Save the Children and general charity rant

PlutoinCapricorn

The face to face fundraisers who stop you in the street (aka 'chuggers') often ask for a phone number "in case there is a problem with the direct debit".

I have an idea that the end is in sight for this type of fundraising: people have had enough, money is tight and people are learning to research charities before donating. One of the biggest agencies of this kind went into voluntary liquidation earlier this year.

PaulJM

Just found this on the presidents income!!!
Save The Children
www.savethechildren.org
Charles MacCormack, President:
Jan 2010- Dec 2010: $339,767 + $51'427+ $38'500+ $28'4800=$458'174
Oct 2007- Sept 2008: $354'081 +$66'805 +$5'735 = $426'621

Cripes. I'm off!

PaulJM you could try this procedure:

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/co...ints-procedure

I will do that.
The lesson here is to research the charity. Seems quite a shame, but I get a charity is a reflection on the world now.

donnac2558

I give to a charity every month. I did it off my own bat and phoned up. I told the woman taking my details, if you ever phone me and ask for more money I will stop the dd and give nothing more ever again. I did say I was giving them what I could afford to give. She put a note on my file and I have never been phoned in three years. I do get little newsletter things every so often and that is it.

ThumbRemote

OlliesDad wrote: »

Just being nit picky, but charities ARE businesses.

No they aren't. SOME charities are businesses. Others are not.

PlutoinCapricorn

Charities are not profit makers overall, but the larger ones often have a registered company for trading - mugs, T-Shirts, charity shops etc.

The largest are often run as if they were businesses, but the small ones often have no paid employees and would benefit from being more businesslike.

bargainbetty

I had this with the NSPCC, who did it at least five times, despite my refusing to make any increases on three of those occasions (I was only paying a very little bit to start with).

However, when i lost my job, I had to call all the charities I supported to cancel the direct debits. The NSPCC were very rude, and kept telling me it was only a tenner a month, and asked why couldn't I just cancel all the others and keep paying them. I explained that I literally had no income, and that would be my food budget for four days. I was told that I was being silly, and that everyone could afford a tenner.

I had intended to just suspend it until I was working again, but I cancelled in full, called in to make a full complaint against that operator and told them I would never support them again.

The British Legion woman asked if I was OK, cancelled the debits before I'd explained beyond the words 'I've lost my job' and promised to take me off the mailing list so I wouldn't feel pressured. They get all my charity money now.

PaulJM

bargainbetty wrote: »

However, when i lost my job, I had to call all the charities I supported to cancel the direct debits. The NSPCC were very rude, and kept telling me it was only a tenner a month, and asked why couldn't I just cancel all the others and keep paying them. I explained that I literally had no income, and that would be my food budget for four days. I was told that I was being silly, and that everyone could afford a tenner.

.

That is just so remarkably out of order of them. You couldn't actually make it up if you tried.

There is very little you can say back to arguements like "There are children dying, is £15 worth that to you" - they're such leading questions.
But, and I know I'm naive, I just don't think charities should do this, they should be a bastion of fairness and equality. Instead, it's like dealing with an insurance company a lot of the time.

meritaten

I have supported the Dogs Trust for about five years now - I sponsor two dogs for £8 a month - I have never ever been phoned to ask for more money - however, I dont really need to get 'cards' from 'my dogs' at christmas, valentines etc - it actually makes me question what my money is used for!
I did used to support another charity - who kept sending me raffle tickets to sell. 10 books at a time! I phoned them and explained I was disabled and couldnt go out selling them and at £1 a ticket I doubted I would sell more than one book.........at this point the woman got very unpleasant and said that some of thier supporters were in wheelchairs and sold all thier books! cheeky mare! Ended up with me getting really angry and telling her thats the last penny they get off me - I looked up thier annual report online (yes they are the biggest animal charity) and what I saw shocked me so much I immediately cancelled the Direct Debit!

Takeaway_Addict

PaulJM wrote: »

I feel a bit bad doing this, but it's something that has left me feeling indignant, and has affected my finely tuned sense of justice, so here goes.

I give some money, every month, to Save the Children. It's not a nominal amount - I give them a fair amount.
I do it because I think it's the best cause out there for me (everyone has their cause), and because it takes a little bit of guilt away when people on the street or at the door ask me for money - I can say that I do give to charity. I give less to a few others.
Anyway, I've had three calls in a week from Save The Children, to ask me for more money.
It's bad enough getting one call - does anyone else find that ridiculously bad manners - but getting three is taking the mick.

When I told the guy, very politely, that i thought it morally wrong that they should do this, he said "Well, we understand some people cannot afford more money in the present climate".
Talk about adding insult to injury - he's totally missed the point.

When I expressed the wish to not be called again asking for money, I was told that they couldn't remove me from their list, and I could well be called again.

This all feels very wrong. I know some charities have to be run like businesses, but isn't this going too far?
Isn't it a bit like giving a homeless person a sandwich, and them then chasing you down the road for a 3 course meal at the Ivy?
I don't want to remove my donations, as that's like holding the final benefactors up for ransom, but..I mean..come on!

You could move your donation to a local charity along the same lines as this one...that way the money goes to help your area as well

PaulJM

meritaten wrote: »

I dont really need to get 'cards' from 'my dogs' at christmas, valentines etc - it actually makes me question what my money is used for!

Good question that, I thought about it myself - like is some of my money going towards making adverts on TV?

meritaten wrote: »

I did used to support another charity - who kept sending me raffle tickets to sell. 10 books at a time! I phoned them and explained I was disabled and couldnt go out selling them and at £1 a ticket I doubted I would sell more than one book.........at this point the woman got very unpleasant and said that some of thier supporters were in wheelchairs and sold all thier books! cheeky mare! Ended up with me getting really angry and telling her thats the last penny they get off me

Made me a laugh this - sounds like a scene written by Matt Lucas - someone trying to be as unhelpful and derogatory as possible. Maybe she thought that because you use a wheelchair you should sell more that people who don't?:p