Charities That Shoot Themselves in the Foot

There's a well-known charity that I've supported now for several years. I'm tempted to name them, but I won't, because I think they're a worthy cause, and I think they do good work. But their approach to fundraising reeks.

I dunno, maybe a lot of charities use the same approach. Maybe a lot of charities use fundraising approaches that reek. But this is the one that intersects my daily routine repeatedly, until I could just scream.

In the first place, they solicit donations by mail something like six or eight times a year. Maybe more, I'm not exactly keeping track. They could hit me up once or twice a year and save themselves the postage. They could hit me up a hundred times per annum, and I'd still only give to them once or twice a year. Honestly. And it seems that whenever I do give to them, I receive a follow-up solicitation from them, requesting yet another donation, within two or three weeks. Like clockwork.

But that's not the worst of it. Within the past year or so, they've started soliciting me by phone. Repeatedly. Not requesting a donation from me— indeed, not requesting anything at all— but instead simply informing me that I will now help them in a new way, by addressing and mailing a stack of solicitation envelopes to my neighbors. They have phoned me with this little piece of news now at least four times in the past year, and twice within the past month. Most recently yesterday.

Each time they phone me, I have courteously informed them that I'm sorry, I'd be glad to continue making donations to them, but I'm simply too busy to take on any additional tasks of envelope mailing. And each time, they refuse to take an answer for an answer, and try to argue me into doing what I've just said I'm not able to do.

At least four times in the past year. And twice within the past month. I mean, hello, don't they keep records, or anything? Or are they simply trying to wear down my sales resistance? Has it ever occurred to them that their approach very likely alienates more people than it recruits?