A few weeks ago, I attempted to do an online fundraiser for two organizations that I felt were deserving: The Brooke Jackman Foundation and The Red Cross. Without going into too much detail, I’ll just say this: It tanked. Badly.
Once I realized that the fundraiser flopped, I pulled it from DMS and have spent many hours trying to figure out what went wrong. I have many ideas. But one idea that I keep coming back to is the fact that most people, myself included, are exhausted from being asked for money. After all, it’s everywhere. At your kids’ schools. At your religious institution of choice. In front of the supermarket. At the airport. At the checkout line at pretty much every store you ever buy anything from. At the gym. On Facebook.
The donation invasion is everywhere. You can’t escape it.
I wrote about a similar topic before, how the charity creep can affect your holidays, but this is something broader. This is the fact that it’s almost impossible to conduct normal, mundane, routine acts of life (like driving a car or buying shampoo) without being inundated with requests for money. And, if you’re like me, I don’t care about having my name written on a shoe or a heart or a four leaf clover and having it proudly displayed for all the world to see. What I do care about is to not being asked for money everywhere I go and then looked at like a total piece of shit when I say no.
I’m pretty sure I’m not alone.
However, realizing that I can only control my actions and not the actions of others, here’s a few I ask to make sure that I don’t respond affirmatively to every request for money:
- Is it something I’m going to use anyway? Alex’s Lemonade Stand is a great example of this. With so many product lines donating a portion of their sales to the organization, I will spend a few extra cents to buy a product that supports it. I do this particularly with water ice (like Italian ice, only not as good). Our local chain has a lemonade flavor every summer that’s on the menu to raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand. So, if my daughter wants lemon, that’s the flavor I buy her. She’s getting the water ice anyway; might as well do a bit of good with the purchase.
- Will I get something out of it? I’ll contribute a few dollars to a raffle, particularly if there’s a chance I can win a decent prize. I’ll buy entry into a walkathon or Zumbathon because I’ll get to exercise and network at the same time. I’ll buy tickets to an event because I know I’ll have some fun. It may sound selfish, but if I can’t see where my money’s going or how it’s being used, I want to get something out of my contribution. Remember that conversation between Joey and Phoebe on Friends about how there are no selfless good deeds? Yeah, I agree with Joey.
- Is it a cause I believe in? It’s hard to say that one cause is more important or more valuable than another. But if I were to give a dollar or two to every cause that I’m asked to help, the charitable giving line item in my budget would equal that of my mortgage. I can’t afford that. Maybe one day, but not this day. So to keep my charitable giving at a level I can afford, I have to assess if the cause is something I believe in or if the organization is one that I support (because there are a number or shady charities out there).
- How do they solicit my money? Are they walking up and down the street with a boot, going up to car windows and sticking the boot in the driver’s face? Are they bugging me in the middle of dinner (try reading that sentence without singing Alanis Morissette), pretending we’re BFFs, asking me for cash? Is the unenthusiastic cashier asking me to tack on an extra dollar or two to my purchase? Are they sending me an email or a mailing explaining specifically what they’re raising money for? Is there a website I can use to make an anonymous donation? The tactics behind how money is solicited makes a huge difference in whether or not I’m going to donate.
Please don’t get me wrong. I fully support charitable giving and do so when I can via a means (and an amount) convenient to me. I just don’t appreciate when I’m guilted into giving or made to feel like I’m scum because I choose to take my donations elsewhere.
However, sometimes there are generous people out there who want to give you stuff and you don’t have to spend a ton of money. You just have to do something simple (such as liking DMS on Facebook) in order to gain entry into a raffle that could net you an iPad mini . That’s what Jackie at The Debt Myth is doing to celebrate the launch of her updated Pay Off Debt app (you could win a copy of this, too). To enter the contest, just follow the directions below:
