Community Chat

[LilacTree]

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@KathyPet wrote:

I have a couple of charities that I contribute to that have contacted me requesting that I directly solicit friends and neighbor's asking for donations.  They send you the letters and envelopes to mail the letters in plus a return envelope that you write your address on.  Any contributions come back to you and then you forward them along.  I think this practice is tacky and crass and I refuse to take part in it.  It puts undue pressure on the receipient to contribute since it is a personal appeal from someone they know.  The receipient may or may not wish to support that charity.  In addition once the charity gets the checks you know they add the contributors name to their database thus assuring that your friends and neighbors will be subject to a never ending barrage of additional requests for money.  Anyone agree?

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Absolutely agree.  Disgusting.  I wouldn't take part in this.

[kdgn]

I can't remember which specific cancer charity it was but I remember the circumstances: a year after I had sponsored a friend for a walk-a-thon. I received a call from that charity asking me to send out letters to ten of my neighbors. They would send me the letters, all I had to do was provide envelopes, stamps and address them. This was around 12 years ago. 

I declined and requested that they never call me again. 

eta: Now that I think about it they may have said they would send me one copy of the letter and I was to make  copies. Of course they wanted me to send a donation in using the information contained in the letter. 

[ROMARY]

We have to be careful.  Some faux 'charities' use names that are very, very similar to the legitimate ones.  Drats/darn, I recently cut out of the newspaper an article showing a list of a few faux charities.  When I have time to look for and find it, I'll post.   Just remember that when they call you, write down the exact name that they are calling their charity.  Personally, I'd donate directly to the legitimate charities (official sites, or in person to their official offices).