The Strangeness of Donating

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Bajabob

New Member
Location
Las Vegas
A while back, I donated to 2 charitable organizations. Since then, I have been deluged by requests for money from all sorts of outfits, some I had never heard of. Among the misguided ideas these organizations have is that if they use my name as frequently as possible in the mailings they send me, I will be so thrilled that I will be exceptionally generous. Wrong !

I never put junk mail directly in the wastebasket. I must first cut out the places where my name, address or both appear and shred those cuttings. I have seen a vehicle pull up near the dumpster, take out a trash bag or 3, and drive off. That's the main reason why I don't want any of my important data to go to the dumpster.

Another gimmick the money-seekers use is to assign registration numbers to their mailings. That lends an air of official business to the stuff, and they hope I'll be duly impressed. Also used is the gimmick of asking for a renewal of my membership in this or that.
 

I've wondered if the constant solicitation for donors/members is a way for an organization to make itself appear larger when they approach various government agencies, corporations and private charitable trusts for substantial funding, grants, etc...

I've also noticed on some solicitations that when you do a little research it turns out that they are private for profit organizations that donate almost nothing to charity or they are outright scams. One in my area is a telephone solicitation that is raising money for the New York State Police or the Police Benevolent Society. They always start out asking if they can send you an envelope and then surprise surprise, they tell you it would be so much easier and less expensive if you just give them your credit card number so they can process the charge immediately.

I shy away from mail/telephone solicitations and make my donations to small grassroots groups in my community.
 

I'm new to this forum but this is something that bugs me too. I only give to well known groups that I feel an affinity to. And I hate it when I give to an organization, and then get weekly 'beg' letters asking for more. It makes me think my donation didn't help at all, it just funded letters and postage to fill my mailbox. I'm thinking any donations from me in the future will be in an unmarked envelope (not their return envelope with printed bar code) and using a money order with no name on it, so they don't know who it came from.
 
I'm not rich, but I've donated to several organizations over the years for disaster assistance, cancer, animal, veterans, etc. It annoys me that I also get bombarded in my mailbox, not only by the organization I gave to, but others that happened to get my name off a list. I only give when I can or am compelled to, and resent constant demand to give more. Not the way to get donations in my opinion.
 
Bajabob said:
A while back, I donated to 2 charitable organizations. Since then, I have been deluged by requests for money from all sorts of outfits, some I had never heard of. Among the misguided ideas these organizations have is that if they use my name as frequently as possible in the mailings they send me, I will be so thrilled that I will be exceptionally generous.
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I've never had a problem with donating my time
Never had a problem with just sending a money order

Those asking for my address?
Heh
never
 
My wife and I have donated to two charities for years. Over this past Christmas, I saw several commercials regarding the Cancer Association and the “supposedly” good work that they do, including taking patients to their appointments, helping with purchasing meds, etc. We never knew this.

After doing our own investigating, we have decided to add them (Cancer Society) to our list of charities that we will donate to. We also donate a much smaller amount to two other charities.

One thing that I did notice this past Christmas was that there weren’t as many bell ringers as in the past. Anyone else notice that?
 
Since I retired I no longer donate to appeals.

I have chosen the charities that I wish to support and donate by periodic direct transfer from my bank account.
I politely refuse any phone invitations to donate, explaining that I am now a pensioner on a fixed income.
 
A dear friend of mine had a wife and daughter die with cancer and he always donated to any cancer research program. After they died he asked me to help him pay his bills as he was diagnosed with Parkinsons and having trouble writing. He would bring his bills over to my condo (we lived in the same complex) and I was surprised at the charity requests he received. We would go through them and he would tell me which ones to pay. After his death he continued to get them. I asked the mailman what I could do to stop them and he said he would handle it. When a mailman knows someone has died he can auto return to the sender with a stamp that said deceased. He did not know that my friend had died only that I was getting his mail as part of being his executor. Now I only get one every now and then when there is a substitute mail man. Any I get now for him, I shred as they send him address labels, blankets, etc. Once you get on their list everybody sends you a request. There should be an opt out list.
 
I've heard that once they have a sizeable list of REAL names and addresses, they're able to sell the list. So, just responding, even to say no, will get you on the list.
 
I honestly feel bad when the charity encloses a small gift for you along with their request. Guess they think it will make you donate by feeling a little guilty keeping the gift.
 
I once had a daydream of finding a way to make a version of 'newspaper logs' with junk mail. Then I'd donate small amounts to multiple charities, request every free catalog I could and have a source of 'free' heat.
 
HipGnosis said:
I once had a daydream of finding a way to make a version of 'newspaper logs' with junk mail. Then I'd donate small amounts to multiple charities, request every free catalog I could and have a source of 'free' heat.
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:lol1:
 

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