to vow never to collect for Christian Aid ever again.

[bogwobbit]

Nothing to do with the charity, which I think is an excellent one, but jeez people in this country are soooooooo miserable.
I can understand why people for various reasons can't or don't want to give to a specific charity and I can appreciate (especially after reading some other threads on this topic and by the way yes, all you people who complain about people daring to knock on your door collecting for charity, are unreasonable and imho quite selfish) that not everyone likes to be asked on their doorstep (very nicely in my case) if they would like to donate but why do people have to be so rude and smug and downright horrible about it. It's almost as though NOT giving to charity is some kind of positive personality trait. Funnily enough the nicest, most generous ones are the little old ladies who quite possibly can least afford it.

So after spending five hours of my time, trudging through the rain and the hail and the wind in freezing temperatures after a full day at work, never again!! Rant over but jeez, another nail in the coffin, for my faith in humanity :)

I have two charities - I support one by direct debit, & actively fundraise for the other. I will also happily sponsor/support other charities on occasion - eg. if a friend or student is raising money for their charity of choice.

Doorstep or chug me, though, & you won't be seeing a donation for the forseeable, as I politely explain to doorsteppers & persistent chuggers.

I hope I'm not rude, but I'd certainly have no qualms in telling OP that I wouldn't be donating, & they could usefully take me off the list for next year rather than wasting other people's donations on an envelope/bag/biro.

Christian Aid do seem to be one of the charities that'd benefit from a 'don't call' list, tbh. It'd certainly make them more cost effective.

It is a depressing thread and I am glad that I am no longer a collector. It is an effective way to raise money. It is a mild inconvenience and you can simply say that you would rather not, in a pleasant way. It is only the same week in May each year. You can't tell who will be living in the house, I used to find that quite a few had changed hands in the year.

I'm not rude but some collectors seem to like to guilt / pressure you into giving or "can't accept cash only dd". THAT is a joke

I always used my opening sentence to make it clear it was optional.

I gave a bit of change quite happily to the lovely and polite older lady who came to our door. However, I absolutely loathe the career collectors who pester me endlessly. Last week I told a UNICEF collector that I'd take a look at the website and possibly donate that way, and he proceeded to tell me "but this is my JOB and if you do that I won't get any money, so I'll come back about 7 once the kids are in bed". Then he sort of disappeared. At 7 I explained that I really do not like giving out my bank details to door to door callers. He then told me that that was silly because he has a badge, and it's just like writing a cheque. Eventually he went away, but not before disturbing my evening greatly.

I know this has all been said before and I have nothing new to add....

I don't like being 'targeted' by charity collectors on the high street. Having a child in a buggy seems to make you fair game.

I don't like people knocking on my door on an evening. I have had people hold my door open, I have many people not believe me when I say my only 'income' is CB of £80 a month, or if they do, they can't understand why I am not willing to give £5 of that away every month.

I have no objection to people standing around town with a charity tin. My friend was collecting for CA last weekend doing that and she said that they get a fair bit that way. I think people with children are more likely to give this way as you can give some money to your child to put in the tin and they get a sticker and they like that. They don't like having to stand around on a freezing cold day whil someone runs off a huge spiel about their charity.

Oh, and the ones who try to angle it so it is personal really make me cross. I was 7m pregnant and someone from a children's charity knocked on my door and said "Good evening, I see you're expecting, congratulations, now if your baby was born with x,y,z you would want our help, so why not support our charity?" I found this quite offensive. She had no idea about anything to do with my pregnancy, I may know I was carrying a disabled child or I may have had a very stressful time conceiving etc.

If there is a code of conduct, I imagine there are very few 'rules' on it.

On the other hand, the Jehovah's Witnesses here are good, when they knock on your door, they say "Good morning, may I ask if you would have a moment to read this? Have a good day"

That is non-intrusive

Onward Christian soldiers..... Happy Sunday, no unknown callers, random ones I like - no appointments needed here, totally pointless comment of the thread!!!!

OP - may be better for you to pray for the rude people rather than coming on here and having a go at them. Just sayin

This year there will be Government Match Funding for Christian Aid week. The first £5 million donated to Christian Aid Week will be matched by the UK Government pound for pound, enabling the charity to help more people in poor communities work their way out of poverty.

Is it still on trestle? Can folk donate on line?

trestle - that mean then that most of the "rude"bastards people who didn't donate have actually done so via their taxes!

So, actually this thread is completely pointless

'There is a name for Charity collectors who approach people directly

That will be 'Fucking Nuisances', gabsid'

Yes! The comments on this thread have partly reduced my blood pressure that was raised earlier this week by an article in the Times by a CA collector making the same, santimonious, bullying, judgemental statements that the OP made.
I am particulalry that they state it is the lilttle old ladies that give - yes becasue you put a guilt trip on the most vulnerable poeple, who as others have said, may have to skimp on their heating or food because you have bullied them into contributing by invading their home space, so you can wallow in a smug-fest with your fellow-extrortionists back at the church hall.
And extorting money from lonely people on their doorsteps is hardly a moral way to 'raise money'- how about doing a sponsored dog-shit collection form the streets? I would sponsor you for that. No, thought not.

OP, I do think you have come across as rather smug and judgemental on this thread, which does no good to your cause at all.

Personally, I would not give to Christian Aid, as I choose not to donate to religious charities. That's not to say that these charities don't do a lot of good work, but there are others which do equally good work in the same field, and I prefer to give to those instead.

Having said that, I don't really mind doorstep collectors or chuggers etc, as I realise that charities have to collect their money somehow, and they will do whatever works best. I say good luck to them! Yes, it can be quite irritating if they call at an inconvenient time, but a minor source of irritation for me pales into nothing when compared to the suffering experienced by many of the people that the charities are trying to help.

If I don't want to give to a particular charity, I just say so. I don't really understand why people feel "guilted" into giving. I feel no guilt at all. I already give a significant amount to my chosen charities each month, and my conscience is clear as I'm doing what I can. I can't give to every worthy cause, and if I had spare money to donate, it would go to one of the carefully selected charities that I already support. If people feel guilty about saying no to a particular charity, perhaps that says more about them than it says about the charity - maybe deep down, they feel that they should be giving more.

OP, at the end of the day, you need to accept that you will get a mixed response when collecting for any charity. People shouldn't be rude, of course, but some people are arses, and if you truly believe in the cause you're collecting for, you will take the rough with the smooth and shrug it off - the cause is more important than how you feel on other people's doorsteps.

Yes yes to MrsNR's point about the Jehovah's Witnesses - always polite, non-pressuring nor intrusive.

As a general rule though, I don't answer the door unless I know the person/neighbour, it's a delivery person bearing a parcel or I'm expecting the meter to be read or whatever.

OP, I have particular objection to your line about the old ladies - do you not feel that you are taking advantage of a vulnerable sector of society?

I will be honest, being asked for money like that puts me off giving. Much prefer to give directly to local underfunded charities that don't have the resources for big campaigns. There are also other ways to give to charity/give back other than money. OP, have you considered of all the people who turn you down, maybe they donate blood or are on the Antony Nolan register - both of those will change someone else's life far more than £2 a month by DD.

PickledFanjoCat, yes it's still possible to make a donation :)

www.caweek.org/donate

MrsGuyOfGisbourne - smug-fest, my arse. If you're going to call me judgemental, at least have the grace not to be judgemental yourself.

I'm sorry that people feel that I take money from old ladies but I actually feel quite at the implication that they only gave because I somehow 'guilted' them into it. Absolutely not true, so no, I don't feel that I'm taking advantage of them. Your comment about a sponsored dog-shit collection is an interesting one because actually I did do a litter collection a couple of weeks ago. There you go, something else for me to feel smug and self-entitled about, don't you think. Acutally, what about a sponsored bull-shit collection from this thread? shinyblackgrape and IAmBooyHoo you've given very generously already to that. I thank you.

And to all of those who say, have I not considered that people who don't donate, do so in other ways the answer is of course I do. I thought I made it clear earlier that I have absolutely no problem with people not donating, what I do object to is their rudeness.
Anyway parp parp to the lot of you. I'm off to the church hall for a smug fest with my fellow judgemental, self-righteous, old lady robbers. I won't be back on this thread because it's all getting pretty tedious and obviously no matter how I try to explain myself, the majority of you think I am being unreasonable.

Ah bog I love the parp parp!

We have a local old busy body who used to come to the door to collect. We live in the country and don't tend to keep money around only whatever I happen to have in my purse.

One year she came knocking I was in the bath and DH answered to her. He was slightly flustered and asked if she could come back as he wasn't sure where the money was. She then spotted the kid's piggy banks and pretty much said that whatever was in there would do.

DH being the polite to old people type he is foolishly obliged and emptied the contents into her bag. Stupid cow now sends us demands with her monthly parish newsletters with specific details of who we should hand the money bags into at the local school and by when.

Needless to say we don't bother!

I kind of agree with MrsGuy actually.
My elderly mother was always filling envelopes when people came to the door.
She also got talked into direct debiting WaterAid, after a phonecall.
She's in a home now, but she would feel guilty and embarrassed if she gave nothing when they came to the door (on her zimmer).

I didn't know charities still did door-to-door collections. I used to do them years ago (and also ones where you stood outside a shop with a tin) and for the most part people were polite - there are always a few rude ones. I would happily give to a door-to-door collector, as I do to people standing with a tin, provided I didn't actively disapprove of the charity.

I do, though, get fed up with chuggers, especially when they come to your door. I also frequently get phone calls from charities with whom I already have a direct debit, asking me to increase the direct debit. It seems that the more you give, the more you are harassed to give. It doesn't seem quite fair.

I find some of the responses on here rather depressing. There is quite a big difference between someone like the OP, who goes knocking on people's doors out of the goodness of her heart, and people who are paid to accost people in the street for donations. It's rather unpleasant that some people want to make rather nasty personal attacks on the OP rather than give her some credit for being a good person.

I blame Mrs Thatcher, personally.

I also frequently get phone calls from charities with whom I already have a direct debit, asking me to increase the direct debit. It seems that the more you give, the more you are harassed to give. It doesn't seem quite fair.

I get this a lot too, and it can be annoying, but I guess it's perfectly rational behaviour on the part of the charity - those who already support their work presumably believe that it has value, and are therefore likely to give more.

what hackmum said

also much time devoted upthread to old ladies in particular giving because they're somehow menaced into it by do-gooding sanctimonious busybody doorstep collectors

I think it's more down to them coming from a time where charity donation was considered a Good Thing- and by extension that collectors giving up their time were Good People

It's perfectly feasible that some old people will feel obliged. Not saying the op would do that, but it's not beyond the realms of possibility. My mum is 70 and she can't say no to anyone. So don't discount it.

Parp parp.