Charities and their communications

I do think it is a step in the right direction and hope that other charities will follow suit. If they don't there is a strong risk of "compassion fatigue" I think.

These sort of mail shots are a pain, but I can only think that they have some evidence that it makes them money or they would not do it.

I guess that for every ten binned there may be one who sends a cheque, but it must be worth doing as already stated.
I get regular letters from charities, as they pass your name around between them if you are a giver.

Here, here POGS I give what I can once a year to the B.L they then think it o.k to pester me for more through out the year. When they rang me last year I gave the poor women on the line a real ear bashing telling her. If they kept this badgering up I'd stop my contribution to their poppy appeal. She accepting this in good grace, but had the last word by telling me "well you can't blame us for trying" I had a little chuckle and they've never contacted me by telephone since. I still get the occasional begging letter from them. There are some charitable appeals that I would really like to give money to. The fear that they would constantly badger me or sell my contact details on stops me in my tracks. Shame really because it's the charity that looses out. My poor M.I.L got 25- 50 a week. You know the type promising her lots of money if she bought their cheap nasty useless crap. Her house was full of the stuff. The other culprits were the catholic societies. Not sure of their names now but 'sisters of mercy, little lovelies of Lourds (sorry don't know the spelling) that kind of thing. They got her in a terrible state.

My bugbear is the local Conservative party. I get a couple of books of raffle tickets that we have not asked for. In the past I have posted them back, put them through their office door, and written that they have not been requested. Either they can't read, or they just bin them, then they wonder why we get cross.

Auntieflo that is also one of my bugbears from the same Party. I just bin them now. I have been a patient at a well known hospital and they have started begging as well- again everything is binned.

I would have binned them too.

I dislike the practice some charities use such as sending you drink mats, notelets, pens, especially the personal name and address labels which I have to destroy as I don't put anything in my bin with my personal details on it. I just don't see it as anything other than a waste of some bodies financial sponsorship believing they had donated their money for a good use.

I stopped giving a regular amount to a charity because of the constant letters which thanked me for my regular contribution and then asked for more! What a cheek! I also objected to the brightly coloured letters and brochures which had to be expensive and therefore a waste of donated money (in my opinion).

Like POGS I too dislike the practice of sending little gifts with begging letters - also a waste of money.

The trouble for me is as far as I'm concerned very contact with me, be it by mail,email,phone call that I don't donate to is a waste of money. And that money is coming out of the contributions that should be going to the cause.

It's the same as the endless overseas aid adverts. Someone is paying for them , and it's you and I from our donations.

The same as the 6 figure CEO salaries. I don't expect them to work for nothing but there's little transparency in how much of every £ you spend actually ends up with those that need it.