Annoying charities... rant

[roadie gal]

There are a few national charities that I give to a few times a year. Mostly I'll send them a check for $50-100. I give what I can, when I can. Occasionally I'll give more. I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT when the charity turns around and sends me a form letter saying, "Thank you for your $100. Please give us $250 next time", or something to that effect. Just say Thank You. DON'T ask me for more next time. If I'd wanted to/been able to give more I would have. Don't be greedy!

(OTOH, I've found that local charities don't do that. They just acknowledge the gift graciously.)

[emily_in_nc]

Easy cure: give only to local charities. They probably have less overhead anyway and will put your dollars to immediate use in the community rather than for more direct mailings! That's what I started doing. Even though I want to give to every worthy cause, I just can't afford to. I know where my money will go the farthest, and it's right here in my local community.

[OakLeaf]

It's not even the content of the mailings (I don't read them anyway, I learn about charities from their own websites, news stories, IRS 990s and charity rating sites), it's the volume that gets to me. I know I should be supporting the Post Office, but I just hate getting the annual reports that weigh two or three pounds. We've had moderate success with enclosing a note with our check, asking them not to send any paper mail. But maybe that only ever works with larger donations. I don't find any difference as far as local vs. national vs. international, except for the super tiny local organizations that just don't send any mass mailings at all.

[jessmarimba]

I don't have a lot to give, but I do donate to my high school (it's a weird situation where it's a public school open to multiple districts but isn't fully funded through taxes). They're extremely grateful, to the effect where they encourage folks to give as little as $5 and publicly thank everyone via facebook for any donation. I wish I could give more than I do, but I'm glad that they appreciate what little I can donate.

[indysteel]

I mostly give locally, and have had good luck limiting the reminders and mailings by simply asking that they stop. My local public radio/tv station is a good example of that. Having been on a not for profit board of a local chapter of one of the biggest national charities, I can tell you that the pressure to raise money is intense and never-ending. I often felt that we were employing less than ideal methods because of that pressure. If an organization you otherwise support has a practice that you find obnoxious or troublesome, I'd encourage you to share your thoughts with them. If it helps them figure out best practices, then you will be doing them a favor in the long run.

[Crankin]

Once, when I was younger (28 or so), I went to a meeting of the Jewish Business and Professional Women of Greater Phoenix. I had gone mostly to their evening networking things and this was a brunch with a well known speaker, a woman who survived the Holocaust. Yes, you can see what was coming. After the food and speech, they started with the "give to the campaign." I was not only shocked, albeit a bit naive, but then my shock turned to disgust. I actually said something, like, "No I'm not giving. I came hear to hear the speaker and meet people. I don't really care that the $ is going to... I give money to my synagogue..." Wow, that was the kiss of death. I really didn't know about this stuff, and I think they gave me a little leeway, as I was 8 months pregnant. Using the speaker's experience as a guilt trip to give really pissed me off.
I do give money to just a couple of things, but I always regret it, because of the incessant calls and stuff.