Flooded by all different kinds of donation requests?

WantFit

Cathlete
Hi,everyone

I don't want to sound mean. I do donate. I do regularly in my church and for American Vet and Salvation Army. I also donate annually to my highschool, colleage and graduate school. However, recently I was bombed by the non stop donation requests. It's been more than a month now. I was frustrated. Am I being not a good citizen?

The addition donation actitivies were first from my DD school. I transferred her to a private school this fall. Her old public school did not request us doing any candy sales. We paid PTA due $10 for each student. It covers all the activities costs. I like that idea. Now, her new school constantly asked us to collect different food products labels. The problem is we don't eat those food. They want Campell soup labels, kellog cereal (the one with a lot of artifical colors and sugar) labels,etc. We like healthy food. This is what drives me crazy. On one hand, everywhere promoting eating healthy, fresh, home made meals, and here we go. The only way we can get labels is we had to buy those junk food. What's the point? Last night, my DD brought home form asking parents to sign up for selling chocholate bars. My DD wanted me to sign up otherwise she would feel embarrassed. If they really need, why didn't they ask for due, $10 for each student for whole school year, that is not out of reach. I don't want to push my family members and my co workers to buy more junks.

Talk about my work places. We have this donation push going on for more than a month now. The cause is good. My company wanted us to donate money for Off street club, for inner city kids. First, it is more volunteer. Now it is required to participate bake sales for donations. Again, we have to donate foods, then we have to buy those bakeries to donate to the club. It is very weekday. No wonder it is so hard for me to lose weight. Don't you think this is out of control? We also have several moms in my offices all year round selling candies for their kids' school, kids' sports teams, etc. It feels like every one wants money. Then why don't they just ask me for money, instead of asking me to buy something that I really don't need and don't want to buy? If I give them $10, the school or sport teams would get the whole $10. Instead, it I buy candies from them for these causes, schools or teams might only get no more than $5. I think the majority of the profits go to the candy companies, not school.
My question is for this kind of donation sales, it always asks kids' parents to sell junk food or something really over charged and you will hardly use it. Did it ever occur to the organizers that they might save someone but in the meantime, they push others into wrong direction - healthy wise.

BTW, if candies or the companies who are in connection with donation business, why couldn't they just write a checks to school instead of turning all kids and parents into junks salesmen?


Sorry for the long blah...

WantFit

"Become the change you want to see in the world. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." - Mahatma Gandhi
 
I have several charitable companies I donate to, and get bombarded constantly by other companies. I just have to say no, I would go broke if I donated to everyone!

I am a sucker for people's kids stuff though:)
 
RE: Flooded by all different kinds of donation requests...

Yes, I do understand feeling the crunch. In the first month of school alone, I have donated to collections for:

PTA
Sunshine Fund
American Heart Walk
2 bridal showers (between bridal & baby, we had approx. 10 last year!)
an administrator's wife, who is ill
a student whose home burned down
breast cancer
United Way Charitable Campaign

I have also been asked to contribute to fundraisers for colleagues' children, colleagues' bikeathons, etc. It seems like it never ends, and with some of the causes, 100% staff participation is "strongly encouraged."

I don't mean to sound stingy, either, but it has reached a point where I think we are being saturated with requests for contributions. And yet, I have spent approximately $1500 out-of-pocket for professional development and various supplies and books for the classroom for this year...

ETA: I have select charities I contribute to outside of work and don't feel guilty declining other requests, but it is at the workplace where it seems I have trouble saying no.

[font face="heather" font color=brick red size=+2]~Cathy [/font face] http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/wavesmile.gif
"Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be." -George Sheehan
 
RE: Flooded by all different kinds of donation requests...

DH and I are constantly bombarded by phone and mail solicitations for charities of all kinds. And once we make the mistake of donating to one charity, our name gets put on a cute little mailing list which is then sold over and over and over again, so we get mail from OTHER charities. AND, sometimes when we donate our names get put on the charity's website, so we can Google ourselves! Ain't it fun?

I have cut down on contributing a lot, not because I'm stingy but because I resent the relentless barrage of solicitations, and the implicit morally superior vein with which they're delivered.

A-Jock
 
RE: Flooded by all different kinds of donation requests...

No offense to anyone who may work in law enforcement (or have a family member who does), but a few weeks ago, I received a very aggressive solitication from a police officers' group. When he asked if I could help them out with a donation, I politely said, "No, I'm sorry, I can't this time." He very angrily shot back with, "Oh, you can't help us? But you expect US to help you?" I asked him if he was kidding seeking donations with that kind of attitude. It's one thing to ask for a donation, and another thing to be rude about it. Guess again if you think you're getting my money, buddy. I should have said, "Yes, I do expect you to help because it's your JOB and you CHOSE to be a public servant."

[font face="heather" font color=brick red size=+2]~Cathy [/font face] http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/wavesmile.gif
"Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be." -George Sheehan
 
RE: Flooded by all different kinds of donation requests...

Cathy,

Just so you know, most of those Police Organizations are not real. They are scams. They give themselves real sounding names, but unless they are actually a Benevolent Association, they are fake. They might call themselves a Benevolent Organization or Police Union or Fraternal Order of Police or something sounding really close, but for the most part Police Organizations do not solicit themselves by phone for donations.

My husband is recently retired from the NYPD and after I found out about them being fakes, I would reply " Oh, let me get my husband, he is also an officer." No kidding, I would usually get hung up on!! My DH said he didn't want me saying that from now on, so now I just tell them to send me written materials about their organization and I insist that I wll not donate over the phone, but only after I receive the pamphlets. Needless to say, I have never received one yet.

Anyway, just FYI!
 
RE: Flooded by all different kinds of donation requests...

I did hear that years ago and since then, that has been my exact policy: I never donate to ANYTHING by phone.

I would love to see legislation passed where no organizations can call you at home for any reason, including those darned annoying surveys.

[font face="heather" font color=brick red size=+2]~Cathy [/font face] http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/wavesmile.gif
"Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be." -George Sheehan
 
RE: Flooded by all different kinds of donation requests...

I don't even answer phone calls from unknowns so I don't deal w/ those types of solicitations too often, but with others I will say something like, Sorry or No thanks, we already support charities/organizations of our choice.
 
I donate to St Judes and will buy stuff from my neices and nephews when they are selling anything but the (junk)food. The periodically sell wrapping paper and other non-food items so that's when I participate. I don't donate to my Church because I don't go to mass but I am sure that I would if I went....

I have caller ID so I never pick up calls if it's not someone I know....
 
OY!!!! I have been complaining about this to DH. School fundraisers out the butt, Cub scout popcorn sales, which by the way I am embarrased to ask friends and family, well not fa,mily, but it is so expensive it is ridiculous! Our family doesn't even eat microwave popcorn! Then there's the football fundraiser! Geesh. It is crazy I tell ya. This stuff is just my DS's activities. My SIL has 5 kids and they each sent me a fundraiser for magazines. I just had to say sorry. Almost all the mags were 15 bucks a pop. Can you imagine all the $$$? Ok I am done now!:D
LD
 
I make it a point not to request donations in the workplace. That way I don't have to feel bad when I tell others no. I also recall being chastised by my boss who was annoyed that I would not donate part of my earnings to the United Way (which I personally think is a scam for a number of reasons)and I promptly told him that whom I donate to and what I donate is my business and no one else's. I never heard another word about it.
 
The company my husband works for actually made it mandatory for a portion of employees' paychecks to go to United Way. I find that offensive as well. Once that money is paid out in a paycheck it's OUR's do with what we choose. x(

Another peeve I have with organized charity is the mass mail they send out. I think groups like Feed the Children are great, and I give a large amount every December to them. But I get mail from them EVERY WEEK of the year asking for more. I wonder how many children they could feed if they would not spend so much of their funds on junk mail?????
 
<The company my husband works for actually made it mandatory for a portion of employees' paychecks to go to United Way.>
If I recall correctly, this practice is illegal.
 
I do donate regularly and gets tons of donation requests on a daily basis. The only donation requests that I dislike are the ones that are sending you nickels and other stuff and then ask you to donate. I think I actually got a tee shirt once. If they have the money to mail out tons of nickels then they certainly don't need the money. My dad has actually mailed these things back to the organizations that sent them and never heard from then again.

There are times at work that I have been the person asking for donations for a company sponsored charity. I have never, ever pushed anyone to give. To me giving to a charity is a personal decision. I have however, bought whatever my co-workers kids are pushing. Sometimes I'm a big sucker!!
 
><The company my husband works for actually made it mandatory
>for a portion of employees' paychecks to go to United Way.>
>If I recall correctly, this practice is illegal.


I think Beavs is right about that. My company strongly encourages donating to the United Way through payroll deduction, but it is by no means mandatory. My company also prohibits all other fundraising in the office - so no one can sell candy bars for tee-ball or Girl Scout Cookies or take donations for this and that. It's nice to not have to worry about being pressured into that stuff at work.
 
I am really sick of all the donation requests. We give every year to the cancer society and other well known groups, not to mention the countless donations of clothes and such to Salvation Army. It's not much but we do what we can on one income. I don't mean to sound crude or anything but we have 3 kids of our own to support, one of which is in college. It's funny this comes up now because our 2 youngest are in elementary school and they both came home in the past 2 weeks with 4 fundraising activities each! They say it's only $5 here or there but add that up with 2 kids and it is a major dent in the finances. You hate to say no to the kids at school but I really would like to know what our $6000 in school taxes is going to? I like the idea of writing one check for the PTO. At their last school, they had one, a walk-a-thon. You wrote one check and it was something good and healthy for the kids, not candy. Thanks for letting me vent;-) I'm currently writing out the bills, can you tell:eek:
 
RE: Flooded by all different kinds of donation requests...

> "Oh, you can't help us? But you expect
>US to help you?"

Yikes!


I get calls from the police groups as well, but after I say, "I'm sorry, I'm not interested" or "I'm sorry, I can't help you right now," I hang up!

Do any of you run into those people standing in the street, wearing orange vests and holding out cans for donations? Or is that just in my town? I hate that. I just try not to make eye contact, but feel that's a bit rude, but I don't want my common-courtesy eye contact to be mistaken for a donation offer.

I donate quite a bit of money to several groups through a program that takes a certain amount I designate from my paycheck every month. I think I'm doing my fair share already.
 
RE: Flooded by all different kinds of donation requests...

>Just so you know, most of those Police Organizations are not
>real. They are scams. They give themselves real sounding
>names, but unless they are actually a Benevolent Association,
>they are fake. They might call themselves a Benevolent
>Organization or Police Union or Fraternal Order of Police or
>something sounding really close, but for the most part Police
>Organizations do not solicit themselves by phone for
>donations.
>
That's good to know.(though not good that there are scumbags out there doing this.:-( )
 
Right now we just donate to my daughter's college fund (she's going to a private college which is very expensive) and I don't feel guilty in the least. My kids come first. Money's a little tight right now and when people call me wanting money it really makes me mad. I'd like to tell them I need to take up donations for myself.:p
 
Thanks for posting your feelings. Now I feel a little bit better that I am not the only one who feel crashed in these donation request activities.

Thank you also let me know that Solicits for Police Departments mostly are scams. I got so many calls from them. I feel so bad to reject them. I never would have thought that would be scams.

I like my previous employer. They have a policy that nobody is allowed to solicitate in the office. I think it is fair to say that donation and where to donate is very personal thing. No employer or anyone should press you to do something you don't feel like. If a company wants to do a good deed, it should contribute its profit to charity, instead of keeping pressure its employees to dole out their hard work earnings.

Last night, I told my DD that I would not sell 2 boxes of candy for them (each box cost $25). I told her I can donate $50 to her school. But she said no. They need her to sign up and sell the candy!! She said she just needs my permission to sell the candy. She had already got a few of her friends in the rinks (she is competitive figure skaters) promised to buy a few of them. But the problem is she need to promise to buy some junks in the future for her friends' charity sales. She is too young to understand it. I feel so bad for her.

I think I should go to talk to her teacher in school.

WantFit

"Become the change you want to see in the world. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." - Mahatma Gandhi
 

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