AIBU to think British Red Cross sending me coasters is a waste of money?

[SodaStreamy]

Just received their latest direct mail asking for donations and the envelope contains a bookmark, two notelets, 2 plain white envelopes, 2 wooden coasters and a pen.

Surely this is a complete waste of money? Would anyone be influenced and make a decision to now donate when they previously didn't?

It goes nicely with the wooden poppy on a cross and other stuff they sent last year

agree with previous posters that once your on their database as a donator you get hounded more which again I see as a waste of money. Phone calls are a particular annoyance.

I cancelled our direct debits when our financial circumstances and whilst I didn't mind the first call to ask 'why have cancelled' I do resent the hounding that followed trying to guilt me into donating again.

'Do you no longer care if children are being abused and dying, can not not spare £5 a month to help do your bit' .....no I'm skint leave me alone and stop making me feel guilty and a bad person

DP insisted on putting the ruddy coasters on display. He treated them as a nice gift from the organisation that one of our family work for!

YANBU Red Cross is awful for this, we get so much junk. DH collected for them at work when the Japanese earthquake happened, just a spur of the minute, lets not just look at the pictures lets do something thing, we have got so much rubbish through the door since, puts me off them as a charity, which is a shame because they do good work. I give to DEC and haven't had this issue.

I think that people feel obliged because of the pen/coaster/card to donate, and that's terribly cynical.

Just to say I love the coasters and using them has reminded me to make a box of goods for Red +. I tell all my visitors where the coasters come from.

see above posters. It works! You feel obliged to reciprocate.

NO! Quite the reverse!

I am not an uncharitable person - I give every month to four charities; I buy stuff for the food bank every week; I get involved with the annual shennanigans like CIN and I usually make a few other one-off donations at this time of year. But I strongly object to charities trying to guilt-trip me in to making a donation by sending me random stuff I never asked for in the first place.

As a point of principle the requests go in the bin when they do this.

Unfortunately this left me in a dilemma this week because a charity I have a lot of time for sent me some stuff like this. In the end I decided to keep the stuff, not respond to the letter but make a donation anonymously at the first opportunity. (Which will be quite soon I think because it is the Sally Army and they are bound to be playing carols outside the local shops in the next week or two)

Hah - I was about to answer but I already have!

It doesn't matter what you personally feel or do. They will have tested and calculated and worked out that the increase in donations more than makes up for the cost of the coasters. EVEN INCLUDING if you donate less than you would have otherwise.

I hate them, and it makes me less likely to donate.

awks direct mailing may be scientific, but when I received these coasters last month (and started a similar thread) mine came addressed to 'the occupier' and every home in something like a 2 mile radius received them.

Anyone bothering to do their research would find a not especially affluent area with a demographic of single parent and younger families. Not really those who have much cash to spare.

To really put the icing on the cake during the following fortnight my street (all 300 houses) had the pleasure of another two of these letters. Can't speak for the other 2 miles but I know for certain this street did because I was having a moan about the waste to our postman who told me about the distribution of it.

If it was the Red Cross' intention to make 100% certain I never donate a penny to them, then this campaign has been an unequivocal success.

I'm an older donor

Sadly, mine went in the bin. Didn't even see the point in donating them to another charity.

I give a few quid to a couple of charities by direct debit, and I'm happy with that. I don't want guilt-coasters. It makes me think of people washing your windscreen when you stop at traffic lights, then asking for cash.

This thread is from March. I have received coasters, a bookmark and 2 blank greetings cards from one charity, and the Donkey charity one sent me a sheet of stickers with my name and address on.

Why?

My MIL was sentban UMBRELLA by one of the many cancer charities.

I got this too. Didn't make me donate though. I've learnt the hard way, give them a penny and you'll be forever rang, written to etc. I hate the phone calls and having to say no or feeling you have to say yes. DH gets them at work too. Now I stick to anonymous donations to the food bank at DS's nursery or people with collection pots in the street.

I hate this too. I think that it cons enough little old ladies into either feeling guilty that they have the coasters and sending money or thinking that they have to unless they return them to work.

It's extremely underhand.

sparkling probably bumped because the coasters are being sent through again. Mine were sent last month but I did read someone receiving some this week on MSE.

yes probably Juice my donkey stickers were fairly recent too.

I only donate these days to small local charities, eg foodbanks, dogs rescue etc, where I know all the donations will be used directly, and I will not receive endless begging letters thereafter. Sending me an incentive like the coasters, notelets, pens, etc, has the reverse effect on me - I refuse to donate by being made to feel guilty.

I get loads of tat from Red Cross on a pretty regular basis. Pens, badges, coasters, stickers, note cards, wrapping paper. I donate regularly but the freebies have no bearing on this at all and annoy me at the waste of money and resources. However, DS2 LOVES all the bits and is always v pleased to add to his making box.

I LOATHE organisations trying to guilt-trip via junk mail. Mine went straight in the bin.

I sent mine back. I will donate to Red Cross, but on my terms not theirs.

I drop them back to the Red cross shop!

Re The Red Cross I used to make a donation when they first started sending me cards , bookmarks and wrapping paper and the coasters as they were pretty and I used them. They kept on sending them and they've now reached the end of my tolerance.

I have small standing orders to The Cats Protection League The SSPCA and Oxfam. I very rarely get any mail from the CPL and SSPCA, the SSPCA magazine is now emailed, and haven't heard from Oxfam in years. Possibly they don't have my current address.