Over the last year I have been receiving, in my mailbox, an increasing number of letters from charities, foundations, and organizations asking me for money (March of Dimes, Angel Tree Ministries etc.). These requests for funds have been increasing rapidly, especially after I give to one of them, leading me to believe that these organizations are selling/giving my information to other organizations to let them know I'm "a giver". While I do not have a problem with this sharing of my information, I do have a problem with receiving these letters 2-3 times per day, and moreover I have a problem with the expensive and elaborate material that is often enclosed in the envelopes. So, what's wrong with this scenario? After all, the vast majority of these charities do great work and are completely legit, but what is it that causes that "something is not right" feeling in my gut when I open one of these letters and find fancy address labels, note pads, and yes even money. What? I thought you were asking me for money?! Why are you sending me money?! Yes, I realize that the nickel, dime, or penny you enclosed is not a lot of money, but how many of these envelopes did you send out?! If an organization were to send out 5,000 donation requests (and this number is very low), with a nickel in each one, that would be $250 of wasted money, and that's not including the postage and other expensive publications enclosed. Sounds like a miss-handling of donor funds to me, but it get's even worse. It would be my assumption that the clear window in the envelope showing you the nickel is first designed to make you open the letter, after all, any mentally sane person would not throw money in the trash, right? Now you take the nickel out and start feeling an element of guilt that goes through your head something like this: "I can not morally take this nickel, throw it in my change jar, and not give money to this charity." So, you write a check for $12 and send it back to them to escape feeling guilty. Sound familiar? So what's the problem again? The problem is two-fold: first off, if you feel led to give to someone or something you should never do it out of a feeling of guilt. Guilt is a negative emotion, and can only harbor more guilt. Unfortunately however, this is the exact emotion some of these organizations are playing too....not a wise investment. Secondly, as someone with any amount of money, it is YOUR job to be a responsible steward with it. This would include making sure that when you do give your money/time, it will be used responsibly by the recipient. If I send an organization $12, and the best I can tell $6-$8 of those dollars are going to be used on return address labels, custom post-it notes, and/or some form of currency, all just to instill guilt into 5000 more people, I'll pass. The sad part about this story is that most of the charities/organizations that do this kind of thing are not bad, they are just miss-led, and as a result, I will give to them when they send a simple letter requesting funds. Unfortunately however, this is usually not the case.
The conclusion of this story goes something like this:
Dear Charity/Organization, I appreciate all the good things you do and the people that you help. However, I am going to request that you stop sending me money, expensive mailings and newsletters, return address labels etc. These items are expensive to produce, I did not ask for them and I will never give to anyone out of a feeling of guilt which is why you are sending them. I will always be a cheerful giver, and NOT a guilt-driven giver. As a result, I will not give to you when you attempt to guilt me into giving, and moreover, I can not give to you when the majority of my donation would be used to promote more guilt-driven givers. In the future, please request money from me in a simple way. A letter and return envelope will do just fine, and it will help your organization because I will give with confidence that my donation will not be wasted.
Thank You
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