To not really understand the logic

[Yangsun]

Big stand for Cats' Protection League in town today, dd went it have a look at the picture as she loves cats, very nice man engaged with her and gave her a balloon and mask. Both me and friend got some money out to donate and the man explained that they weren't collecting money only asking people to sign up for ongoing sponsorship of the charity. We weren't prepared to sign up for that so rather than getting a fiver from me then and there he got nothing. I don't understand why the charity wouldn't be prepared to take monetary donations if they were offered even if they weren't directly soliciting them. Aibu to think they are probably missing out with this strategy?

There was an episode of undercover boss where the boss of Oxfam realised this was happening while he was out trying to sign people up to the direct debits but they only wanted to make a one off donation. He thought it was a stupid idea too but I can't remember if anything was done about it.

They can't take cash. The people manning the stall may work for an agency as opposed to being directly involved with the charity.

The people are paid fund raisers, they get commission for every person they sign up. They probably don't even like cats.

I hate it. I have door knickers regularly asking for direct debits and saying they can't take money!

I have three DIrect Debits to charities and I don't want any more. I think they should ask for donations via a mobile phone text - they'd have all got a tenner out of me that way.

No way I'm signing up any more DDs

I hate it. I have door knickers regularly asking for direct debits and saying they can't take money!

That's pants!

Squirrel I wish I'd said that!

I asked this once. Apparently you have to get some sort of special licence from the council to accept cash donations.

I agree OP, I saw a documentary about the practice and it said that it'd take nearly a year of your DD payments to pay off the agency commission. I'd never sign up through this kind of thing now, if you want to donate, either one off or via direct debit set it up directly with the charity.

They lose someeople who would have done a one off donation but not a direct debit but they convince some people who only wanted to do a one off donation to sign up for a direct debit which will (they hope) end upbringing more in the long term.

A bloke on the street engaged with me about a childrens charity close to my heart. He gave me a 'free' pen and notepad and I was happy to give him a donation. He explained that it could only be DD so I declined. He snatched the pen and pad back off me!

squirrel

Different charities work in different ways, and quite a lot do indeed use their own volunteer fundraising teams.

You can't tar all charities with the same brush and assume that your donations will all go on commission etc and none of it to the charity. Many charities spend a tiny proportion of donations received on running costs; a few others spend more.

Journalists do their homework and, very occasionally, they turn up overspending by one charity, and of course then the general public tends to assume that all charities are the same, which is a pity really, since they aren't.

I had a similar situation. I was talking to a fund raiser, very interested in giving a regular amount to the charity but my employer had a scheme for double-matching donations made via payroll giving. So if I gave £10 per month, my employer would give another £20 so the charity would get £30 in total.
All I needed to set it up was the charity reg. no., which the fund raiser refused to give me. He insisted I set up a DD there and then.
So the charity got nothing from me in the end.