Charities - SECOND NOTICE rant

[newbury]

SWMBO handles all the charitable giving. One of our prime rules is that she keeps a list that I can refer to so I can hang up the phone and be rude when they pester.
We probably average about 10 phone calls a day from the beggars, many avoided due to caller ID on most of our phones. If they get through and are ON the list they get politely informed we only give by snail mail, if they are not on the list and I answer the phone I hang up.

We just got back to Virginia from 2 months away and she has 2 boxes, 12x12x6 of charity mail. What kicked off this thread is that some of the charities are now sending mail with a big red SECOND NOTICE stamp. The American Cancer Society was one of them, and I think they are now OFF the list.

I know I got a lecture on how she hates seeing a SECOND NOTICE stamp in the mail.

 

[EddieWalker]

What do they propose to do to you if you fail to send them money after the second notice?

 

[KubotainNH]

These people are way beyond obnoxious. They seem to think they are now a monthly utility bill. Plus they push extra hard on the elderly.

 

[Clay45]

If I get a sob story, a second notice, or any other panhandler type correspondence I shred it. Never have received a 2nd notice but should it ever happen they probably won't get another penny. And if I contribute only to suddenly get a number of new requests for assistance that ends it for me.

I see causes that I'd like to support but they want you on the "monthly payment plan" so they're off my list as well. The "business" of charity may just be its undoing.

 

[phiferpharm]

Take a look at this site:
Charity Navigator - America's Largest Charity Evaluator | Home

It does a pretty good job of sorting out the good/bad/ugly of charities. FYI, American Cancer Society is not rated very well...

 

[Beltzington]

Unfortunately we are only harming ourselves with the anger, the caller, etc. gets paid regardless and they certainly don't care or they would not take the job. Knowing this still does not keep me from occasionally losing it. What irritates me the most is nothing short of going off the grid can be done to prevent this, I filed a complaint for a Do Not Call violator, had times, names, numbers and at the end of the day I was told is all we can do is put them on our list.
Just last week I was doing my son a favor renewing his vehicle registration (University Tags) and I had to opt out of the dept. of revenue providing the university contact information presumably so they could add him to their possible donor call list. SO great, now the government is getting in on the action.

 

[Garandman]

I joined the ACLU For one year 10 years ago: I wanted to be a Card-carrying member of the ACLU and NRA at the same time.

They are still sending me renewal notices 2-3 times a year.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I have been getting some beggar calls lately with message lately. The callers will pronounce my first name kind of like they know me but then stop. My wife and I had a chuckle over a call today asking for my mother with the same kind of inflection. My mother passed three years ago. Wonder if the caller was clearvoyant?

 

[caver]

I stop at an area Casey's convenience store on the way to my property. They have fresh brewed unsweetened iced tea which I enjoy. They are always asking if I want to donate my change to XXX charity. I hate businesses that do this.

 

[Msgtmje]

My mother in law used to live with us, as she entered her senior years she started getting charity requests that looked progressively more and more like bills. As she declined she was unable to tell the difference (Alzheimer's) between the requests and real bills. I came to belive that tactics like these are intentionally targeting certain groups and counting on the confusion and fear to increase their "take". I spoke to the USPS Postal police and was told that while what their doing is unethical it is not illegal and their is nothing they can do. In response I started to open the mailings, filled the postage paid return envelopes with the mailing appeal literature they sent or one of the other mailings and sending that back on their dime. It stopped in about 6 months. YMMV