Aggressive methods of charities

R

Rose65

Well-known Member
Location
United Kingdom
I don't mind giving a pound or so to collections for charities but gone are those days! Now they want your bank details, to sign up for direct debits. They mean business. Forget it, I will never do that.

However, many kind hearted vulnerable elderly people do. One lady I know has not got much money. Her son handles finances for her, he visits when he can but she remains independent. The trouble is she keeps signing up for charities who talk to her at the door or in town. Her son has had to cancel several direct debits for animal charities. She gets lonely and cannot say no, just doesn't understand that she cannot afford it.
 

Don M. said:
there are some good charities, but far too many spend a majority on "administrative" costs. Here's a good place to visit before making any donations....
https://www.charitywatch.org/
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absolutely some of very BIG name charities are often low on list of spending money on anything but administrators...
This has also become the standard for Some celebrity type foundations can set up for tax write off often employ family/ friends at exorbitant salaries under the guise of giving back. Then ask fans to donate to keep it looking good.
 
When a friend died he requested that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project (https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/) so I donated $50 in his name. Certainly sounded like a good cause to me.

Now hardly a week goes by that I don't get mail from them hounding me for more money. A lot of the mailers include "free gifts", mostly junk but still must cost something. At this point I am sure they have spent more than the original $50 trying to get more out of me. I will never give them another dime.

When I try to research them I mostly find positive ratings, in fact they claim "100% of your donation supports wounded warriors.". I can't see how that could be true, who pays for all those mailings?
 
The main charities I donate to do not spam me. But being the generous person I am, a couple of years ago, I decided to donate to Feeding America and boy was that a mistake! Not only did they keep sending me snail mail but I started getting bombarded with mail from similar charities. They must have shared my information directly or maybe there's a database where similar charities can find that information. It is really a PITA because I have to shred the parts with my name and address on it. I will never donate to them or similar charities again, especially since one of my main charities also accepts donations to feed the poor and hungry. None of the charities I've donated to asked for personal or financial information, other than my name, address, phone and credit card number.
 
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Rose65 said:
Now they want your bank details, to sign up for direct debits.
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I would never contribute to any charity that asked for that info! - and we give to a lot of different charities. Wow, talk about bold! I don't give to anyone who comes to the door, either. However, there are charities I only donate to occasionally. When they send me a request saying that someone is willing to match so that the charity will receive double the amount I give, I generally will donate. These are charities I've vetted before so I'm okay with that.

One charity I gave to was a local one that focuses on cats. They had been nominated as an entrant into a national competition, so if they managed to raise enough to be in the top three donation totals, they would receive an additional cash prize, win/place/show. They emailed later, very excited - they received an additional $8K which they used for trapping, neutering, and re-releasing feral cats. I was happy they won; it's an excellent cause.

Any new charities I always check out their ratings, either on Charity Navigator (https://www.charitynavigator.org/) or Guidestar (https://www.guidestar.org/).

I think it's hard for many elderly women to say "no" to direct appeals for help/donations. I know my MIL found it difficult.

I'm on all kinds of purchased mailing lists. I just toss the junk mail into the recycling bin.
 
Alligatorob said:
When a friend died he requested that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project (https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/) so I donated $50 in his name. Certainly sounded like a good cause to me.

Now hardly a week goes by that I don't get mail from them hounding me for more money. A lot of the mailers include "free gifts", mostly junk but still must cost something. At this point I am sure they have spent more than the original $50 trying to get more out of me. I will never give them another dime.

When I try to research them I mostly find positive ratings, in fact they claim "100% of your donation supports wounded warriors.". I can't see how that could be true, who pays for all those mailings?
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That is terrible.
 
I donated to a charity that feeds the homeless and single moms - with a request for "NO CONTACT FOR FURTHER DONATIONS". Every month (or more), a letter thanking me for MY GENEROUS DONATION with a form for further donations. I wrote them that my donation IS NOT FOR STAMPS REQUESTING MORE MONEY and I crossed them off my donation list.
 
Alligatorob said:
When a friend died he requested that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project (https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/) so I donated $50 in his name. Certainly sounded like a good cause to me.

Now hardly a week goes by that I don't get mail from them hounding me for more money. A lot of the mailers include "free gifts", mostly junk but still must cost something. At this point I am sure they have spent more than the original $50 trying to get more out of me. I will never give them another dime.

When I try to research them I mostly find positive ratings, in fact they claim "100% of your donation supports wounded warriors.". I can't see how that could be true, who pays for all those mailings?
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I had a similar experience with MĆ©decins Sans FrontiĆØres (AKA Doctors Without Borders). I donated $100 and they hounded me relentlessly for years, including frequent mailings of expensive color brochures that were like magazines. I would never give them another dime after that experience.

The sad thing is I believe they do a lot of good in the world, but their wasteful, aggressive fundraising tactics turned me off. Permanently. Had they sent me an envelope with a request for a donation now and then, I would have sent additional donations their way.
 
Iā€™ve got my own favourite charities and very much dislike being needlessly solicited for donations .

Last year while doing research on sjogrens disease, I found a forum dedicated to exactly that so joined. Right after I joined I was asked to donate an X amount of money which would take me to a new level where I could get doctors numbers and direct information. I joined, paid the yearly fee and donated some extra. I didnā€™t get any additional info and seriously disliked how they withheld info, dragged things out ridiculously so and wouldnā€™t stop asking for donations. I literally had to ask the woman in charge to please stop badgering me for donations. Her response was that itā€™s how they make progress. Next thing I know Iā€™m getting snail mail asking for donations. She also sends an end of year progress report stating how much money has been raised.

Three times Iā€™ve asked to be taken off the list.
Today I get another letter soliciting me for donations. What ticks me off most is that it reminds me of the saying ā€œ No good deed goes unpunished.ā€ A saying thatā€™s so true which makes it extra sad. You put yourself out there as a generous person and get hounded relentlessly. Itā€™s getting burned šŸ”„ as well as the rest of them that will be sure to show up.šŸ™„
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Iā€™ve got my own favourite charities and very much dislike being needlessly solicited for donations .

Last year while doing research on sjogrens disease, I found a forum dedicated to exactly that so joined. Right after I joined I was asked to donate an X amount of money which would take me to a new level where I could get doctors numbers and direct information. I joined, paid the yearly fee and donated some extra. I didnā€™t get any additional info and seriously disliked how they withheld info, dragged things out ridiculously so and wouldnā€™t stop asking for donations. I literally had to ask the woman in charge to please stop badgering me for donations. Her response was that itā€™s how they make progress. Next thing I know Iā€™m getting snail mail asking for donations. She also sends an end of year progress report stating how much money has been raised.

Three times Iā€™ve asked to be taken off the list.
Today I get another letter soliciting me for donations. What ticks me off most is that it reminds me of the saying ā€œ No good deed goes unpunished.ā€ A saying thatā€™s so true which makes it extra sad. You put yourself out there as a generous person and get hounded relentlessly. Itā€™s getting burned šŸ”„ as well as the rest of them that will be sure to show up.šŸ™„
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You're so right Patty! Too often it seems that "No good deed goes unpunished" ! Organizations like that make it hard for others who don't operate that way. The way you were treated was unconscionable!
 
I've written before about my stepfather sending donations and getting mail like crazy. When he was hospitalized and in rehab, I got his mail. Once there were 72 solicitations for 2 days. Often there were 20-30 or more daily.

I called, e mailed, sent back, some stamped, envelopes to almost 300 organizations. I wrote them all down in alphabetical order to keep track. Once I had a stack, made calls. The last one I called, the snit stated "you called like an hour ago." I appologized and then looked through the stack of solicitations, there were two from this same snit organization over just a few days. One was at the top of the stack, one at the end.

Some had a return envelopes but no real contact. Phone numbers were disconnected, or box full. PO Box. All these weird stupid names something like "coalition to protect america" "citizens for freedom" Blah blah blah.

Is he still donating, I don't know. When he dies, I feel sorry for whoever gets that box. I think I may have cut back but if he started donating again.....it's doom.
 
Alligatorob said:
I make a rule, I only give to the charities I pick out, call or pressure me and you're off the list, permanently.

Too many good charities out there, I don't want to contribute to one that spends big dollars on marketing.
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When I retired I decided to select one local charity (volunteer Rural Fire Services), and one overseas one (Medicins sans Frontiers) to support regularly on a monthly basis using direct debit. Previously I would respond to phone calls for worthy causes but once I had settled on those two, I was happy to refuse invitations because I can only do so much. I also make my contribution to my church as a monthly bank transfer.

I will still give to the Salvation Army if I see them appealing in the shopping mall but that is but loose change.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
You're so right Patty! Too often it seems that "No good deed goes unpunished" ! Organizations like that make it hard for others who don't operate that way. The way you were treated was unconscionable!
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It seems like people focus in on generous people for a number of possible reasons. Iā€™m on the cynical side regarding people and money so my opinions might be a bit harsh.

1/. They are hoping you are a gullible pushover
2/. They are hoping you are wealthy and can afford it
3/. They think youā€™ve got some type of mental disorder that they might be able to exploit
4/. They think that you are old and might be somewhat incapacitated
5/. They just think youā€™re a kind and generous person that will keep donating

From looking after my folks I definitely know that there are those low and deceptive enough to take advantage of aging and disabled folks without a care in the world.
Itā€™s sad that itā€™s not that uncommon.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
It seems like people focus in on generous people for a number of possible reasons. Iā€™m on the cynical side regarding people and money so my opinions might be a bit harsh.

1/. They are hoping you are a gullible pushover
2/. They are hoping you are wealthy and can afford it
3/. They think youā€™ve got some type of mental disorder that they might be able to exploit
4/. They think that you are old and might be somewhat incapacitated
5/. They just think youā€™re a kind and generous person that will keep donating

From looking after my folks I definitely know that there are those low and deceptive enough to take advantage of aging and disabled folks without a care in the world.
Itā€™s sad that itā€™s not that uncommon.
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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/13/older-americans-lose-almost-3-billion-a-year-to-scams.html
When it comes to seniors, they definitely feel that we are mentally incapacitated or not savvy enough to recognize scams. Unfortunately, that is true for some seniors who have wound up losing a ton of money. According to the article above from 2019, the losses totaled an astonishing 2.9 billion dollars! That is a whole lot of successful scamming! And it's a damned shame. :mad: It's a good thing your folks have you to look out for them.
 

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/13/older-americans-lose-almost-3-billion-a-year-to-scams.html
OneEyedDiva said:
When it comes to seniors, they definitely feel that we are mentally incapacitated or not savvy enough to recognize scams. Unfortunately, that is true for some seniors who have wound up losing a ton of money. According to the article above from 2019, the losses totaled an astonishing 2.9 billion dollars! That is a whole lot of successful scamming! And it's a damned shame. :mad: It's a good thing your folks have you to look out for them.
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I really wasnā€™t sure which emoji to add. So many emotions to choose from.

Ten percent of seniors successfully get scammed. This statistic must be on a fluctuating scale.

Only 1 in every 24 cases of elder exploitation gets reported. I wonder why that is ? Are they afraid? Do they not realize theyā€™ve been scammed? Are they incapacitated?

Caring for my parents was a real eye opener.
It was the hardest thing Iā€™ve ever done but the thing Iā€™m most proud of in my entire life.
 
I sent a Paypal donation to Furball Cat Sanctuary this morning even though I had mailed a check last week. They took in 54 cats and kittens from a dire situation, woman with unfixed cats reproducing. I figured they could use it. I hope other's are donating. The good thing is, I won't hear from them and they don't share your information. They will say in their videos they are grateful for donations.
 

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