To not want to give money to charity collectors

[bumblebee50]

To be honest I often do given money to someone who rattles a tin at me, however, this is due to embarassment more than anything else. I actually believe that very little money that is collected makes it to the charity. Instead of sending Christmas cards last year I sent a cheque to the local hospice because I believe (rightly or wrongly) that the money will be used properly and not taken up with employees wages, admin etc. I never ever given money to collectors who call at my house though.

[ilovesooty]

How can you BU?

Please yourself - your choice.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

If you're giving money because you're embarrassed, you're encouraging them to think of tin rattling as a good idea. You're causing it. Just don't.

[Woodenmouse]

Do you live near me? Charity collectors knocked on my door about an hour ago. I'm waiting for a delivery so answered while juggling hungry baby and tired and grumpy toddler. I just said sorry bad time and shut the door.

[GraceGrape]

I have rattled a tin for a local charity I was involved with. Certainly, in that case, all the money raised went to the charity. What makes you think it doesn't? It was actually a fairly soul -destroying experience. I hadn't realised what a tiny proportion of passers-by actually put money in collecting tins.

[Sugarcoma]

YANBU. I avoid most of the big charities e.g. Oxfam etc because I personally believe they are corrupt as hell. I think in general charity works far better on a local/community scale when you can see how the money is being put to use.

[bumblebee50]

I agree with sugarcoma - I think charity is big business - look at all the TV adverts, mail drops etc. - all that must cost a fortune. None of the big charity bosses will be poor that's for sure.

[bumblebee50]

Also, my sons volunteered for a charity shop every week - their target for the week was tiny - probably just enough to meet the rent and the wages of the employees. And remember, charity shops don't pay rates, hence why there's so many in high street shops. The charity shop next to my work also sells lots of brand new items - I think it is unfair to small business owners.

[IzzyIsBusy]

Give/dont give. Its your choice.
If you walk past a tin rattler you are just 1 of many who already has. They wont judge you and there is no need you to be embaressed.

[hopelesslycynical]

YANBU. Lots of charity money seems to be wasted, look at all the stuff you get through the post and the barrage of melodramatic adverts on the telly. And then you get charities like Kids Company wasting money on swimming pools, chauffeurs and private school fees. Still I prefer a tin rattler to a forcefully cheerful chugger inveigling a direct debit out of you.

[Sunnydawn]

I just smile and say, "no thanks, sorry". I also don't buy anything from cold callers etc.

I just don't appreciate being pressurised, and guilt tripped into something, and would rather decide in slow time.

[JaceLancs]

I work for a charity full time - we provide services to our clients free of charge, they are mostly elderly, very ill, disabled or have mental health issues - money donated to the charity pays staff wages, admin, insurances etc which are all required, I'm intrigued with you donating to your local hospice and not considering who pays for the people that work there, or their bookkeeping, payroll etc

[Maudlinmaud]

I had a guy call today, I listened to his blurb then politely said no thank you.
On my way to sainsburys other collectors where in the middle of the road with a bucket. Then in sainsburys there where more.

[IzzyIsBusy]

Jace
Same here. I think people believe all those who work for a charity should do so for free

The service we provide to those that need it is free of charge but without money coming in we could no longer offer that service for free which means many would go without.
We have a large bunch if hard working volunteers but qualified paid staff are needed to ensure we comply with laws and legislation plus paid qualified staff to support our complex clients.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

I work for a non profit. I didn't realize extreme poverty was what givers wanted from us. Of course we need admin and websites and offices and managers.

We work really hard and want our clients to get the best they can. Do people think we do it for the riches? Everyone in my office could earn more elsewhere.

[bigbluebus]

I choose the charities I support carefully and give to those who a)carry out an activity that is close to my heart and/or b) keeps the proportion of the money it spends on admin low compared to the costs of providing their core activity. That's not to say I won't throw a £1 in a tin if I'm passing one.

My DH works for a Charity. They are a small stand alone charity and he does not earn anywhere near what some of the big charity fat cats earn. He takes part in sponsored events to help raise his own salary! He also has a good insight into the workings of some of the bigger charities and what their reserves are and openly tells me which ones he doesn't approve of either because of the amount of money they already have or their fundrasing tactics.

I have enough charities that are dear to me for personal reasons and whom I regularly support so am more than happy to turn away collectors who knock on the door and never waste my time with chuggers.

OP set yourself your own 'giving' policy and stick to it. You are not obliged to give to tin rattlers - in fact I thought tin rattling was illegal as it is classed as begging.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Is it a guilt alleviation thing? Do people feel better not giving if they can slag off charities?

Give. Don't give. It's all the same to me. But charities do good work and help people. Not all of them as much as they could. But a lot.

[MistresssIggi]

I think people who refuse to drop a bit of change into a charity tin held by a volunteer at a supermarket because of some concern about corruption in high places are knobs.
They are also nothing like "chuggers" and are usually people affected by whatever issue they are collecting for.
If you want to see corruption and bad management, have a look at the people who gave you your bank cards.

[MrHannahSnell]

I work for a charity on the finance side and have long said that chuggers and "donate a little each month" schemes are the worst thing that ever happened to charity financing. OK you get a regular income, but it seems that the number of large and medium sized one-off donations ee used to get has declined, I think because people are being put off by what they see as constant begging.

[ArgyMargy]

YANBU for not putting money in the tin, but YABU for justifying it by slagging off charities.

[Bubblegum18]

My SIL friends DM runs a company who collect on behalf of daisy chain they take a large cut for the collector then the company and a small fraction goes to the charity people don't realise when they give. I never give to the buckets. I much prefer to donate directly to the charity so I know they get it. You find a lot in the small print e.g sweet cones,wrists straps only donate a small percentage on every 1 pound recieved.

[GraceGrape]

I am bemused by this notion of taking a large cut for the collector. Maybe this is the case for some large charities? As I said upthread, I have rattled a tin and certainly didn't get paid to do it! Most of the people I see doing it seem to be pensioners and I would be extremely surprised if they got a cut. I think there is a clear distinction between people who voluntarily give up their time to tin-rattle and professional chuggers. It seems most people think otherwise!

Frankly, this thread is quite depressing. Who would have thought there was so much negativity about putting a few coins in a charity tin?

[Bantanddec]

Chuggers get about a tenner an hour to chug and they ask for £2 a week, the figures just don't add up!???

[BestMammyEver]

I am a representative of CLIC Sargent because when my son was going through treatment, they helped us in more ways than you can imagine. Obviously they pay their staff, who are trained professionals and are constantly on call.

I do what I can to help, in my spare time, cakes sales, collection tins and events. I do it for free and so do many others because that is my way of giving back.

Don't be put off all charities, I can certainly vouch for this one and I really don't know how me and my family would've coped without them.

[BlueberryBakewell]

Face to face and door to door fundraisers, do get paid, usually about £10 an hour. It is a hard job, and as a lot of pp have said, the majority of people they speak to do not donate. However a lot do give, and a regular donor, giving £2 to £10 a month can make a big difference to a charity. They have an idea of their income and can plan their projects effectively as they have a forecast of their income and outgoings..

This form of fundraising also has the best ROI (return on investment) for charities. One fundraiser I know, when he calculated the new donors he had signed up, over a 3 year period, had generated over £700k for the charity. Considering he earned maybe £19k a year, the majority of the money did go to the charity, and will have made a big difference to a lot of people in need.