Cash gift to small charity shop

libra10

Murphybear said:

I found a charity that refused “free money” a few days ago.

as I was leaving a supermarket I noticed someone with a Guide Dogs stall.  I got £1 from my purse and offered it him.  He said he couldn’t take cash as he wanted people to sponsor 2 guide dogs.  I explained that I was a pensioner and didn’t have any more spare money every month as I had 3 charities that I support that have helped either myself, family or a close friend.  

I asked him why he didn’t have a collecting box as well, he couldn’t really explain but it was clear to me that people were far more likely to give a one off donation than a regular outgoing.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Guide Dogs do a brilliant job but so do the other charities I support. 

Similar thing happened to me with this charity.

I didn't want to set up a direct debit, but offered a cash donation, which they refused.

It really put me off supporting them.

jon81uk

Murphybear said:

I found a charity that refused “free money” a few days ago.

as I was leaving a supermarket I noticed someone with a Guide Dogs stall.  I got £1 from my purse and offered it him.  He said he couldn’t take cash as he wanted people to sponsor 2 guide dogs.  I explained that I was a pensioner and didn’t have any more spare money every month as I had 3 charities that I support that have helped either myself, family or a close friend.  

I asked him why he didn’t have a collecting box as well, he couldn’t really explain but it was clear to me that people were far more likely to give a one off donation than a regular outgoing.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Guide Dogs do a brilliant job but so do the other charities I support. 

If he didn't have a cash collecting box then he couldn't take cash.
10 people signing up to give £5 a month for a year is £600, that's better than 50 people putting £1 in a box.
The collection box would also need counting and banking plus there is the risk of theft.
Also fewer people are using cash in general at the moment (and even before Covid) so they probably wouldn't get much cash anyway.

libra10

As it was, he left with nothing ...................!

Brie

The charity bags that I see seem to have a slightly off name on them....UK Heart Foundation rather than British Heart Foundation so I've always assumed they were from a private profiting set up despite official looking charity numbers cited on them.  I use, as others do, as bin bags sometimes.  But mostly I keep one in the cupboard in each bedroom so that when something is discovered that doesn't fit right or is no longer wanted it can just be popped into the bag.  When there's a decent amount in there I'll pop them along to whatever charity shop is handy. 

As for random bits of cash....keep saving it until there's some disaster somewhere (happens much too regularly) and the banks are acting as collection spots.  You can just hand the cash over and their staff will have it sorted in no time using all their automated equipment.  Alternative is that some banks (Natwest near me) allows you to simply dump the bag of cash in their ATM and it goes directly into your account so you can then send the grandkids or charity of choice some ££ by money transfer.  

Ectophile

libra10 said:

Murphybear said:

I found a charity that refused “free money” a few days ago.

as I was leaving a supermarket I noticed someone with a Guide Dogs stall.  I got £1 from my purse and offered it him.  He said he couldn’t take cash as he wanted people to sponsor 2 guide dogs.  I explained that I was a pensioner and didn’t have any more spare money every month as I had 3 charities that I support that have helped either myself, family or a close friend.  

I asked him why he didn’t have a collecting box as well, he couldn’t really explain but it was clear to me that people were far more likely to give a one off donation than a regular outgoing.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Guide Dogs do a brilliant job but so do the other charities I support. 

Similar thing happened to me with this charity.

I didn't want to set up a direct debit, but offered a cash donation, which they refused.

It really put me off supporting them.

If you see a stall with somebody trying to sign you up as a supporter of a charity, then the chances are that the person is not a staff member or volunteer for that charity.

They will be a professional fund raiser.  They get paid for manning the stall, and signing up new supporters.  As a result, they have no way to take one-off donations.  They only have a pile of forms, or the electronic equivalent on a tablet.

libra10

A family member used to regularly volunteer helping with young trainee guide dogs, and they have a guide dog which failed to meet the strict standards they set. A beautiful dog!

These fund raising tactics don’t enhance the reputation of the charity, or what it should stand for. 

Laz123

We used to get 'chuggers' in our busy paved high street. They obviously weren't very organised because they had two groups, one at either end of the long street, which meant you could get accosted several times as you walked around. It could make the shopping experience very irritating.

Pollycat

Laz123 said:

We used to get 'chuggers' in our busy paved high street. They obviously weren't very organised because they had two groups, one at either end of the long street, which meant you could get accosted several times as you walked around. It could make the shopping experience very irritating.

That's not been allowed for years.

libra10 said:

A family member used to regularly volunteer helping with young trainee guide dogs, and they have a guide dog which failed to meet the strict standards they set. A beautiful dog!

These fund raising tactics don’t enhance the reputation of the charity, or what it should stand for. 

No, they don't.

I donate to a few charities by DD and have done so for many years.

I dislike being contacted to ask me to increase my monthly donation or donate a one-off amount.

Some time ago, I received a call from a woman from a company called Listen who said she'd rung me on behalf of one of the charities to 'thank' me for my long-standing support of the organisation.

Part way through the call, she mentioned fund raising by means of a lottery.

I challenged her that she had not really rung to 'thank' me at all but to try to get more money out of me.

I was livid that the charity had passed my contact details to a 3rd party.

Digging further, I discovered that the charity had paid Listen £32,000 so they could raise £170,000.

Being pestered in my own home is simply not acceptable.

I cancelled my DD that day.

SevenOfNine

As ectophile has mentioned, I passed a 'stall' set up, as I drew level the person said "collecting for sick children", I shook my head (bit too vague request for me). As I passed she said "oh, you don't want to support sick children".  She's lucky I let her get away with that, if she'd been connected to a specific charity I'd have taken that further.

Organising a funeral I asked a charity if I could have one of their collecting boxes to put on the bar (free bar so mourners could be generous). They sent someone local to drop it off & I said the employer was also collecting & funeral director had a Just Giving page.

First she 'offered' to be contact person for the employer "so I wouldn't have to bother". I refused. Less than a week later she started phoning me to enquire about funds & not at all happy when I said cash from their box & employer collection all paid in via Just Giving page. OMG in the space of a couple of weeks she kept emailing me saying Just Giving hadn't released the money, could I chase it, 3 or 4 emails.

I had been obliged to check & they had already forwarded it to the charity. I've always had a bad feeling that by involving her locally, she may have been a 'professional collector' who gets commission, & was trying to claim it on all the several thousands that were given.  I regretted asking the specific charity for one of their official collecting boxes. She distressed me no end at the time, so I posted their box back to their head office!

Laz123

While we're on the subject of charities I thought I'd while away some isolation time with some sharing.

I come from a charitable background where my mother used to donate clothes, toys and money to the wonderful Erin Pizzey, the founder of the first domestic abuse refuge for women. In those days it was the woman who had to leave the home after being battered but thankfully nowadays it is the beater. My mum was also a staunch feminist although my father was quite a distant character so I learned through the university of life mostly from her.

In later life she liked to travel well into her 70s after the old man passed staying at hostels etc. She had her first stroke at 79 in Borneo and that's when I took it upon myself to look after her as my three siblings could barely look after themselves.

I looked after her for the next 12 years along with my Kenyan wife. When mum passed at 91 we had her cremated as was her wish and held the remembrance at Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park. I paid for the very nice buffet and free bar and had requested instead of giving flowers it would be better to donate money to her favourite charity being Age Concern (as it was then) who looked after her nicely on her twice weekly visits.

Bearing in mind there were about 60 people some of whom had benefited financially in her will the charity amassed s small fortune of £25. I know. Human nature at its finest.

I hope you all enjoyed my little anecdote as much as I enjoyed writing it.