Informed donors recognize that for-profit fundraisers, those primarily used in charitable telemarketing campaigns, keep 25 to 95 cents of every dollar they collect. These donors never give out their personal information - like credit card accounts, social security numbers - over the phone. If they like what they hear in the pitch, they'll hang up, investigate the charity on-line and send their contribution directly to the charity, thereby cutting out the middleman and ensuring 100% of their donation reaches the charity. To help you investigate charities that solicit you, we include each charity's contact information in the bottom right-hand corner of its ratings page.Additional tips at Charity Navigator.
09 November 2010
How to contribute to a charity
If you get a fundraising phone call, hang up the phone... and then call the charity:
Good info, esp considering that most charities dump the majority of their proceeds into MORE fundraising.
ReplyDeleteUse the same tactic when you're approached on the street for money. I work for a major charity, we've seen impostors collecting cash in our name. Please go home and mail a check instead.
ReplyDelete"If they like what they hear in the pitch..." and end up donating directly to the charity, it seems to me that the telemarketer is being cheated out of remuneration for a job well done. After all, isn't this a donation that the charity otherwise would not have received? I have no problem with the person generating the donations getting fair pay for a fair day's work. I suppose it's really about defining "fair". But to me a 10% tip for a job well done is reasonable.
ReplyDelete