Ever had a charity bill you for a donation?

[Pluperfect]

Also a legitimate charity, and well vetted, but because of the cheap 3rd class mailing permits, there is no incentive to pull one person's name from the mass mailings. Also, every name they get they can sell to someone else.

I used to process the donations and maintain the mailing list for a nonprofit hospice, and we'd get thousands of "in lieu of flowers" donations a year. Everybody went on the mailing list; the Development Director said they would want to see their donation acknowledged in the list of the "in memoriam" donations listed in the next newsletter, which is probably true, plus it's marketing.

Given the marketing angle, I was vigilant about always taking anyone off the mailing list who requested it, and I'd usually do it while they were on the phone. Click click click. "Okay, I found you, and took you off the mailing list. Thank you for letting me know." We never sold anyone's name to anyone.

This hospice had an annual fundraising gala, and I'll never forget the lady who got the newsletter that included photos and whatnot of the gala and scrawled on it something about "Dancing on the graves of dead people." I don't know if she was requesting removal from the mailing list, but I did it anyway.

DW used to w*rk for a nonprofit org and they maintained what they called a "pander list". That was for people who had asked not to be solicited since they would make an annual donation anyway. Getting put on the list wasn't easy, probably a matter of becoming known as a generous donor, but they often got thanks from those folks who appreciated the small favor.

I don't understand why it would be hard to get put on any "do not solicit" list, regardless of how much or how often you give. The donor would say, "I don't want to be solicited," and the organization would say, "Tough. We're going to solicit you anyway"? And worse, the donor would continue to donate even though the organization refused their request? I sure wouldn't.

 

[Sunset]

I think for some charities, they contract out the fund raising. I personally hate this as the fund raiser charges for expenses and a fee so a large chunk doesn't make it to the charity.

The fund raiser has a different goal than the charity, and would likely harass people to death if they could squeeze out more money, as it means more profit and only the charity takes the blame. So no desire to take people off the list.

 

[Markola]

I’ve worked in nonprofit fundraising for 30 years. Here’s the business model:

It costs money to acquire new donors and 30-$100 type gifts are generally loss leaders. A donor doesn’t help the mission much until they renew for five years, which is why you get renewals, usually for about 5 years after your single gift. You also get renewal requests throughout the year, because not everyone is like you. Many give at different times through the year in response to different kinds of messages sent through different channels. And sometimes, you might give randomly, too, so the organization needs to “be there” for you when you do. In aggregate, the mass marketing system works, even if it seems inefficient, and you are part of the aggregate. The aggregate is very important, so you can feel good to be part of it, even if you throw away lots of mail. We all do.

1 or 2% of the base of the pyramid donors, ie sub $100 donations, can be promoted over time up the pyramid to 4, 5, 6 figure and higher level support through requests for larger gifts and through increasingly personalized messaging and engagement.

Those at the peak of the pyramid can involve a board seat, invitations to small engagements with leadership, visits by staff, trips, etc. They are no longer being mailed the frequent appeals that you receive at the base of the pyramid. Instead, they are typically asked once per year, in a visit or through a tailored letter, or according to what they want. Occasionally, they are asked to give multi year pledges to campaigns. The latter donors are the needles in the haystack who have passion for the mission and the financial means to further it, and who accept the increased engagement and who make ever larger gifts in response to ever larger personalized requests. No organization is capable of tailoring its communications to base donors as it must to its top donors. A rule of thumb is that 5% of the donors give 95% of the dollars to a given mature nonprofit, so you can see why the 5% are emphasized.

I hope this demystifies how nonprofit fundraising works and why it can seem inefficient. For better or worse, it’s how the philanthropic system works. And it does work in this rich, very generous and yet tax-averse country with big needs and aspirations.

One can always ask to be taken off phone and mailing lists and one can unsubscribe or block emails. It’s in reputable organizations’ interest to honor your wishes so that they don’t get hit with spam restrictions, not to mention community reputation and, ultimately, mission risk, if they go too far.

 

[Badger]

Since there really isn't any tax benefit to donating to charities I am more careful with where I donate. This is especially true for those that I consider having "poor management" with where the dollars are used. I prefer that at least 90% of the donation is going where I intend.
A useful link for many charities that are some of the more careful about their money management. https://www.charitywatch.org/top-rated-charities
There are just too many Veteran, police, christian/religious, save the (?), Go Fund Me, TV fund raising ads and other tug on your heartstrings charities/fund raisers that are not much more than a scam.
I don't respond to snail mail, TV charity promotions, phone solicitations, Facebook ads, etc. I have no interest in any more junk mail that what I already get. When I donate money the charity will be seriously vetted.

Cheers!

 

[Timeisprecious]

C'mon now - it seems to me that you either give to a charity you care about or you don't. Yes, I do get mail from charities; I throw much of it away. We have to say "no" to the ones that don't matter as much to us to that we can say an emphatic "YES" to the ones that do.

 

[Gumby]

I care a lot less about people who bug the crap out of me.

 

[Sue J]

To me the mailings are easy enough to ignore. When I pick up the mail I have to pass the recycle bin on the way back into the house so I take care of it right there. The phone calls are the most irritating. I used to be polite and say, "No, thank you" but as soon as I realize it's a solicitation I now just hang up.

The worst one is the Police and Fireman's yada yada support group. The caller introduces himself as a police officer and always sounds so serious. As soon as he gets to the name of the group I end the call.

 

[braumeister]

To me the mailings are easy enough to ignore.

I suppose I may be overreacting, but I've given this outfit $500 in each of the last five or six years. No problem, but when they send me an invoice one year since my last donation, showing in boldface that there was that amount due within 30 days, I was both surprised and very annoyed. Replied politely but very firmly that I considered that both tacky and overreaching. If they had responded with even a hint of an apology it would have been OK, but they just ignored it, and consequently got crossed off my donation list permanently.

I may be all wet, according to Markola, but with a total annual budget of less than $1M, I wouldn't think they could afford to antagonize a $500 annual donor. Obviously I was wrong.

 

[Markola]

^^^^^^ I completely agree with you. I’d be upset, too. Sending a donor an invoice for a charitable donation is a tacky, manipulative and altogether penny-wise, pound-foolish tactic. It is unethical and does not honor the philanthropic spirit. This organization is small and, unfortunately, clueless. I bet the person who came up with this brilliant idea doesn’t even give him or herself.

Have you considered writing to the CEO? You clearly care about this small organization’s mission, so one last try might educate the leader and result in a better donor experience for everyone. If you do that and if you are still ignored, personally, I’d take my contributions elsewhere, because they have a values and judgment problem.

 

[easysurfer]

Tacky, yes.

Can't say I've had an invoice but in the past had Goodwill turn down stuff like old computers. Guess my old electronics didn't meet their standards .

 

[Markola]

Well, nearly a week since I shared my opinion with them and still no response. So I have to assume they just don't appreciate being told how to do their fundraising. Pity, but their loss. At least I hadn't made my annual donation yet so I can put the money to work elsewhere.

Your reply email probably went to the staff member who came up with the stupid idea. I’d write the CEO.

 

[braumeister]

Your reply email probably went to the staff member who came up with the stupid idea. I’d write the CEO.

That's a good idea. I have just done so.

 

[athena53]

Tacky, yes.

Can't say I've had an invoice but in the past had Goodwill turn down stuff like old computers. Guess my old electronics didn't meet their standards .

There are some pretty toxic metals and other compounds in computers and if they're not disposed of properly (with the metals extracted and possibly recycled) they end up in junk heaps in developing countries where the poor and the desperate comb through them and try to extract the valuable materials, endangering their own health and contaminating the environment. Places like Best Buy will take them for a price- typically $15-$25.

 

[Koolau]

I used to process the donations and maintain the mailing list for a nonprofit hospice, and we'd get thousands of "in lieu of flowers" donations a year. Everybody went on the mailing list; the Development Director said they would want to see their donation acknowledged in the list of the "in memoriam" donations listed in the next newsletter, which is probably true, plus it's marketing.

Given the marketing angle, I was vigilant about always taking anyone off the mailing list who requested it, and I'd usually do it while they were on the phone. Click click click. "Okay, I found you, and took you off the mailing list. Thank you for letting me know." We never sold anyone's name to anyone.

This hospice had an annual fundraising gala, and I'll never forget the lady who got the newsletter that included photos and whatnot of the gala and scrawled on it something about "Dancing on the graves of dead people." I don't know if she was requesting removal from the mailing list, but I did it anyway.

I don't understand why it would be hard to get put on any "do not solicit" list, regardless of how much or how often you give. The donor would say, "I don't want to be solicited," and the organization would say, "Tough. We're going to solicit you anyway"? And worse, the donor would continue to donate even though the organization refused their request? I sure wouldn't.

We did a little experiment many years back. In some magazine, there was an add for a free cat toy we were sure our cat would love. So we sent for it - using the cat's name. Sure enough, her name got sold to several places and it was years before the last solicitation letter bearing her name stopped arriving.

Boots T. Cat had quite a run for a while.

 

[Markola]

I don't understand why it would be hard to get put on any "do not solicit" list, regardless of how much or how often you give. The donor would say, "I don't want to be solicited," and the organization would say, "Tough. We're going to solicit you anyway"? And worse, the donor would continue to donate even though the organization refused their request? I sure wouldn't.

In practice, it’s surprisingly difficult. In the effort to keep track of thousands of donors’ preferences, databases get filled with Do Not Solicit flags on records of people who actually would give if they were asked. Telemarketing is dying out, and that’s a good thing. But if someone was called during dinner ten years ago and they said “don’t call me during dinner anymore,” the data entry person usually marks the whole record Do Not Solicit, since that’s the only flag the database offers, which often translates to Do Not Contact, even if the person didn’t request that and would like to be asked through other channels. Good donors are lost that way by staff who are trying to interpret and honor a donor’s wishes years after the fact, sometimes mistakenly. One can say, “You should mark my record ‘don’t call during dinner’”. However, not many organizations are sophisticated enough at data entry and management to keep track of every donor’s specific preferences. A lot of these systems are still only one or two generations beyond index cards.

 

[braumeister]

Places like Best Buy will take them for a price- typically $15-$25.

I've never had a Staples store refuse to take any kind of old electronics for recycling. No charge.

 

[Momcpa]

Our son went to an out-of-state college. Excellent grades, had qualified for one of the miliary academies, etc, etc. And, we had a very modest income. But we couldn't get the university to offer any type of scholarship for ANY reason to help us financially. Then they had the nerve to send AND call us asking for donations to this that or the other university cause. I told them when they had time to look at our son's academic and athletic records, and found a scholarship that matched up with him, I might find the time to write them a check for a contribution. Never heard back.

 

[Koolau]

Upon doing taxes this year, we had a couple of charities not send us receipts without asking for them (over $600.) I wasn't happy. Another couple didn't send for $100 range. Not a problem unless IRS asks, I guess.

So between being billed and not being receipted, I think not being receipted bothers me more - but just barely so YMMV.

 

[braumeister]

Your reply email probably went to the staff member who came up with the stupid idea. I’d write the CEO.

That's a good idea. I have just done so.

It was a very good suggestion, and it worked. I got a very apologetic response today from the head of the organization. I can understand that a small outfit can't always dictate how their mailing software works, but I do think this should have been fixed before they sent anything out.

I'll probably go back to donating.

 

[Markola]

^^^^ I’m really glad to hear it, braumeister. You provided this organization that you care about a valuable “learning opportunity.”

I find there’s a night/day difference, even inside nonprofit organizations, between the outlook of staff donors who automatically “get it” and the non philanthropic staffers who don’t make gifts themselves and, therefore, have no way to put themselves in the shoes of the organization’s donors. It’s really just the Golden Rule. I would bet money that the staff person who implemented this fool idea is a non donor and that the leader you finally found gives to your organization, like you. Congrats.

 

[ponyboy]

I would lay out a couple hundred bucks on the table or whatever the amount you donated last year. Take a photo, print it out and send it back to them with a letter stating you wanted to donate this amount but because of the "invoice" you chose otherwise. Or something to that affect, more clever of course. That would be worth the price of a stamp.

 

[Koolau]

I would lay out a couple hundred bucks on the table or whatever the amount you donated last year. Take a photo, print it out and send it back to them with a letter stating you wanted to donate this amount but because of the "invoice" you chose otherwise. Or something to that affect, more clever of course. That would be worth the price of a stamp.

Yeah, make 'em grovel. If you do this, be sure to post their reply so we can enjoy it vicariously.

 

[athena53]

I would lay out a couple hundred bucks on the table or whatever the amount you donated last year. Take a photo, print it out and send it back to them with a letter stating you wanted to donate this amount but because of the "invoice" you chose otherwise. Or something to that affect, more clever of course. That would be worth the price of a stamp.

I'm glad Braumeister got through to the CEO and got an appropriate response- this might have been an interesting move if they hadn't responded.

 

[UpQuark]

I got an email recently from a charity we have donated to, and attached to it was an Invoice showing the Amount Due as the amount we gave them last year, and a Due Date of 30 days from now. ..

After my sister died I did a Save the Children sponsorship in her memory. I had my bank account's billpayer set up to send the check monthly. Many many years later I started getting 'Past Due' bills from them. I was shocked and annoyed and cancelled the sponsorship.

Later I discovered that the billpayer system had a max number of years setting and had stopped sending the check. I felt bad about it once I understood what happened, but it was unbelievably annoying to get a Past Due bill from a charity.

 

[braumeister]

It saddens me to see some advocating a vindictive approach, something I would never do. These are good people doing good work. It was unfortunate that they were undone by some inferior software, but they have now recognized the problem and will correct it. I'll go back to donating.