Receiving charity Christmas gifts "adopt an animal" etc, How do people feel about this?

MalMonroe

gwynlas said:

I have done this in the past and whilst it was appreciated I would not do so again. I get annoyed at mail outs from various charities who spend money on pens coasters etc trying to guilt trip you into making donations. I support charities in my own way so unsolicited post outs go unopened

Yes, this is exactly what I don't like. It's emotional blackmail really. Like you, I prefer to support my own charities. 

chrismbt

I would consider it a gift for the sender, like buying a box of chocolates and giving me the empty box.

For most people, gifting is giving an obligation, forcing the recipient to spend time and money finding a gift of similar value, thereby satisfying the obligation, and neither really benefit from the exchange.

I prefer to tell people not to buy me a gift, and I tell them I won't be buying one for them. If they want to donate to charity do it on their own behalf.

However, if I see something I think they would really like, at any time of year, I might buy it for them as a surprise. It seems that an unexpected gift is 10 times more appreciated than an obligated gift.

[Deleted User]

chrismbt said:

I would consider it a gift for the sender, like buying a box of chocolates and giving me the empty box.

For most people, gifting is giving an obligation, forcing the recipient to spend time and money finding a gift of similar value, thereby satisfying the obligation, and neither really benefit from the exchange.

I prefer to tell people not to buy me a gift, and I tell them I won't be buying one for them. If they want to donate to charity do it on their own behalf.

However, if I see something I think they would really like, at any time of year, I might buy it for them as a surprise. It seems that an unexpected gift is 10 times more appreciated than an obligated gift.

Yes but I was  not talking about gifts, charity or otherwise, that are an "obligation" , I don't do those anyway. But if I buy , for instance, a virtual gift or make a donation to a charity that I know the recipient supports that I have no particular interest in, it is for them not me. Surely that's a better gift than a random box of chocolates that they may only like half the centres? I know which I'd prefer. :-)  Interesting to hear views though, thanks. It seems from a conversation with the intended recipient that they will be pleased with it anyway which is the important thing with any gift. 

bigskyfen

LOVE THIS. Several friends & I do animal charity donations instead of buying each other junk we don't need & won't use. Especially after the pandemic & now the cost of living crisis - animals need all the help we can give them. 

theoretica

I have done this, where the charity donation also includes a small gift - eg a calendar - for the person receiving it.  But obviously with thought about the person in whose name I was doing this - eg adopting their favourite animal.  Not sending everyone my favourite cause!  Similarly, I have received some notices about charity donations that I much preferred to a 'thing' to find space for!

I also respect a couple of friends who announce generally 'I am not sending cards, but did sponsor a tree' without making it personal whose tree it is.

Pollycat

A friend of mine adopted an orang-utan through WWF for his wife.
He said he was pestered for ages afterwards for more donations.

Katiehound

Pollycat said:

A friend of mine adopted an orang-utan through WWF for his wife.
He said he was pestered for ages afterwards for more donations.

yes it happens but you can just either ignore the mail/ emails or contact the charity and say 'No more' That's what I say with my own donations- say it is a 'one off' please don't send me more requests  as they will be ignored. 
In the past I have posted a small donation with similar sentence: save your money, no more begging letters thank you!  

Emerion

MalMonroe said:

A couple of Christmases ago a lovely friend received a windfall and instead of spending all of it on herself, decided to buy all her friends, including me, a donkey adoption. I thought it was a great gift at the time.

BUT then I started receiving lots of begging letters from the donkey sanctuary and I was worried because after the 12 month period my friend had paid for, I felt that they'd want the donkey to receive ongoing support. It stands to reason. Buying an annual adoption subscription would cost me £36 (which isn't a fortune I know but it's more expensive than any gift I would buy for a friend and it's a big chunk of money when you're on a pension) and I was concerned about what was going to happen the following year - and all the years after that when I didn't subscribe. An awful position to be in.

Although I did feel it was a great idea, it caused me quite a bit of anxiety. It was only when I discovered that more than one person 'adopts' any animal did I feel I could opt out of subsequent donations since all the donkeys would be equally supported by other donors.

So I do think that if people are going to give this kind of gift to someone, they do need to think long and hard about what will happen when the period of their adoption ends - as well as the effect this will have on the recipient of their gift. I was happy for the donkey but quite miserable knowing that I couldn't possibly keep up the subscription when the 12 months was over. Obviously the sanctuary hopes that people like me will keep up subs but sadly I wasn't able to. I had to ignore all the mail they sent me (and they sent a lot) and it all became quite upsetting in the end.

Now my daughter and I make a joint donation to a different, small, independent charity every three months. We buy hay bales and carrots direct from the supplier and know that these donations will actually make a difference to neglected animals. There are so many different charities that it's difficult to choose which one and how to support it so we just do our best. We wish we could do more for more charities but on limited incomes it's just not possible. 

That’s a good point. I think it’s possible to tick a box on the charity website, saying “don’t contact me ….etc etc”, which would hopefully prevent the follow-up begging letters. That would be simple courtesy if you’re giving in someone else’s name. If you don’t trust the charity to abide by that, personally delivering physical money or food to a local charity means that you never have to give your details. You could buy quite a lot of food for a food bank or donkey sanctuary, take a photo of it, and include a print of it in your card. 

Pollycat

Emerion said:

MalMonroe said:

A couple of Christmases ago a lovely friend received a windfall and instead of spending all of it on herself, decided to buy all her friends, including me, a donkey adoption. I thought it was a great gift at the time.

BUT then I started receiving lots of begging letters from the donkey sanctuary and I was worried because after the 12 month period my friend had paid for, I felt that they'd want the donkey to receive ongoing support. It stands to reason. Buying an annual adoption subscription would cost me £36 (which isn't a fortune I know but it's more expensive than any gift I would buy for a friend and it's a big chunk of money when you're on a pension) and I was concerned about what was going to happen the following year - and all the years after that when I didn't subscribe. An awful position to be in.

Although I did feel it was a great idea, it caused me quite a bit of anxiety. It was only when I discovered that more than one person 'adopts' any animal did I feel I could opt out of subsequent donations since all the donkeys would be equally supported by other donors.

So I do think that if people are going to give this kind of gift to someone, they do need to think long and hard about what will happen when the period of their adoption ends - as well as the effect this will have on the recipient of their gift. I was happy for the donkey but quite miserable knowing that I couldn't possibly keep up the subscription when the 12 months was over. Obviously the sanctuary hopes that people like me will keep up subs but sadly I wasn't able to. I had to ignore all the mail they sent me (and they sent a lot) and it all became quite upsetting in the end.

Now my daughter and I make a joint donation to a different, small, independent charity every three months. We buy hay bales and carrots direct from the supplier and know that these donations will actually make a difference to neglected animals. There are so many different charities that it's difficult to choose which one and how to support it so we just do our best. We wish we could do more for more charities but on limited incomes it's just not possible. 

That’s a good point. I think it’s possible to tick a box on the charity website, saying “don’t contact me ….etc etc”, which would hopefully prevent the follow-up begging letters. That would be simple courtesy if you’re giving in someone else’s name. If you don’t trust the charity to abide by that, personally delivering physical money or food to a local charity means that you never have to give your details. You could buy quite a lot of food for a food bank or donkey sanctuary, take a photo of it, and include a print of it in your card. 

My post above echoes MalMonroe's about charities pestering donors for more money.
I really don't think they do themselves any favours.
A charity I have donated to for many years gave my landline number (which I guard like the crown jewels) to a marketing company who rang me ostensibly to thank me for my long-standing support then launched into a sales spiel about a lottery they were launching.

I told the charity if they contacted me for any reason at all (they were always asking me to increase my donation or give a one-off) - I'd cancel my subscription.