Stopping donating to charities...advice please

longforgotten

Very good point, MarkyMarkD. I never thought of it that way before.

I give to various charities by D/D or S/O, and I give the amount I can afford to give and no amount of cajoling will change my mind. So if I start getting requests in the post for more money, from charities I already give to, I phone them up and ask to be taken off their mailing list. To my mind they are just wasting their time and paper on me.

I have a Blue Cross centre nearby and I like to take dog/cat food there twice a year rather than a cash donation. I watch out for a good bargain in the shops and buy the food then, drop it off with any old towels or blankets I have. Never brave enough to actually go and look at the animals as I'd want to bring them all home !

rsdiscos

Hi

If you want to help and give your money to a good cause why not take a look at www.lions.org.uk It's a service based organisation where all donated money is given to good causes with the admin costs kept seperate - members are chardged a subscription to be a member. There are Lions Clubs all over the world!]

I'm a member of the Bilston & Willenhall Club in the West Midlands. If you would like any more info please PM me.

Hope this helps

ryansace

This might seem harsh, but I don't agree with giving to charities like this. Not at all.

When I get approached in the streeet, it disgusts me. I was raised in the belief that charities were fun, arranging events and doing something in return for money.

In the street, they are nothing except beggars, scavengers, trying to guilt someone in to giving money. Most people will give money if they want to, and already will. The seem to make their money off guilting people in to doing it.

I have raised money for charity before, and worked in a charity shop. When raising money for charity, we actually did stuff in return for money, not just shove a bucket in someones face while they are in the pub an dsaying 'cough up'. You dont want to look tight in front of your mates so you've got to pay a couple of quid minimum. Then you get apprached on the street, there goes more money.

When i raised money for charity, it was a LOT of work, but if everyone got involved, it would be much easier. We organized football tournaments, most people don't mind paying £2 per person, £10 per team, to have a game of football, thats and easy £100 right there raised at least. Then sky diving, appearing on tv gameshows, hosting events in the SU such as a deal or no deal remake, and most importantly, have a bit of a laugh and joke about it.

I knwo people are dying. But when you approach me in the street and ask for £10 a month, i do the maths in my head and figure over 10 years, that's £1,200, which has cost me a lot of money, but for the charity probably hasnt made much difference. Maybe enough to pay for the fundraisers lunch every saturday.

Im sorry if im rambling, but they should do something. Live Aid etc. I feel i could do a better job than these charities, and people wouldnt have to feel bad for not giving. They would be having fun AND giving. Now that's how it should be, right?

Severnside

I worked as an administrator for a small local charity for over 13 years - it wasn't dealing with a "cuddly cause" so getting money was very difficult and although a few volunteers would do the odd thing to help, the charity had to employ a small number of staff otherwise it would have been impossible for it to deliver the services it provided. Later I worked for another small charity in much the same financial boat, and both of these charities had hard working staff and they ran economically and delivered a good service to their client groups. I've also been a trustee of a number of small charities over the years and was always impressed by the dedication of everyone involved and at how money was always stretched to get the best possible value.

Finally in my last years prior to retirement, I had a part-time low level job with an organisation that was quite large and was constituted as a charity because its work could be deemed "educational". I have to admit that some of its practices as an employer of staff were well below what one would expect and its use of money was not as effective as it could be. I think this is rather the problem with charities, as they grow larger they become of necessity more like businesses. But the crucial difference is that at the top of the organisation are the the Trustees who cannot be paid (other than expenses) and do the role voluntarily. While fine in theory it does mean that they have not the same pressure to oversee things as closely as they would if they were a paid company director with their own money at stake. Also these large charities are in effect competing with each other both for donator's money and for quality staff. I think the whole area needs to be looked at again and that if Trustees could be paid it might bring in some people with the necessary skills to oversee large organisations nand budgets. At the moment my view is that many of these large charities are not run as effectively as they could be, although most do excellent work. I would also say that once a charity gets to any significant size, it is impossible to run just on volunteers. Staff are essential but I do have reservations about the fund raising campaigns run by many which do consume large sums of money. The problem is the competitive element, there is only so much money "out there" so each charity has to come up with more innovative ways to win a large slice of it. And that usually means spending even more money.

On the issue of street collections, it makes me very uneasy and I would quite welcome a total ban on it, but that wouldn't be popular in some quarters I guess!

Savvy_Sue

Severnside wrote: »

But the crucial difference is that at the top of the organisation are the the Trustees who cannot be paid (other than expenses) and do the role voluntarily. While fine in theory it does mean that they have not the same pressure to oversee things as closely as they would if they were a paid company director with their own money at stake.

At the risk of alarming any Trustees out there, potentially it IS their money at stake. Unless the charity has been set up in a way which limits their liability, they could be held financially liable for any poor decisions. They certainly can be held legally liable.

And while I can see where ryansace is coming from, there are those of us who would prefer to give direct to a charity rather than have them incur the expenses of organising 'fun' events for us. I know how much time and effort goes into organising these things!

morg_monster

I like supporting unusual or "ugly" (compared to "fluffy"!) charities and then switch them every couple of years. I don't do DDs as it bugs me the amount of junk I sometimes get so I usually go for small lump sums a few times a year. That way I can just pick a charity I fancy each time.

I also agree I hate the "Chuggers" [charity muggers!] on the street. I work on Euston Rd in London and just a short walk to get lunch, or to and from tube, I'm more often than not accosted by these people. The best was when I was on my way to Brownies where I volunteer (2hrs a week give or take), the guy was really insistent and blocking my path, I said that I couldn't afford to donate to any more charities at the moment but that I volunteered and surely that was worth more than any cash I could give, he was quite off with me and totally didn't understand where I was coming from.

On the other hand - they are good for the type of people who don't usually think about charities, but can afford to give, and get an attack of conscience. They will set up a direct debit for £2 or £5 a month or whatever and then forget about it. Of course there aren't that many people like that on MSE so its understandable that we all hate these "beggars"! I read that the charity pays about £50 commission for each new donor. So if you do sign up with these, you should stay giving for at least a year so the charity get to see some of your money. Ultimately it must be worth it to the charities, this must be the only way they can access a particular niche of the population.
But they are so goddamn annoying! Them and the people who give out the free afternoon papers... but thats another thread...

tifnstav

I just remembered something that really got my goat last year.....I sweated like nobody's business dragging myself round the Race for Life and half of the people who sponsored me nevered coughed up, despite texts and emails and ever so subtle "have you got my sponsor money?".
I'd written it all on my sponsor form and felt like a total cheat sending in £50 instead of £100 so I put the rest in myself.
A few weeks later I get a phonecall thanking me for the cheque but she then went on for around 15 minutes trying to convince me to set up a direct debit as well to show all year round support for the cause because they need to guarantee the charity's income. I was fuming! And she tried to get me emotional talking about why I did it and what it meant to me, how my nanna died etc, I really should have complained at the time.
I didn't do race for life this year, which was a shame as I enjoyed the experience, just not what happened afterwards.

jaxxy00

I gave to Cancer Research and the RSPCA by monthly dd for quite a few years but after needing to call on the services of the RSPCA for a field of ill treated animals (some left to just decompose) and discovering they just couldnt be bothered with it i straight away cancelled.

My Cancer Research dd i still continue with but often think of cancelling it as im often getting letters in the post asking me to give a one off payment or increase my monthly dd. This makes me feel my money is being wasted on all the p+p costs but more than that, it makes me feel like my contribution each month is not helping, worthy or appreciated.

In the last few months i have started another dd but this one is quarterly for the Animal Health Trust at Newmarket. After my dog receiveing treatment there (althought paid for £1700+) paid by insurance i had a phone call about donating as they are trying to raise enough for a piece of equipment for looking in the animals ears (microscope or something) so i got talked into that one. Although i think its good that they send an email newsletter rather than posting which incurrs costs.

I had a person knock at my door the other day (not had this happen before from these people) saying about how St John Ambulance do a good job at events etc and they are all volunteers. Wouldnt it be good if within each street/location there was someone qualified in first aid etc (im thinking where is this leading, not even thinking that it was someone wanting my money) so that they could be first on the scene in the event of someone needing an ambulance and do what was needed until the ambulance arrived. SO i was agreeing with eveything that was being said and then finally she said so would you be prepared to give a donation every month by dd.

I explained that i do that for various charites already and obviously you would like to help them all but you can only do so much. She made me feel quite guilty to be honest. I think if i get too much more repeated requests from the same companies that i already donate to then i will cancel. Like has already been said on here the smaller ones seem to make more full use of the money given, on the things that you are giving it for iyswim.

morg_monster

It is a shame that Cancer Research are one of the worst when it comes to flyers and junk through the door, because the money they raise really does have a massive impact on the treatment of cancer in this country. I work for an organisation which runs many trials of cancer treatments, they are often trials which pharma industry will not touch because the results are not money-spinning, however the results of our trials often change practice for the better in the NHS. Much of our money to run these trials comes from Cancer Research grants. Without donations from the public we wouldn't be able to do most of the work we do. I promise you your donations to CRUK is well worth it.

Churchmouse

Can I just add that I stand with my collecting tin, twice a year, for NCH action for children:D I do not receive a penny for doing this. I do not rattle the tin, nor do i ask for donations. I stand outside a shop wearing a silly *bib* that says who I'm collecting for, stickers and tin in hand. If you want to give, great, if you don't you'll still get a smile:D

I personally will not take out a DD on the street. They get paid far too much. I also won't give to those who are parked for the whole day with their illustrated board, usually collecting for children with cancer. When challenged most will admit they are paid.

I do give to the Salvation Army, amongst others, and when they seemed to be spending all my donation writing to ask for more I contacted them, to express my concern. They were very understanding and appreciative that i was giving as much as I could afford. They now know to expect their Christmas and Easter donations, and don't write anymore. I've tried the same with other charities and it almost always works. Where it doesn't I just withdraw from donating.

I do agree though, often the best gift you can give a charity is your time. I know from experience that fundraising, whilst hard work, can be enormous fun too!