handling the charity season

[veinbuster]

I'm an active supporter of charities, but the big push to collect at the end of the year can be tiresome. I think we all choose charities that speak to us for some reason. My question is more about how do you deal with the solicitation process.
Do you listen to the telephone pitch?
Do you response to the mail from every charity you've ever given to?
Do you hand out money to who ever is standing at the entrance to the mall or liquor store?
Do you give your time and be a fund raiser?

 

[WEDGE]

I loathe cold callers. We give at the local supermarket for their food drives and toy drives and have charities we choose to support. I do always give my daughter money to put into the Salvation Army buckets.

It rubs me the wrong way though when I get a call from ten states away telling me basically I suck if I don't support the police, veterans, the blind, mentally challenged, etc. I have no way of knowing how much of each dollar I send them actually goes to the recipients and not their bureaucracy.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I only give to the Salvation Army guys. I figure if you are willing to stand in the cold ringing a bell while people pass you by, I have got a couple of bucks for you. BTW I don't do Xmas.

 

[rugerpc]

It rubs me the wrong way though when I get a call from ten states away telling me basically I suck if I don't support the police, veterans, the blind, mentally challenged, etc. I have no way of knowing how much of each dollar I send them actually goes to the recipients and not their bureaucracy.

It is unfortunate that the Federal 'do not call' list is not working the way it should. It would really cut down on this kind of thing.

The revelation came for me several years ago when I asked 'the nice policeman' who was calling if he really was a policeman and what barracks did he work out of. It turns out that it was a calling service which solicited the police to use their name for donations and that the service would forward a percentage of every collection to the police. Wanna guess what the percentage was?

6.2%

I remember that I was so shocked that I couldn't speak for a moment. I asked him to verify that for every $100 they collected in the name of the local police, they KEPT $93.80 and sent along only $6.20. He said, yes, that was right. I couldn't hang up fast enough.

Now, I routinely ask every solicitor the same question. If the answer is that they give more than 90%, I politely decline to donate and ask them to please put me on their 'do not call' list. I add their cause to charities I will consider when making my giving list.

If the answer is less than 90% (it is usually less than 40% !!), I call them out for the crooks that they are and demand that they put my number on their 'do not call' list. The 'cause' they are calling for goes on my never list. If the cause condones the shameful practice, I can't support them.

 

[veinbuster]

I tend to quickly hang up on callers unless they quickly find identify themselves as someone I trust. I rarely give over the phone.
For organizations I deal with regularly I watch for them to maintain a high % to the actual cause.

 

[László]

It's good to give back.

I like to concentrate my giving in ways that I hope will really help, as opposed to just sprinkling stuff around.

 

[WEDGE]

I also hate it when you pick up and it is obvious they are auto dialling because there is two seconds dead air before someone picks up on you......

 

[tacomadriver]

We don't like calls requesting money for any reason. I always ask who they are and then what they want. Depending on the way the person comes across on the phone determines how polite I end up being. I always request to be removed from the call list. If it is a repeat call from someone we've requested not to be called I can be a bit short. If it someone we regular contribute to I verify what they have for an address. I generally never commit to giving any amount over the phone either. If it is someone my wife donates to after doing all the above I tell them they are welcome to mail her the information and she will decide then. Lastly if it is someone that hangs up on me before I can tell them not to call I tell them what I think of them realizing the line is now dead but knowing balance must be maintained.

 

[t.shamone]

Throughout year and not just at the holiday season, I give unneeded but good clothing, dry and canned food, tools, electronics, school supplies and money to a few hard working, honest and desperately struggling families.
I see my efforts directly help. Children in clothes and shoes, using books and pencils that I gave them instead of money given away and.......................
Because I help others at all times and when they really need it, I ignore solicitations made during the "season of giving" to get money out of my pocket.

 

[veinbuster]

Throughout year and not just at the holiday season, I give unneeded but good clothing, dry and canned food, tools, electronics, school supplies and money to a few hard working, honest and desperately struggling families.

I quite frequently worry/wonder about society's transition from a community based sharing to institutional/government biased assistance programs.
I like your way much better.

 

[John Scrip]

I only give to the Salvation Army guys. I figure if you are willing to stand in the cold ringing a bell while people pass you by, I have got a couple of bucks for you.

I actually get a roll of those gold Presidential dollars every year and keep a few on me at all times near the holidays for the bell ringers. And an occasional coffee on the way out if they're standing out there in the cold (they deserve it too).

As far as charities and cold calls, I tell 'em the truth -- "I have a certain amount budgeted for charitable giving every year and I've (used it up at this point) or (decided to stick to that for this year). If you want to mail something to me (always a PO box number), I'll consider your organization for next year's budget."

Local stuff aside -- That's sort of a "whatever I can as long as I can" thing. Food drives, clothing drives, etc.