I suppose that depends on the church. I'm willing to say that some are more inclined to keep the money than to reach out to the community. As with all things, there are scams and there are honest efforts to do good. If I were to participate within a religious organization, I would first look at how it serves the community, as I would with any charitable organization that was asking for money.How do you define "charity". Isn't giving to the church more-or-less the same as giving to yourself? How much of the money donated to churches actually goes to real charity?