its target of making Kony famous. This popularity made me curious and I started doing my research on IC. This lead me to realize that my personal opinion was heavily influenced by all the negative comments on YouTube. I found out that there are still children suffering because of Kony.
The video was speaking the truth and it brought the crime of Kony to the whole world. I might not agree with their method but ultimately, I will still donate to help them. Over the past few months I have done a decent amount of research on Invisible Children. I have come to the conclusion that they aren't focused on the main issues in Uganda, and aren't providing much relief for the country or its citizens. The people of Uganda are currently struggling with spreading disease, an unstable government, and many citizens who aren't specialized in any field of work.
I believe IC is working for good reasons and could be helpful if Kony was the main problem, but as far as contributing to helping Uganda's actual issues, I would consider supporting a different organization that may be more beneficial to helping with their current issues.
A common misconception is that IC spends too much on salaries and videos, when in reality And they are doing a phenomenal job. If you are looking for a traditional nonprofit, then IC is not for you.
They are pioneers in using social networking for social change of this scale, and while they have lots of room for improvement, I firmly believe they are worth our support. Many people, myself included, have based their idea of IC solely on the "Kony " film. However, by only looking at the film, you get only a narrow understanding of the organization. Yes, the film skims over some details; yes, IC is not financially perfect; and yes, they were clearly underprepared for all of this attention.
But, none of this lessens the fact that they are working towards doing something good. Not to mention that they have done a more than adequate job answering their critics, both through a section on their website devoted to answering criticisms to the release of a new film, which openly acknowledges many of their shortcomings. This shows some serious maturity and growth in a young organization, that has already made a huge impact.
I am strongly considering supporting IC, and encourage others to get the whole picture of them before joining the "Kony " critics. Though the intentions seem genuine, Jason Russell and the Invisible Children charity fail to get past the basics. Another problem with Invisible Children is that this campaign promotes slacktivism and laziness among the country. I sincerely wanted to believe that Kony executed everything perfectly; however, there were too many unaddressed flaws.
Therefore, I would personally discourage anyone from investing in this campaign and charity. I feel as if the invisible children have their ups and downs they were once in my eyes a good organization by having there videos post and showing what their plans where for the future.
But after going through the other views and going on different websites like the Better Business Burial BBB they haven't registered their organization with them.
Which in mind it makes me feel as a person who would be looking to donate more skeptical about donating to the Invisible Children because if your going to have an organization at least make it legal by registering through the BBB. If not then it makes me feel as if your trying to scam me, and others. I myself was at first skeptical of the way they spent their donation money. However, after further research into their finances, I have found that IC is a pretty good non-profit organization when it comes to financial responsibility.
IC is transparent with finances because they display all tax forms and annual financial reports from the last five years. Overall, Invisible Children is not perfect, but they are pretty responsible with their finances. I would strongly consider supporting them. People think Invisible Children don't help Uganda and expend to much money in the own video. In a world where the next ice bucket challenge is a tweet away, how the organization handled the rush of cash, rode a wave of criticism, and dealt with the subsequent attention vacuum can be a lesson to every organization hoping for its own viral hit.
In March , three young amateur documentary filmmakers from southern California—Russell, Laren Poole, and Bobby Bailey—went to Africa in search of a story. That story nearly killed them; while in Uganda, a truck bombed by the LRA exploded in front of their eyes.
After their experience, the filmmakers spent a month living in northern Uganda, witnessing the children who lived in fear of abduction. In , their documentary, called Invisible Children: Rough Cut , was released.
Over the next few years, the group started doing more work to engage policymakers around finding the LRA leader and rescuing the children he abducted. The cause started gaining traction. Global Night Commute , an Invisible Children event held in , saw approximately 80, people sleeping in their city centers to raise awareness of the thousands of Ugandan children abducted by Kony. But Invisible Children was just getting started. Then came Kony Over million people viewed it within six days, and the money came pouring in.
Oprah started tweeting about the film. So did Ryan Seacrest. That money was quickly used to expand its operations in Uganda, Congo, and the Central African Republic, where it set up a global staff to help with protection, defection, and rehab efforts for former LRA soldiers.
It completely overwhelmed the organization, which was inundated with media requests including one from us, which went unanswered in the craziness and saw its website break under the pressure of the campaign. At Foreign Policy , Michael Wilkerson criticized the film for simplifying the conflict. Grant Oyston, the thenyear-old author of a popular Tumblr called Visible Children, wrote in an email to Co.
But after the awareness aspect, the actual means they propose to employ becomes a bit cloudy. But this meant that almost our entire US team, including myself, would willingly work ourselves out of our jobs.
On 17 December we announced to the world that we were shutting down almost all of our organisation to prioritise our work in central Africa and our advocacy in DC. The remaining five staff would continue our political advocacy in DC and our work with partners in central Africa on a much smaller scale.
On that day I woke up with the nerves already flowing through my system. The emails had been written, the web copy drafted, call scripts created. Gathered together as a team, we sent out our announcement and then personally called about 2, of our donors. We wanted everyone to know why this change was happening since it would come as a shock for many. The hardest part in all of it was that we were trying to tell the real story.
Look at every annual report that has ever been put out. We all claim that we are winning all the time, no matter what is actually going on. Saying that was scary. Because it is really freaking difficult and it feels like failure.
There are no incentives or celebrations. It really hurts to say goodbye to your team and to walk yourself out the door instead of chasing money for other issues to just keep the machine running.
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