MousePotato

Don't get me wrong - I support charity and donate to several on a regular basis. That said, I have received TWENTY-EIGHT calls in the past three days from various organizations!

What's the deal here? Are they starting their Columbus day drives or something? Are they trying to get my money before the stock market takes all of it? Is anyone else experiencing this deluge?

lilpuffer

i dont give to charities, i put all my money into my business! but i do believe the market is going to crash. i dont know if im right or wrong but didnt the market up then shorty after go down leading to the depression? just like it is now? it is crazy how one thing (the gas) is hurting everybody. well in rochester it is not that bad! 2.70

MousePotato

Well, there are similarities between our current situation and The Great Depression, but they are not identical.

Interesting that you mention that. I went back to school a few years ago and I wrote a paper for my history class comparing the two time periods and was a bit frightened by what I found.

sgould

If the unemployment rate keeps going up, which I'm afraid it will for the foreseeable future, I suspect those charity calls are going to continue.

lilpuffer

what did you find out from the paper? but yeah unemployment is going crazy. here all the normal jobs that are always open for new people just stopped. shops are closing down!! crazy world we live in

MousePotato

Ironic that they always call when we have the least to give...

I don't recall all the details about my paper. It's been a few years and I'm past my spring chicken days. I do recall one of the causes of the depression was a great wealth gap between the richest and poorest. It got to where people couldn't afford to purchase what they produced so the companies went under. That made me nervous what with the current wage disparity between executives and worker bees.

Unemployment isn't too bad down here right now, but we're the Oil and Gas region. Even I work in "the industry," though it's a French company. How weird is that?

lilpuffer

yeah l can believe it. a lot of people that i talk to really think that we are going to go into a depression maybe not as bad. but it sure seems like it is the start of one

MousePotato

I don't know about a depression. A recession, possibly, but not necessarily a full-out depression. Not that I want a return to the 80s, either (except maybe the music).

I am no economist. I took six hours of economics and that was more than enough for me! I think a lot rides on the election and what happens after that. I can say "I saw this coming," but I don't have answers just yet.

lilpuffer

everybody has some idea on how to fix this raising problem. but the government wont listen to us

MousePotato

True. I have ideas, but they haven't asked for my opinion yet.

MinxMermaid

as for charities, i haven't seen an increase in requests, i always get a TON of requests, being a small business owner. I support several chosen charities, the main one being Breast Cancer Angels.

i raise money for them all year, whenever i can, last year over $10,000. they provide REAL help for women struggling with breast cancer, things like medicine, wigs, food, rent, childcare, medical expenses, housing, etc.

they don't give money to research like the koman foundation, but to every day real needs, which is also important.

the founder of the charity did tell me, that donations are down, due to the economy, but the need is up, due to the economy. even my efforts for them this year have been less, due to not being able to afford to host all the events that i normally do.

in addition to that, i give end of season clothes from the store to the Battered Womens Shelter and the Christian Coalition transitional housing program which is like a half way house program for women learning to re-integrate into society after subtance abuse or extreme poverty or poor circumstances.

but almost every week, someone comes to my store asking for "donations" for their cause and gifts for their silent auctions. its really hard to say NO, but I try to politely explain that I give A LOT to these 3 groups and can't really give to EVERY group. they never seem to understand and usually leave in a huff, but I know that I do what I can, where I think I can.

the need is great out there. just do what you can and don't feel bad about it.

lilpuffer

the need is great out there. just go what you can and don't feel bad about it.


nicely put!!!

Shawnie

being a business owner as well, we get tons of requests too..and I do agree, the needs are way up...ive focused most of our donations on food pantries this year...they are being hit very hard and shelves are bare its going to be a long hard winter for alot of folks this year!

MousePotato

I don't feel bad. I feel irritated! I give generously to charities all year long. There is absolutely no need to call someone's HOME 28 times in three days! What's worse, they are all "professional fundraisers." This means the money I donate is paying these people to call up and harass me for more. Plus the same number may come up on the caller ID (with name unavailable) for five different charities. I'm always talking to the same people. I can't even keep the names straight. What is the difference between the "American Cancer Fund" and "The Cancer Fund of America?" "People's Front of Judea," anyone? And why do the children need a separate fund? Do the adults not share?

I think the worst part is that they will not take no for an answer. One day I got a similar deluge and promised about $200 to four different charities. When the next one called I told them I was tapped out for now. Naturally, she kept badgering me until I got angry and hung up. Another time, one of those police charities called and I told him it was a bad time because we'd just had a death in the family. He still tried to get me to pledge something before he would get off the phone!

I've reached the point where I don't even want to answer the phone anymore unless I know who it is, but they keep calling all day long until I pick up. Between the phone calls at home, the solicitations at work and all the requests stuffed into my mailbox every day, I am starting to feel less than charitable!

(Sorry for the rant)

MinxMermaid

I would never commit any money to ANY group over the phone. Most of these are scams. Just say NO. if they don't want to take no for an answer, i say this.
"mam, i'm trying to be polite and tell you no and why i can't, if you prefer, i can just hang up on you mid sentence, you decide"
they get so many hangups, they realize they prefer a polite no.

Nags1965

I never give money over the phone either. If you cant put a stamp on it and send it to me via snail mail so i can check you out, you dont getmy money. My husband gives so much a month out of his paycheck.. so i feel we do our part that way.. I also give to local places that take time to come door to door, provided i know they are real... This time of year the call volume always goes up due to the holiday season being right around the corner..

I will continue to give to the local food banks as long as i am able to give.. For i believe there truly are people that are trying and falling behind that need some help to get over this hump.

MousePotato

I don't actually GIVE money over the phone. They ask me to "pledge" and then they send me info via snail mail. I think I'm going to have to turn them all down for the rest of the year and continue to concentrate on Meals on Wheels, Susan G. Komen, my Christian Children's Fund child and, of course, my animal charities.

Oh, I also think it's funny that they campaign around Christmas. Sure, people may feel more generous, but they also have more expenses. Hit me up around July instead.

Lucy

We've always been very careful in choosing what charities to contribute to.
There's a select few and only after we've checked how much goes to the actual cause than running the the business end.

Here are a couple of sites to help you make a wise choice:

http://charityreports.bbb.org/public...ureauID=9999#A

http://www.charitywatch.org/

MousePotato

Thanks for the links, Lucy. Especially the first one. I managed to mark one charity off my list. 64% of donations go back into fundraising! No wonder they can afford for someone to call me all day long!

Lucy

Your welcome. That's really sad, isn't it?

MousePotato

Yes, it is. Especially when they try to guilt me into donating. I wonder how they sleep at night!

Shawnie

I think as far as the charity phone calls are just as bad as the presidential phone calls...its totally getting out of control and I agree mouse, I hate answering my phone too!

MousePotato

<laugh> We don't get those down here, Shawnie! Nor have I seen any political ads. They just assume all us Texans will vote for McCain and don't even bother campaigning.

In 2004 I got one phone call right before the election. It was a recording of Laura Bush saying she hoped they could count on my vote. Well, first off, they're right - Texas will always go red whether I vote GOP, Dem or write-in "Mayor McCheese." However, I hate computerized phone calls! They are even worse than the charities because they set up a machine to annoy me! That wasn't the only factor in my vote, but it certainly didn't make me feel any more supportive of W.

Shawnie

hahahaa the voice recordings take up my entire voicemail somedays!! its totally out of control here in NH...between the door knocks, phone calls, mail, and solicitation through our kids, ill be so glad when its over!

pamd

I have a service that costs only $6.50 per month and have had it for about 7 years. It's called "AIN-solicitation Call Blocking Feature." It's a little-known service from Qwest, and I don't know if you have Qwest in your area or if your local telephone company supports something similar. However, it works great.

When someone tries to call my phone number, they get a message, "You have reached a number that does not accept solicitations. If you are a solicitor, please add this number to your do not call list and hang up now. Otherwise, please press 1 or stay on the line."

I used to have several calls per day, mainly during dinner-time. Since adding this service, only about one per month gets through. The "real" people will give up, and the automated ones won't get through.

COBettaCouple

I only use cels & only answer ringtones for people in my address book.. the rest can go to voicemail. Surprising how few voicemails get left.

What I don't like is the endless stream of charities waiting to ambush customers outside the exits at walmart. With so much fraud and scamming, they expect me to hand money over to a total stranger who may or may not be on the level?!