To be annoyed at charity's emotional blackmail tactics

[melpomene]

I have a monthly direct debit to give to charity that helps homeless people. Last month they sent me a letter asking for extra money (not for the first time). Then this morning I received a letter headed 'urgent reminder' saying that they had noticed I hadn't responded to the previous letter, they are short of their fundraising target and will have to turn people away.

AIBU to be fed up with this emotional blackmail which suggests that I am obliged to give extra donations when I am already paying as much as I can afford by direct debit?

Oooh I hate chuggers. I was approached by one and chucked what I happened to have in my coat pocket (not much at all) into her tin. I was in a hurry, to be perfectly honest the charity wasn't one that I cared about, and I wasn't going to stop and go hunting through my handbag for my purse. I'm not disputing that the donation was small (maybe 30-40p in small change), but I didn't expect to hear "well THANKS, tight bitch" from the woman.

Apparently she expected me to accompany her to the cash point, or write her out a nice big cheque.

Haven't given to a chugger since and never will again.

there are good charities and bad ones. There's a certain CP charity I loathe since they cut grassroots staff and appointed themselves another director on 100k. Apart from campaigning, lobbying (free lunches with MPs) they no longer to the grassroots stuff. Used to be their keyworkers came and saw you when your baby had the diagnosis and offered real and proper support. But no more. People need the keyworkers and the in your living room support more than they need fancy posters or conferences.
Its little charities like cerebral palsy plus (based in Bristol) that offer the grants for equipment, the support, the phone calls etc.
Must say I like Whizzkids too. Actually supplying wheelchairs to disabled kids and rolling their sleeves up when they realised that Guvt weren't going to change anything.
But most of them puzzle me (like holidays for disabled families) as they seem to collect money but us families never seem to see it.

i agree with you needmorecoffee, what some charities actually DO is very mysterious. nspcc for one. i do not doubt they do some extremely valuable work but have no idea what it is.

i've got a list here of top 100 charities ranked by assets, eyewatering it is; guide dogs for the blind have £102m and they are only ranked 99! lifeboat inst have £519m [faints] i do hope that is property and not cash in bank.

I also do not like receiving numerous mailings asking for more donations - even though I understand why it happens. However, it is possible to give a set amount each month ie by standing order and then request 'no mailings'.

I've just done this with Oxfam, took a 2 minute phone call and was very straightforward.

Not read the whole thread but can I recommend justgiving.com

I use them for my regular donations (comes off my credit card) and I never get contacted by the charities. They deal with your donation and get it gift-aided or whatever so they don't actually know where it's coming from.

I don't work for them, btw. I just find it the best way to give to charity (and they serve almost all of them).

what nspcc do for fishie

No I haven't ever worked for them, I know people who have. I would expect every charity to have similar on their website, explaining what they do, what services they provide, and how to access them. I'm sure there are some that don't, before anyone tells me, but most do.

fishie - i work for a small/medium sized charity which is growing rapidly

fundraising is getting harder and harder - christy is right - we are competing for ever dwindling pots of money

Peachy thinks i am strange because i love writing trust bids

Too right, weirdo.

• I work in the not-for-profit sector and the idea that the staff are not committed is, frankly, absolute rubbish. plenty of my colleagues, me included tbh, could have gone into careers earning well into 6 figures. but most are too committed to even think of reducing their career choices to such a banal financial sum. I, and many of my colleagues work hours and hours of overtime. Wednesday night I was working at 11 o' clock. and I wasn;t alone.

• whether or not people are personally committed should be irrelevant anyway. as a donor what matters is whether or not these people are good. committed and good are not the same thing. it's a really basic mistake to confuse them. often they coincide but not always. you can be committed and appalling at what you do or you can be un-committed and very good. I find the idea of being judged on my commitment somewhat arrogant and condescending. as far as giving money is concerned judge me on what I do not what I think.

• catalogues, mail shots etc generate income. charities don;t spend money on these things - they invest it. and they end up with more money to spend on projects as a result.

• charities have big assets becuase they are large and, often, financially complex. they have buildings, for example - office space. they also invest money in order to get financial returns. often leaving money "sitting in the bank", or, rather, invested in financial instruments, is the best thing to do with it. it maximises what the charity can do with its resources. if it just spent it all the charity might do some great things but it would be out of business as soon as the money ran out.

• security of income is hugely beneficial for allowing charities to cut overheads. Long-term planning brings costs down. Putting monet in collecting tins is great but in a sense feeds some of the problems.

I could go on but I am going to work even though it is my day off, I am not being paid to work today and I have a million other things to do.

not sure the National Gallery would agree with putting Monet in collecting tins...

It's annoying isn't it! Especially when they disguise the begging as a 'thankyou so much you are a lovely generous person who has made a huuuge difference to the lives of (insert appropriate recipient)' and then proceed to ask for more.

But all charities are suffering a reduction in donations so I guess they are getting desperate. And if you are already giving there's a good chance you will be prepared to give more I guess.