Annoying charities... rant

[Catrin]

It's not the asking that I object to. I expect them to ask for another contribution. It's when I donate X amount and their next letter is asking for 2X or 3X that my first response is to send them nothing ever again.

Yes, this. I send what I can afford to give, and while there was one situation where I still gave after getting this kind of letter, it took some thought before I did it but I typically won't.

[Crankin]

I understand the need, as my closest friend is a development officer for our local hospital. I could never do what she does. She doesn't actually ask for the $, she has to shmooze people, plan events, and deal with the volunteers who work at her events. In other words, she has to be nice to people she doesn't necessarily like, to, in the end, get money.
I work for a non profit, so I understand. The one I work for, at least treats the professional staff fairly well. When I went on interviews last year, I couldn't believe the lack of, well, decency, in some of the attitudes I encountered from clinical directors, all because as some told me, "we are non profit, we have no money." And coming from public education, this was an eye opener. I thought schools were bad.

[marni]

Yes, this. I send what I can afford to give, and while there was one situation where I still gave after getting this kind of letter, it took some thought before I did it but I typically won't.

any charity thattells me how much I should give or could give gets nothing. My husbands company does a United Way giving campaign each year, and they have the nerve to look at the general income levels of the various executives ( which are generally in the public annual reports) and have the nerve to prefigue everyones' "expected" contribution and send them a letter to that effect. Talk about having the nerve! My husband send them back an interior memo with a penny attached and tells them to mind their own business.

Cahrities that send me a dollar, or a nickel or a penny? I keep the money and shred the letter. Several of these I have never given too and so they are obviously combing public mailing lists. At this point I have enough scratch pads and return address stickers to last me for the rest of my life, I wish they could just give up and give the postage and printing costs that they save to whatever cause they are supporting.

I rode a fair number of local charitiy rides where I support causes I believe in and can see how the money is benefiting local groups. Of course this means that both DH and I have more "ride" t shirts than we could ever use as well.

Maybe I'll start making lap quilts out of them and donating to the local pet shelter or old folks home.