British red cross wasting money!

ailey

I have no doubt whatsoever that British Red Cross do an invaluable amount of work but I got so annoyed when I received a large envelope this week with:

• 2 coasters
• 3 small Christmas cards
• 2 small gift tags
• one bookmark
• a metal badge
• A4 sheet of address labels with my name and address
• 2 red felt emblems (not sure if they are to hang on Christmas tree)

I do understand fully that charities have to ask for help mostly, apart from people who fundraise for them, but I feel this amount of stuff is excessive and also the cost of posting the A4 envelope would be 69p (minus a little bit for office franking as they will get a small reduction). Sending this envelope to 1000 people would cost in the region of £690 and that's not counting how much it cost for the items it contained. I'm sure this envelope would have gone out to many thousands of people throughout the UK.

They say that £10 could provide monthly food parcels to a vulnerable family in Mongolia for five months OR £10 could pay for 167 oral rehydration sachets, used to treat children with diarrhoea, one of the biggest killers of children in the developing world. So the cost of postage alone to 1000 people could have provided 69 families with a food parcel for five months.

As I said, I do understand that charities need to ask for money, but a small sheet of address labels in a small envelope would surely be enough. Rather than encourage me to donate, when I receive as much as this, I'm afraid the massive waste of money just puts me off donating. This may be wrong to think like this but I do not think it is the best use of their money. Rant over!

globetraveller

I will never ever give to the REd Cross again. I gave a good donation a few years back and since then I have been bombarded with "freebies". I contacted them several times trying to get them to stop sending me them. Eventually I did get someone who agreed to take me off the mailing list but recently they have started up again. Such a horrible waste of funding.

fluffnutter

I've always assumed that the business these freebies generate in terms of raising their profile and encouraging people to donate outweighs the cost of producing these bits and bobs. To be fair perhaps they don't need to include so much but if it was costing not creating money they wouldn't be doing it.

meer53

Maybe someone has donated these things to them ? Maybe some companies make them for free so that the red cross can give them away to encourage people to donate ?

peter_the_piper

Same as the "Save a Leopard" sites who give you a fluffy leopard when you sign up. Why not spend the £2.50 on the leopards. And Aslo why don't they get your e-mail addey and send the quarterly booklet this way, save a fortune for the animals.

zagfles

I've just got the same package - they bombard you with junk mail and "gifts". I asked them to stop sending me these things a couple of years ago but they still do. I've now told them I've never donate to them again - I use the DEC instead who have never sent me any junk mail (although I notice they've removed their junk mail opt out from the website, you have to email them).

I don't mind getting an annual update/magazine which some charities send out to donors, but the amount of money the Red Cross waste in sending tat through the post is unbelivable.

lincroft1710

Why do charities send out sticky labels with your name/address? Both OH and myself have each had dozens of these over the years. We never use them and the label is so small the print is difficult to read.

zagfles

fluffnutter wrote: »

I've always assumed that the business these freebies generate in terms of raising their profile and encouraging people to donate outweighs the cost of producing these bits and bobs. To be fair perhaps they don't need to include so much but if it was costing not creating money they wouldn't be doing it.

See this thread especially post #39. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4783769

ailey

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Why do charities send out sticky labels with your name/address? Both OH and myself have each had dozens of these over the years. We never use them and the label is so small the print is difficult to read.

We occasionally use them on the back of parcels as sender labels but I always cut off the charity name as I prefer a plain label. I'm always afraid in case someone thinks it's rubbish from a charity that's in the parcel and then not deliver it. That's my train of thought anyway. Like yourselves we have dozens in a polypocket so I really must clear some out.

Ectophile

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Why do charities send out sticky labels with your name/address? Both OH and myself have each had dozens of these over the years. We never use them and the label is so small the print is difficult to read.

Many years ago, I bought a load of sticky labels with my name and address to stick on the back of letters I post. Being a bit paranoid about the glue not working on envelopes, I like to stick them across the envelope flap for extra security.

I haven't bought any new ones for a long time. I get all the labels I need from charities.

VickyA_2

A number of years ago I visited the International Red Cross Museum in Geneva which was the most powerful and moving museum I'd ever been in at that point. I then made a decision to make it a charity I'd definitely give to. Then, like you, I started to be bombarded with marketing guff and wasting my donation.

On the flip side, I donated money to RABI a couple of years ago. Then sent me one letter of thanks and I've received no begging letter(s) since. Similar to donations I've given to Age UK via their shops.

I'm more likely to give to charities which don't beg!