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[Snicks1]

I'm sorry this may not be the place/forum for this, but the most annoying thing about those commercials shown ad nauseum, to me, is......they ask for donations which is fine, I'm sure they need them, but then want to give you something for donating.

Keep the 'stuff' and use it for those who you need donations to help, whether it be people, animals or a monument, etc. How much money are they spending in order to convince people to give? Makes no sense to me. Ok, vent over.

[Jtdmum]

@Snicks1 I think PBS is the worst!  I donate to both tv and radio- by the time I add up all the postage and cost of paper/print it's crazy. 

[Dusty1]

And it amazes me how long they hound you for! 
I did the shoebox Christmas gifts with my grandsons years ago. I continue to get solicitations from them every month or so.

It has gotten to the point that I don't contribute to a lot of things because it dismays me that they spend money to constantly harass me.

[jannabelle1]

I suppose it's the easiest or fastest way to get donations, but those TV ads just totally turn me off. The worst ones for me are the abused animals - as soon as I hear "Silent Night" (or whatever song they're using), I know that I have to change the channel. I honestly can not watch them - they're depressing. I can't imagine the amount of money that these organizations are spending on TV ads to solicit $19/month to support a family, or a child, or abused animals. I wonder how much of the money they raise actually goes to the cause, rather than overhead, salaries, administrative costs, charter air flights, etc. And you're right - if you need the money, why would you spend the money to send me a blanket or a decal or whatever you're offering for my donation? No thank you.

[Mominohio]

This is just a guess, but maybe those blankets for donation to Shriners Hospital for Children, and other such things offered by various charities, are donated to the organization, or offered up at super cheap cost to the charity, by someone (some business), as their contribution to generating funds for the cause. 

Even if they buy the things, I bet they are getting such a cheap rate, it's actually cost effective because of the donations those items generate.

[Snicks1]

@Mominohio, you may be right.

[shortbreadlover]

when ever i get a call to donate, i ask  how    much of the donation does directly to the org.  then i tell them that if it is less then 90%, i do not not donate.  they have since stopped calling me.  most of the time, they would tell me that 10% or less does to the  org and fund raising is costly.  well, 10% is not enough to suit me.  if they want a donation then mos tof it should go directly to the org.

[Snicks1]

@shortbreadlover, I agree completely with what you stated.

[depglass]

Charity Navigator dot org or whatever is an excellent source to see how your money is spent.