If their “charities” are legit, you might want to give them a pledge for “volunteer time” to their cause. This would give you a chance to see what they’re really about, and more information to judge with.

For me personally, I prefer to give to charities and organizations with strict guidelines and financial reports, like an established non-profit, with the appropriate non-profit certification issued from the State. In order to write it off in my state you don’t need the certificate though and you still get your deduction.

That being said, if I want to practice random acts of kindness with people like that in the name of God, that is another story, you toss that positivity into the world and hope it helps. If it ends up helping hippies to smoke their Colorado legal weed, then that’s the chance I’d have to take.

Just remember, when people invoke God’s name to GET SOMETHING I always take a good hard look, including established churches. Personally, this sounds sketchy to me, and I’m not sure it would be a good thing to support a group of people who’s goal is to get high and praise God but I can think of a lot of worse things they could be doing, too.

I wouldn’t give them a dime.

I can’t decide what’s worse – the possibility that they’re deceiving everyone, or the possibility that they’re telling the truth. Either way, I’m not contributing.

No, not believable. More religious charlatans.

If you would be giving a wedding gift anyway, and the couple requests cash rather than a blender, give an amount equal to the value of the gift you would give.

Having grown up in Colorado, I’m quite familiar with the hippie quasi-religious. It’s sketchy and sometimes a source of humor, but if it’s what they want to do, let them have at it. They’re in the right state.

If you wouldn’t give a gift. Don’t donate.

Sounds like the mormons, they send their young everywhere with the guise of missionary but in reality it is more like recruiting! I guess if you give someone a gift, it is just that and you don’t have a way to enforce how they use it or what they do with it.