Sierra Club called last night...

[burritos]

Sorry, but I need to vent. First off, not my favorite charity, but I give to them quarterly. The solicitor asked if I could give them either my credit card or atm number for automatic donations. This way I could be in some privileged wilderness donation panel. I guess it's my privilege to donate to the SC. I told them that I don't want to give my CC or ATM # and to instead mail me a pledge request. At the end of the month, I'll decide how much to give with the consideration of the other charities that DON'T call me at home. Then the solicitor said, "You still use the mail? That's not green?" WTH? They're asking me for a donation and are questioning the manner in which I deliver that donation? Maybe I want to employ more postmen. Maybe I don't want give my CC/ATM# out. I'm seriously considering not honoring the pledge and writing the above reasons why. I guess homeless veterans is going to get a bigger share of my donation pie from now on.

[eagle33199]

It sounds to me like they have a good idea, but the wrong approach. It probably would have been better to start off with a short explanation of how much paper their donation mailings use each month, and that in accordance with their purpose they are trying to reduce that as much as possible, offering people a chance to set up automatic donations (on-line donations and e-mail would be good as well).

[BigJay]

Or, you know, they could EMAIL you a pledge request with a link to a secure webpage where you can enter your CC/ATM yourself for a one-time donation.

[daniel]

Fund-raising is big business. There is cutthroat competition for your donation dollars, and getting you to choose charity X over charity Y is a science. Most commonly, someone calling you asking for money is working for a private fund-raising company hired by the charity. The fund raiser may get a flat fee, or may get a percentage of what you give.

I ask callers what percentage of my donation goes to the fund-raiser, and what percentage goes to the charity. Even if it's a flat contract fee and not a percentage, giving via a fund-raiser makes the charity think that the fund raiser is effective, and they'll keep paying them to do their fund raising. Then regardless of their answer (and usually the answer is "I don't know" because the person calling you is a minimum-wage employee at a phone bank and knows nothing but their script) I explain that I never give over the phone because I don't want my money to go to the private fund-raising company.

If it's a charity I give to, I explain that I support them, but will continue to give as before, directly to the charity.

In extreme cases, fund-raisers who make cold calls (working their way through the phone book or working from their own list rather than a list supplied by the charity) may take 100% of your donation, while the charity gets only your name and address for future solicitations. That's an extreme case, but it happens.

The same can apply to mail solicitations. I look up the web site or mailing address of the charities I give to and mail them a check, or donate on-line, directly. I never use the donation cards or reply envelopes that come in the mail, because if the solicitation was sent by a private fund raiser it will be coded so they get their cut.

I hope nobody will use the above as a reason not to give money to charity. Just be aware that fund-raising is big business and give in a manner that bypasses the fund raisers and gets your whole donation to the charity you intend it to go to.

There is information on the web regarding administrative expenses of different charities. Some are very efficient, others are very inefficient.

[eagle33199]

I agree 100% daniel, having done a bit of fundraising back in my college days for some extra money. I would add one thing to what he said, however: where possible, it can often be more advantageous (and more personally rewarding) to donate time instead of money. If you're concerned about the environment, join an adopt a river group. If you're concerned about certain diseases or illnesses, you can volunteer time at a local hospital, or time with an organization like Hole in the Wall (A charity i've spent a lot of time with) that works to try to improve the lives of those with terminal illnesses.

Donations of time are often much more valuable than donations of money. Of course, most of us probably can't do much other than donate money when it comes to issues like finding a cure for cancer or aids (I know I don't know enough to be of any help there) - but we can donate time to make life better for those with those problems.

[fuzzy1]

Originally Posted by burritos

Sorry, but I need to vent. First off, not my favorite charity, but I give to them quarterly. The solicitor asked if I could give them either my credit card or atm number for automatic donations. ...

How do you even know that it was SC, and not a boiler-room fraud operation impersonating SC?

And don't trust Caller ID anymore. I'm seeing plenty of fraudulent (invalid) and illegally masked Caller IDs.

In case anyone hasn't guessed, I don't trust cold calls. Period.

[DaveinOlyWA]

if you want to donate., go straight to their website.

in principal, i have to agree that mailing is a waste of resources. charities are big business and like all big businesses, they are looking to cut costs. it costs like 30 cents to process a secure online transaction for Electronic funds transfer, under a buck for CC or ATM.

its more than $4 to send a mailer, receive a check and cash it.

[amm0bob]

I don't ever give out my credit card numbers to incoming callers.

It doesn't matter who or what organization it is, I ain't doing it.



On another personal note... my Sierra cup is one of the best camping investments I had ever made...

[Salsawonder]

I agree with Dave about going directly to the website. I do not support anyone who infringes on my personal time and subscribe to the do not call registry to avoid those calls. I also do not give to the supermarket people. I want to know my money is going directly to the entity I choose. I also prefer giving time and services when I can.

[daniel]

Originally Posted by eagle33199

... where possible, it can often be more advantageous (and more personally rewarding) to donate time instead of money...

Both have their place. Charitable organizations need both money and volunteers. I spent several years doing 15 to 20 hours a week of volunteer work at a homeless shelter, and later I spent several years working about 15 hours a week as a volunteer in a legal aid office. Both jobs were extremely rewarding and very interesting and educational. But I don't see it as an either/or choice. I'm a strong advocate of volunteering, but those who can should give money as well.