Charity begins at home
Dear friends.
Last night a small incident occurred which made me uncomfortable and I’ve been thinking about it, as is my wont with uncomfortable incidents, on and off throughout the day. I thought I’d share it with you in today’s blog and open up one of those discussions we all enjoy so much.
Basically, it was a Charity Man. You’ll all have been stopped in the street by Charity Men or Women: normally good-looking students, who throw you out of your stride by saying something nice like ‘hello sir, you look like a generous man’ or ‘madam, you seem like you might want to give £25 a month to somebody in Africa’. Then, they give you a very well-rehearsed spiel about how a few pounds a month isn’t much to you, but it would buy a mosquito net or a donkey for someone in the developing world. You say that you’re interested but you’re in a bit of a hurry, can you go on their website? They say, actually, it’s much better if you give them your bank details now, because if you go via the site, not all your money goes to the charity. You give in, fill out a clipboard and create a new standing order. These people are called ‘chuggers’ (charity muggers) and they do an important job, forcing members of the public to engage with issues which they would ordinarily think about guiltily, but not quite get involved in.
But this guy last night rang my doorbell. I was in the middle of helping to put Kit to bed. The guy was very charming and friendly, and – unfortunately, in the context – recognised me from the TV. He started trying to get me to donate to help deaf children. I asked if I could go away, read some stuff about it at a more convenient time, and do it online if I decided to. He said no, he’d much rather I signed up then and there. I really didn’t want to do that, even though I was feeling more and more that if I had any decency, I ought to. Finally, I got him to go away, but we agreed he’d come back in a couple of hours. I don’t think he came back in the end; if he did, I was asleep or something. So I didn’t sign up for the charity. So I expended quite a bit of energy avoiding giving money to disadvantaged kids.
Now, as you know, I went out to Senegal with ActionAid and since then I’ve been sponsoring a little boy over there. Well before that, I was already sponsoring a girl called Francine in Cameroon. Also, the wife and I sponsor a family in Moldova through the scheme set up by my sisters. So I already have three ongoing charity commitments, which is enough for most people. Nonetheless, the fact is, I could afford to do more. I probably could have committed another twenty quid a month to the deaf children. It wasn’t really the financial aspect that made me reluctant, it was the fact that the guy had come knocking on my door and I felt on the back foot. But even more than that, it was the gut feeling which many of us experience in relation to charity, but are not really allowed to voice: ‘where is this going to end?’
There are just so many worthy causes. A couple of weeks ago I was telling you about Patrick, the guy with Motor Neurone Disease who’s doing as many portraits as he can in the remainder of his life. In August I’m doing something for Cystic Fibrosis sufferers. There are various environmental charities I’ve made one-off donations to. There are always disasters that crop up, like Haiti. There are endangered species dying out, people with diseases you’ve not even heard of, the families of people with Parkinson’s, things like Comic Relief and Sport Relief which continue to help the world’s poorest communities, Alzheimer’s care, schools for kids with autism, the Samaritans, and on it goes. There are something like 80,000 charities in the UK. And even then there are things like my brother’s football project which I’m emotionally connected to although they aren’t exactly charities.
How are you meant to choose how you give to charity? I feel uncomfortable that I’d be more likely to give to a cause that harassed me on my doorstep, but at the same time, I quite understand that if I were them, I’d probably harass me too, because it works. Charities are engaged in an ongoing, massive scramble not just to win money from the public’s many other temptations, but to win money from each other. Charity, like everything, is a competition, however cruel that sounds. How are you meant to know which side to back? Is it better just to pick one cause, and support that exclusively forever? Or is it only fair to spread it around and try to help five, or ten?
And also, where do you draw the line? On the one hand, quite clearly I’m entitled not to give to anyone at all if I don’t want to – I earn my money, pay my taxes, support a family, etc. But I can’t really hide behind that argument because, when it comes down to it, I do earn more than the national average, I do have some disposable income, and I have a pretty clear moral duty to help those in need. I don’t have a moral duty to help every last bloody person or animal who is in any kind of need. But it’s really, really difficult to decide where to call a halt. OK, so those two kids in Africa are important, but finding a cure for breast cancer isn’t? Blind people deserve my support, deaf people don’t, just because blind people asked first?
I think these questions are quite pressing because there are more and more and more charities out there on the streets vying for your money, and more of them are surely going to start ringing on doorbells to get the upper hand. If it was any other form of business you’d feel it was a simple matter of picking the ones that impressed you most. Charity is so fraught with middle-class guilt, though – and well-deserved guilt at that – that it feels truly distasteful to approach it like that. But what else am I meant to do, people?
I’d be grateful for your opinions. For each Comment you leave, 10p goes to… not really.
Posted by Andy Gibson on August 3, 2010
I tend to support a few main charities, but in truth they tend to be self serving one way or another. Having said that, I do volunteer for Citizens Advice and I’ve also done a bit for Cats Protection. To be honest though, I would put human charities above animal charities, the volunteer opportunity at Cat Protection was conveinient more than anything else.
Mark, if I suggested you should choose a few particular charities, I may be putting your support of my charity at risk – thus shooting myself in the foot. Having said that, it would be understandable to focus on a few. You can’t please all the people all of the time, can you? On the otherhand, doing what you can, when it’s convienient also makes sense. Plus, through life you may come into contact with certain issues or conditions that really hit home, and you may want to support them? These issues may alter every so many years, so you can only do what you feel you can at the time. No matter of income, time or opportunity we are all affected by this dilemma. Sometimes the options are decided for us, at other times we need to make a decision – never easy. Always appreciative of you Mark.
I always ignore shakers. A decison about charitiy shouldn’t be forced upon you or made because of guilt, but made by your own desire and want to do something for that cause.
Posted by Misha on July 28, 2010
Days out though this comment is (i’m never going on holiday again, the catch up is just too immesnse) I thought I’d leave a comment anyway. I always catch the clipboard people on the backfoot by genuinely not being old enough, several times i’ve been coerced into filling in all the details up to Date of Birth, at which point I reveal I was born in 92, the person does a double take and apologies that i’m not old enough. One day i’m going to be old enough, I don’t know what i’ll do then.
It’s always hard to know, I currently sponser a pony (Icky, or to give him his registered breeders title, Haw Idris) and have done for a few years. I’ve even been to visit him, and he “writes” to me as part of the scheme. Admittedly it’s aimed at younger kids than I, but I was younger at the time, and it means a few pounds wing there way off to help horses, ponies and donkeys in distress. (is that the wrong there? i’m very tired).
The problem is, beyond that I find it hard to know. Pick one close to you, in my case, cancer, autism, mental health issues etc, and it feels like you’re defeating the object because in the long run it might benefit you. Pick something at random and how do you know when to stop? It’s difficult. And I don’t know.
Posted by LisaD on July 23, 2010
I’m playing catch-up and ordinarily wouldn’t post a comment when the day has gone by but I felt a bit of kinship to this particular topic because (and I’m preparing myself for the wave of hate) I’ve been a chugger. By the way that word hadn’t made it to the States and I’m looking forward to tossing it into conversation soon.
Initially my job with the company was as a phone solicitor (just gets better and better, eh?) but when the company instituted a cap on the number of people who could work phones on a given shift–first come first serve and I’m not terribly punctual–I agreed to make up the hours by chugging on Saturdays. It’s grim work. You spend your day with a smile plastered on your face knowing that if the situation was reversed there is no way you would stop and talk to you. I can’t speak for how things go in the UK but from the comments I’ve read the deal is about the same. These companies take a bunch of people desperate for work (easy enough these days) lure them in with wages, promises of bonuses and, the ultimate prize for American poor people: health care and a union card. They hire way more than they need and then fire 80% within a month before most of their employees can get union status, keeping a few people who either have a talent for raising money or are students leaving at the start of the school year.They operate with the kind of unethical labor practices that several charities exist to try and stop. It’s also worth pointing out that the organizations that hire corporations like the one I worked for have a LOT of money. I’m not saying they don’t do good work, Amnesty gets my support whenever they ask for it, but there are smaller orgs out there that cannot afford the huge cost of hiring the pros to raise more cash.
There is also something important I feel the need to point out: the “if you go online the charity doesn’t get as much of your money” line…well it’s not quite a lie as that would be fraud but it’s only slightly true. The charity and the chugger corporations have a deal that they will juggle bonuses and discounts for each successful chugger transaction. One could therefore make the case with a straight face that if you make the donation to a chugger that discount is money “saved” by the charity that they can spend on helping animals or political prisoners ect. Nevertheless that money wouldn’t be spent at all if the charity hadn’t hired the company in the first place. And it won’t go toward helping dolphins or hungry children, it will go toward next year’s payment to the chugger company. Frankly I found my entire experience there distasteful and found that the further into the company I got the less I liked it. I had signed on with them out of a genuine desire to make a (small) living helping people and ended up feeling like I worked for the Bernie Madoff of charitable donations. I empathize with every chugger I see cause I’ve been there, but I won’t give them more than a smile and good wishes. Supporting the causes we care about is very important, but supporting FOR PROFIT companies that leech off of the good will of nice people is a whole other matter.
Posted by Laura on July 22, 2010
Firstly, would it be terribly impolite of me to say that I fucking hate chuggers? I cross the road to avoid them and their bullying. That said, they do do an important job. The trouble is, the kind of people who get bullied by them into donating are the kind of people who already donate to several causes (hence a big part of my avoidance).
I donate to a handful of charities which, for me, do the work that resonates most with me on an emotional level: I volunteer at a rescue centre so donate to the Dogs’ Trust; my mum died from lung disease so I give to the British Lung Foundation (even though they were pretty useless in offering much help when she was dying); I also give to the WSPA, WWF and Friends of the Earth.
There is only so much one can realistically afford to do, and as one poster mentioned, any donation to a good cause is surely better than none? So don’t be so hard on yourself, Watson.
Posted by Heather Jones on July 21, 2010
There are just a couple of things I wanted to add to what has already been said. People have very different ideas of what level of giving is appropriate, and I totally respect that. I just wanted to point out that there is, in fact, an actual figure in traditional Judaism and Christianity (not sure about Islam or other world faiths) where the concept of ‘tithing’ gives a figure of 10% as the amount of money religious adherents are encouraged (well, more than encouraged, if you take it seriously, it’s a duty) to give to charity (or ‘the poor’). Challenging huh? 10% is a lot! (I’ve had discussions with people where we’ve all wriggled around asking whether it’s gross or net income, or whether it’s disposable income (ie once you’ve deducted essentials like rent/mortgage) But however you cut it, the challenge is there: 10% is a lot! The C of E have, in recent times, attempted to refine this target by suggesting that church members regard the target as 5% to be given to charity and another 5% to be given to the church itself (which is a fair enough thing to ask of people who belong to the church and presumably should want to support it financially)
Mind you, my own personal wriggle (when I was more involved in church) was to segregate my own quite low income from that of my husband – who has always been an atheist, and who is committed to supporting charities, but (obviously) doesn’t want to give to the church. So, in terms of our overall family income we never got anywhere near the 5% figure. And, to be honest, I don’t think we’re anywhere near the challenge of a tithing level for giving to charity either.
The other point I wanted to make was about the selection of charities to support. (I get phonecalls a lot, but haven’t had much experience of door-stepping or shopping mall chuggers. I would give such attempts short shrift I think. ) I like the fact that everyone has different preferences in what we want to support: we all have a different role to play. I am glad there are people in the world who are passionate about supporting causes that leave me cold. I don’t have to support everything, any more than they do. My particular angle is that I like finding out about, and supporting, ‘unsexy’ charities – the ones that have trouble getting celebrity endorsement – for example mental health charities. I also support Oxfam with a regular standing order and try nudge up the monthly amount if my income goes up. I tend not to support the big cancer charities – not cos I don’t think they’re important, but they just seem to get an awfully big slice of the cake already.
Posted by Kathryn on July 21, 2010
The animal charity issue can be contentious. Personally I don’t have any pets or any great attachment to animals so I’d rather donate to Save the Children, but that’s also because my grandmother worked for them until she was 90-something. It’s usually a choice based on what has affected your life personally- my dad is blind, my grandad died of a stroke, my aunt is chairperson of the British red cross…
I don’t have much experience of “chuggers” but I have been doing door-to-door collecting for Christian aid with my parents all my life. We live in a pretty affluent area, and I know it’s always a generous choice to donate, but it’s rather galling and frustrating when someone pulls out a huge handful of notes and loose change then hands you 10p.
Posted by Adele on July 21, 2010
I work for a charity and have actually had an ‘in person’ chugger knock on my door asking me to donate to the charity I work for. Obviously, knowing what my charity is all about, I called the chugger out on some glaring inaccuracies in his story. The conversation ended with me telling him that they’re getting enough out of me already by working for them and sent him packing.
I reported the chugger to our fundraising department the following day, as I was concerned that he was going around giving out wrong information and it came to light that he wasn’t actually acting in an official capacity. Just goes to show that you could be giving bank details to any old person!
Posted by Rachael on July 21, 2010
This is quite the conundrum isn’t it? When I was working I sponsored a couple of children in Africa and gave to some animal charities (because I like animals, not because I hate humans) but then I had to stop all the direct debits when I became a student and I still feel really bad about it even though I can barely afford my own rent. I think that no matter what the arguements are everyone is going to see different things as more worthy/ more important to them personally. hopefully somewhere along the line it will all even out. So, hard as it is to just decide not to feel something, I don’t think that you should feel guilty.
Also, even though it’s a good cause I really don’t like the idea of strangers knocking on your door to ask for money. It was bad enough when they were knocking to pressure us in to voting for their party, at least we could lie and say we would then though!
Posted by T on July 21, 2010
cymruangel – what’s the deal with your bizarre comment, suggesting that those who support animal charities hate humans?
That’s such a massive generalisation and I don’t understand why you would think that. Can we not love both? We’re all part of this world and we as humans have a responsibility to look after the world. Animals are part of that and they play an important role in our lives.
Either way, the point of Mark’s post is that we should be able to chose who/what we give our money to. This includes animal charities.
Posted by Amy H on July 21, 2010
I’m with you guys all the way. My thoughts have been pretty much covered already – except to say that I’m not totally surprised and slightly dismayed that ‘chuggers’ are now cold-calling. As with many of you, I already give money (and time) to the charities that mean most to me, and I hate the guilty feeling of refusing to give my bank details on the street even though I’m entitled to!
The dismay is down to the fact that often when the I-want-something-from-you people come to the door, they ask “Are your parents home?”
I just turned 26 (and don’t live with them now!)…. Although if street chuggers ask “are you over 18?” I have been guilty of saying “no, 17″- before rushing off.
Anyone else think that “street chuggers” sounds like something else entirely, and not in a good way?
(oh – pssst, Megan – me too!)
Posted by Jon on July 21, 2010
I used to work in Hammersmith and every single day without fail there would be a scrabble of charity muggers (official collective noun) on King Street approaching you with emotional-blackmail laden clipboards whenever you popped out for a Starbucks. Never more than one charity but never nobody either. And it occurred to me that business must be so lucrative on this little plaza that they all basically booked slots (presumably with the council) and waited patiently until their allocated day came round, then out they went with the clipboards.
As a result, the following happened:
(1) I got very blasé about turning them down, even amusing myself by claiming not to speak English in my obviously English accent or some other stupid prank. Better that than wasting their time.
(2) I set up a direct debit to a charity of my choosing, rather than whichever one happened to approach me first. So in a way they did some good.
(3) I realised that in the grand scheme of things, there are enough people in the country with enough diverse views to ensure that everyone gets something but if a particular charity seems to get a disproportionate chunk of the publicity or money it’s probably because they need it more. Not that they are more deserving. They just need it more.
There are charities out there who support neglected grandparents (believe me – they’ve knocked on my door) and charities for people who can’t afford to look after their pets. Someone like Cancer Research UK is always going to get more cash because finding a cure for cancer is a lot more expensive than buying a few thousand families some tins of Kiticat. But someone out there will fund the Kiticat. And someone out there will fund Cancer Research UK. So give your money to who you believe in.
Charity muggers are naturally biased towards their own charity – the general public are not. Don’t feel guilty for not supporting each individual one because someone will.
Posted by Andy on July 21, 2010
By spectacular coincidence, we have just had one of these guys (very polite and smart but also very slick – good script!) at the door whilst I was reading these comments – I always leave them to my wife who is very firm but fair – I find it impossible to say no, partly because I used to do door to door sales and know what I soul sapping job it really is.Unfortunately our financial position doesn’t leave us with much left over so we try and donate other things like time, stuff we can do without, clothes our kids have grown out of etc to a local refuge. I work away a lot and stay in hotels so I always try and get as much soap etc as I can get away with to donate to the refuge – every little helps I guess.
Posted by glamlovinkitty on July 21, 2010
Cymruangel
The fact that people give to animal charities (as I do), doesn’t mean they ‘don’t give a stuff about children/other people in general’. It simply means they have made a choice about how to donate their money, and that is nothing that needs ‘get you started’ as it’s entirely their business.
Many people give to animal charities because almost none of them receive funding from anywhere else. Many other charities receive government funding, most animal charities don’t. Many are not well publicised, either.
It’s not unthinkable that someone who loves animals might also give a hoot about humans – despite the fact that humans can be totally objectionable a lot of the time. If you think about it, if it wasn’t for the appalling/evil/downright stupid behaviour of humans, there would be no need for animal (or indeed childrens) charities to exist.
As has been said in numerous posts, you should give to a charity that you personally choose. If you feel you can’t hear of people giving only to animal charities in case it ‘gets you started’, that seems a bit of a shame. Perhaps save your wrath for people who don’t give a shit about anything at all.
Posted by Becca on July 21, 2010
I agree that you usually find a charity which means something to you – my 9 year old niece suffers from Cystic Fibrosis so I’m quite chuffed that you’re doing something for them! as it’s something I wasn’t even aware existed until she was born (although to be fair I was 11 when she was born.) – but I find being stopped by people in the street awkward cause it’s understandable that they are trying to do their job but at the same time, I don’t believe trying to guilt people into giving to charity is the right approach as I think it just makes them resentful (if that makes sense…) – if I give to charity I want it to be my choice! I do spend a lot of time in charity shops trying to feed my reading addiction though…so I feel justified when I walk past chuggers by pretending they don’t exist. (I am a nicer person than that just made me sound.)
Posted by cymruangel on July 21, 2010
I work in charity fundraising, but I don’t give money to people in the streets – there’s no security and, funnily enough, I don’t feel comfortable writing out my details when anyone could be looking over my shoulder, let alone the threat of fraud/ someone accidentally leaving a clipboard in the street.
I agree with you about feeling moraly obligated to give – I had a few breaks in my life thanks to the generosity of others, so I feel that, when I can afford to, I should do likewise.
I give to my employer, my old College (since I had a grant while I was there) and a children’s charity regularly*, and then usually one other charity a month, and church schemes when they crop up.
* Don’t get me started on people who donate to animal charities but don’t give a stuff about children/ other human beings in general.
Posted by DeborahF on July 21, 2010
Like many others here my personal approach is to give to charities that have a resonance with me for example my Dad has Parkinson’s so I do what I can for that charity both time and money as I believe they are equally valuable. My family and I also have involvement with the St Thomas Lupus Trust, the Edale Mountain Rescue and a few others on a more ad-hoc basis. There are so many worthy causes and only so much I can spare so that’s how I do it. In fact I think I might just tot up how much I give in a year to charity, perhaps that will goes some way towards dealing with the guilt of not donating to every cause I’m asked to – I’ve never done this before but it might be an interesting result and more than I think.
On a related note I had a cold call from the National Trust asking for money – the guy didn’t get chance to air his sales spiel as personally I think that the National Trust earn enough money from my membership fee each year which I rarely use but have just in case I want to call at for a cuppa and cake at their restaurants. It was also a reaction to being cold called – I have never specifically said they could call me so it felt like a ‘breach of the contract’ between us. I also spilled my tea (dinner if you’re not a northerner) over me getting to the phone so that worked against him as well
I also have a real bug bear about the recycling bags shoved through the door. I live on a well populated estate in the suburbs of Derby and receive 3 – 4 a week. I don’t have anything to put in them anyway, but object to the amount of plastic generated and the fact that many are companies who only give a small percentage of the earnings from selling the stuff to the charities. If I do clear out my wardrobe its not much of an effort to take them to the charity shop where they get 100% of the money – it’s a ‘no-brainer’ in my humble opinion.
Posted by Linzy on July 21, 2010
My fiancé used to work for a sales company, knocking on people’s doors trying to get them to sign up to donate to the RSPCA. As other have mentioned, it’s all about commission with them as they’re paid for however many people they get signed up, so I’d hazard a guess that them saying that more money goes to the charity if you sign up with them isn’t necessarily true.
I don’t think that anyone should be pressured into supporting a charity just because the chuggers want a bit of money, but that’s the way it seems to be working these days. If people want to help a charity it should be up to them and, idealistically, I believe if you’re pushing someone to sign up for a charity, it should be from the heart, not from the wallet.
Posted by Craig on July 21, 2010
If everyone had to pay a Charity Tax – a standard X amount each month, divided equally between ALL charities then i’m pretty sure they’d be happy.
However, as more charities came about, they’d be getting less and less each month and start to realise that if, for example, the 500 Blindness charities in the world all joined together as one then they’d receive more money (and so would all the other charities). It wouldn’t be 500 times more, but if all charities did this then it could be close.
They could then afford more in order to help THEIR ONE CAUSE as one organised body, rather than tons of piddly ones.
This is of course, a ridiculous idea and would never happen but it demonstrates the impact of how many unneccessary charities there potentially are. It also raises the likelyhood that someone is abusing the system, and i’m pretty sure that not all charities are legit…
Posted by Aislinn on July 21, 2010
I’ve been stopped successfully in the street twice – once by a British Red Cross man and once by some woman who was raising money for care worker volunteers, to pay for them to have just a couple of days break as they don’t get paid for one themselves.
In hindsight, that second lot of money could be going to something far more worthwhile, but I’ve simple never got round to cancelling the direct debit and finding a new charity to support.
Whilst giving to charity is a positive thing, it’s simply entirely down to the person earning that money – and I think it’s horribly unfair for charity people to go knocking on doors. That’s not really a conclusion at all but it’s the furthest I’ve got.
(Can I have a point for being at the Rhod Gilbert recording and seeing you there yesterday, please?)
Posted by Sam on July 21, 2010
It’s a difficult one, isn’t it? I work for a charity (not in a fundraising capacity) and am aware of how much competition there is between charities to generate income, and also how much the fundraising revenue has dropped in the UK during the recession. So I am understanding – to a point – when charities make the decision to put chuggers on the street or to contact existing donators asking for more money. Having said that, I don’t like to feel pressured into giving money. I try to be polite to the chuggers and tell them that I already to give a regular donation to a number of charities.
My view, which seems to be shared by many others on this blog, is that it’s a personal choice of how much (if any) money you can afford to donate and which charity/charities you give it to. My own situation is that I give a regular donation to a few organisations which I am particularly interested in supporting – and these are a mixture of big, well know organisations who do lots of good work and smaller, more local organisations. This is supplemented by one-off donations for natural disastors (such as Haiti) or Comic Relief and sponsoring friends/family.
As people have already said, giving to charity doesn’t have to mean a financial donation and my experience (and is true of the company I work for) is that charities are usually very pleased to get people to do volunteer work, donate unwanted items to charity shops etc.
I think the message is: do what you can, in any way that you can, for whomever you choose. Something is always better than nothing!
Don’t feel guilty Mark.
Posted by A lot of Rach[a]els on July 21, 2010
I’m glad to see that others share my viewpoint on chuggers. It’s impossible to walk down streets without having a long line of them constantly asking you. I always feels uncomfortable giving out all my bank details on a piece of paper in the street. Not that I think they’re all likely to abuse that power but anything could happen to a piece of paper in the street! it’s not hard to drop one or the wind takes it. That’s why I would much rather go away and researching and then doing it online on a trusted site.
As for which charities you should give money to, I can’t really comment on it as i’ve just started uni have a term time job which doesn’t have many hours and so I do need my wages to feed myself. I also know that I do spend a far bit of my money on going to gigs and that if I just didn’t go for a couple of weeks then I could give that money saved to a good cause.
But when something terrible happens or someone I know is doing something for charity I do donate to it, I’m just not a fan of the standing orders and I’m not sure why, maybe if I had a more stable income I’d be more willing to listen to them.
Posted by Lydia on July 21, 2010
I think it’s a really difficult issue to deal with, because however worthy any charity is, people are nearly always going to save their money for the charities they feel some kind of personal connection to. Which I guess is the source of the guilt, but people can’t help caring about some things more than others. Sorry, once again I don’t really know what I want to say here.
I think it also depends on who the charity worker is. Some people manage to do it in a nice way which makes you care without being intimidated of guilt tripped into handing over money.
I know that that have to act a certain way, but I really hate how some charity workers behave. Our already slightly shakey financial situation has become a lot worse so we had to stop giving the most of the charities that we were signed up with. It was kind of a difficult decision but fair enough, we couldn’t help it and we had been giving to the charities for a long time. When we cancelled the money most of the charities phoned up to hassle us about it and more than one of the people that my mum spoke to were rude and unfair about the situation, even after she explained it to them. I just don’t think that’s right. Sorry, again I know this isn’t really the issue but it’s kind of connected.
Posted by glamlovinkitty on July 21, 2010
I share your dilemma. At the moment me and my OH have 10 monthly standing orders to various charities (all animal charities). Each one is for a tenner, so that’s a fair bit to charities each month. I don’t grudge it and I fully support the work these organisations are doing. 100%.
But, it still grates a bit that, each year, we get letters and phone calls from most of them asking if we can increase the amount by just a pound or two. The fact that I usually say no in no way reflects my feelings about these charities or their work, it represents exactly what you’ve said above – that you have to draw a line or else who knows where it’ll end. I already give more to (and do more for) charities than a lot of people – so hassle them instead of me!!
The charity muggers in the street bother me though. If I want to give to charity, I will choose which, and I will do it in a way that is convenient. I will never, ever give someone in the street, or on my doorstep, my bank details. Never.
I also had an argument with one of them once, he was for one of the cancer charities and I said no, I wouldn’t donate to a charity that killed animals for its research. He looked me up and down and said ‘nice boots’ in a snide way. My boots were actually fake leather, but his suggestion that I was a hypocrite seemed unnecessarily rude.
Posted by Phill on July 21, 2010
I think the best way is just to decide how much you can afford to give each month, and then give that amount away to a charity / charities which you like and want to support. I think charities prefer regular commitment to one-off donations, obviously, and then at least you have something to tell the chuggers
I usually just tell the chuggers that I never sign up for things on the street. I know that having somebody sign up there and then is more valuable to them then somebody who will go away and look at literature and then maybe sign up (maybe = probably not), but even so I still don’t really like their tactics.
Anyway, no need to feel guilty for not signing up – there is always more that one person can do, you just have to pick the point at which you want to stop and stick to it. And don’t feel guilty about sticking to it.
Posted by Beth (@Doomed1) on July 21, 2010
I feel exactly the same, mostly following a similar incident at university. We had a man come to our door requesting monthly donations for a natural disaster fund, at the time I was studying geological hazards at university in the hope to one day be able to help with the effects on natural disasters hands on (not quite there yet!). So i explained this, and also the fact as a student, I live in my overdraft and would be concerened about money coming out until I had a steady job. He continued to make me feel guilty and wouldnt leave until we just shut the door on him. Since then I avoid them at all costs!
Instead I pick a different charity or two each month! This way I can cover a lot of causes! I also donate my time when I can. I dont think guilt tripping or pressuring people is the way to get donations!
Posted by Juliet on July 21, 2010
It’s quite funny for me to read this because the reality of my country is totally different from the situation you mention. Here, nobody asks you to give money away to charity, and the ones dedicated to this kind of thing are usually celebrities, or just very important people…
It just makes me think how awful Argentina is as a country, as a community, as a society. Nobody cares about anything anymore. Thank you for bringing this up.
Posted by Elise on July 21, 2010
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that one of the first things I thought after reading this post was, “This reminds me of a television show,” but it totally was, so let’s go with it. It’s an episode of ‘Sports Night’, Aaron Sorkin’s pre-West Wing show about a TV sports news show. One of the characters, Danny, spends the whole episode wrestling with his liberal guilt about which charity to give money to. Actually, Dan and Mark probably have a fair bit in common (funny people on TV who love sports and are adorable). Anyways, Danny ends up asking a bunch of his colleagues for advice, who all basically tell him to just do something, anything. The episode is called “The Quality of Mercy at 29K” – here’s a transcript if anyone’s interested. (http://community.livejournal.com/sntranscripts/2309.html) While it’s not the best episode the show ever did (it gets pretty heavy-handed by the end), I enjoy watching it for the reminder that everyone, even people who are much better off than me, can’t solve all the problems in the world with their money, and never will be able to. It makes me feel sort of zen about my occasional $25 Red Cross donation…
Posted by Rick Procter on July 21, 2010
Lots of very sensible points here, expressing many of my feelings when reading this initial bog post. A good consensus seems to be, choose the particular causes that are close to your heart in some way, don’t feel guilty and feel free and justified to tell chuggers and the like your position. Everyone’s human, and the vast majority of people will understand that financial contraints are a factor for us all, just on varying scales.
Also MW, and indeed the lovely, generous readers of this blog – it seems to me that you’re all much more conscious of this kind of thing than some people. Many would tell all chuggers to get lost, not donate and never give it a second thought. Guilt, like money, is such an unfairly distributed commodity.
Posted by Megan on July 21, 2010
Premature submit button.
Around here the on-street charity people here are from four organisations: Greenpeace, Save the Children, the Red Cross, and Amnesty. Sometimes I will say “I support you already!” as I walk past. I support their *work*, so it’s only kind of a lie. (Shameful.)
Posted by Megan on July 21, 2010
One of those charity people on the street charmed me (with his Leeds accent, on the streets of Portland) into supporting Save the Children. So I donate monthly to them and Amnesty International (whom I’ve supported on and off for almost as long as some of the posters here have been alive, I reckon).
I also support charity runs friends are doing, and do charity runs myself (my first was last year’s Run for the Cure in honour of my late, great mum), but the big thing that we do at work is give all the tip money to charity, usually smaller, local ones that might not get much publicity otherwise. (I manage an arthouse cinema of some repute in Ottawa, so our support can help up drum up publicity).
We recently supported Bicycles for Humanity (http://www.b4hottawa.org) and recently (right before I left on holiday) switched to the Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation. It’s not a huge amount of money (it took three months to raise about $900 for B4H), but, to use an irritating phrase from the days when I worked for a non-profit, ‘awareness-raising’ makes it even more valuable.
Posted by Matthew on July 21, 2010
My General Approach to chuggers: Ignore them completely. Though once someone shouted something rude in my general direction and I was quite tempted to get his name and complain to his seniors (the vast majority of chuggers are employed by various companies often working on commission) but then realised, I really didn’t care enough and was actually rather busy.
I currently am a student so have no fixed income, so the thought of having monthly money going out is a little well, ridiculous. I donate, mostly via the “kinder face of chugging” as I’ve come to thought of it, of endless friends / acquaintances doing marathons and sponsored whatevers, and also using my time / skills whenever I can.
When I do have an income and can afford to set aside a proportion (of my own choosing) I will choose one or two charities that’s work I approve of (probably Medicins Sans Frontieres will be one) and will continue to donate to whatever my colleagues / friends are destroying their bodies for this week.
If someone came to my door asking for more than pennies/pounds in a collection pot, I think I would say “Sorry, I’m not interested” and close the door. Of course, I am not famous and on telly, there will not be a letter to the guardian / post on twitter saying “Matthew is a tight (beep) who hates dolphin’s with leprosy”.
Also, I think one of the points about charity- is it’s giving to causes that you support, I wont list charities I don’t support hear because it’s personal, and different people will disagree with my opinion on whats worthy – but ultimately if it’s my money, and it’s charity, I can give it to what I support.
I also think you need to get a little eye port installed, and stop answering your door when you’re putting your son to bed! You work hard for your money, and just because you’re on TV doesn’t mean you have to give up your family life / privacy to be pestered any more than the rest of us!
Posted by Josh on July 21, 2010
OOH, another thing.
I have been the chuggers inbred cousin, The Leafleteer. That made me happy.
Posted by Josh on July 21, 2010
At Ask the other night (in Ashby de la Zouch as it happens, really not as upmarket as it sounds it should be), they offered at the end of a meal one of those celebrity pasta books I’ve been hearing so much about. Basically it was a fiver, £4 of which went to Great Ormond Street, a charity very close to the collective family heart. My Mum declined out of instinct, which she…
that story was starting to bore me. Basically, she felt guilty about saying no and we bought 2 books.
THE POINT IS that… I have no idea what the point was.
But, back to commenting on the blog,
it’s fine that you took a dislike to the man at the door because he was at your door. I’m not going to say that it’s AN AFFRONT TO YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS but it is a bit weird. The fact that he was so forceful about doing it then does imply he had an ulterior motive about the whole thing.
The one that annoys me is the big mailing shoots all these companies do, diverting the money they’re trying to get away from where the public are trying to get it sent.
I DON’T KN0W
it’s a metaphorical landslide of minefields, this charity thing
(on a less important note, look it says “Josh”. After looking at this blog every day for many months and never seeing another Josh I thought it was safe to assume you knew just how magnificent I was)
Posted by Someone on July 21, 2010
I don’t cope very well with chuggers so I do all sorts to avoid them, which I know may seem rude but it’s really just saving their time if anything. I feel like if I let them start talking I won’t get them to stop and that’s about 10 minutes of their time right their I should pay for, but can’t, or would probably prefer to give to a different charity, which isn’t ‘save a vegetable from being diced’ awareness.
They’re just so pressurising though eh; if you’re in the middle of something like putting your baby to sleep it’s pretty understandable not to drop your family just to make a rash decision about whether this particular cause is more deserving than another, and by how much. And read the small print, too!
I have one or two specific charities I really feel for and will definitely give to as soon as I find a job. ‘Tis hard to find that bit extra money though, and to trust the people who say they’ll get it to where it needs to be. Most people are driven by their own salary after all, right, which I also hate about paid chuggas.
Don’t feel bad though. Just because you’re on the telly doesn’t give people the right to judge you and what you can and should do. If we all choose the causes we feel for most then that’d probably work out evenly enough. But I suppose we do need a push once in a while… but a from the heart push would be ever so much more appreciated.
Posted by fuzzy_ducky (Laura) on July 20, 2010
What I’ve found out from personal experience, is that although you feel a bit of pride as you put your change of a few cents maybe a euro into a charity box on the counter in the shop, I’ve found that (maybe this is just me) if you give money to a local charity, for example I live in Limerick, Ireland.. and I do charity work for Limerick Animal Welfare. Not only is this charity local, it helps those who I truly love, animals.
Now I’m not saying animals are more important in the world then humans…. of course they’re not. But I see the rewards of my sponsorship… (less stray dogs on the street… family’s rescuing dogs… dogs in chronic, incurable pain, humanely put to sleep)
For me, its this that’s important in my life. But hey, not everyone is an animal lover. Help out the charities that you feel related to, that you feel a need and over whelming desire to help out. It’s these that 1. Help out a charity of course and 2. Make you feel like you’ve finally found something where you really want your money to help.
Posted by Sarah on July 20, 2010
I’ve been spoken to by people on the street who want me to give to some charity or another. When that happens, I tend to listen to what they have to say and then when they’re done, ask them if they have a leaflet for me to take away because I’m not going to commit to anything right away. They cant really argue with that. And I do find the website and see what they are all about. It’s so difficult to choose, though. What makes one charity more worthy than another? But, different people will favour different causes, because everyone is affected by different things. Personally, the cause that seems to affect me most is homelessness. Thankfully I have never been in that situation, but I just can’t imagine how difficult it would be to not have a home to live in. I also support a couple of other causes. The conclusion I’ve drawn is, if I can give, then I’ll give. How much and who to is a personal choice, there’s not exactly a right or wrong answer.
Posted by Anji on July 20, 2010
Oh god this reminds me of a similar situation last year. The door goes, charity man babbled on and on and on. Puppy trying to escape, he still continued. I ended up signing up just so I could shut my own front door! And then cancelling the direct debit before it left my account! I did wonder if I would be struck down by some charity watching force but I survived.
I always feel bad not giving money but I look at it by seeing the time I give to working with and helping. When I was a youth worker and working with local disabled kids, my time with them was worth far more than me giving £2 a month to someone else. Animal charities, love the work they do, but I look after my pets and that has to count for something.
I do give money but to causes close to my heart and not because I feel guilt tripped into it. We all know the charities are out there, by all means have your people informing us how we can give, what you do etc. But let us donate when and how we want.
Posted by Rhian on July 20, 2010
I had someone call at the door quite recently, I can’t remember which charity it was now, but generally this kind of approach makes me actively NOT donate to that particular charity. I used to work for a small charity and there was absolutely no way we could have afforded to pay the companies that employ the ‘chuggers’. I think there are various models of how these companies work, but they are not charities themselves and it just doesn’t sit right with me that there are commissions and profits involved.
I usually tell people I already donate to charity and that I like to make a considered choice about who I donate to. Any sort of pressure they exert just makes me run away really (harder when they’re on the door step, closing the door mid-conversation has been resorted to, although I nearly opened it again and apologised as our door only shuts with an almighty slam.) On one occasion a local charity volunteer called at the door and I did sign up with him as it was a charity I already knew a bit about and had an interest in and the guy was not being paid to be there. I think the key difference was that he had a genuine interest and belief in what he was doing and hadn’t learnt a spiel by rote.
Generally I’m on the defensive when people appear at the door trying to promote or sell something, and I don’t think I’m alone there. I think charities really need to think about whether this approach is going to alienate people. On the other hand I don’t always turn people away and only a couple of weeks ago signed up for milk delivery to ‘save Gary the Milkman’s job’. The milk keeps coming so I guess Gary’s job is safe – hurrah!
Posted by Laurs on July 20, 2010
It’s a really emotive topic, charity, and one that I think should be discussed often.
I often feel incredibly guilty that due to my own frivolous existance at uni and in the first couple of years after, I have been landed with an extortionate amount of debt, which means that despite me earning a decent wage, I have months when I personally can’t afford to buy food let alone donate to others in need.
However, to complicate matters further for me, I also have the type of personality that means I find it incredibly difficult to say no to people. As a result, I often find myself talking to the ‘chuggers’ and then feel so so bad when I say that I can’t really afford to donate any more. I try to mollify (is that the right word?) myself by saying that I do donate to charity, regularly, through sponsoring people, collecting and donating for various charities through work etc.
I wish I could give to every charity, but that isn’t ever going to be a realistic option. I do try to stick to donating to causes that I have emotional attachments to, for example, I work with children and the majority come from very socially deprived areas, therefore, I will give money to charities that help improve the life of children.
Also, is it just me that feels guilty for watching things like Comic Relief, Children In Need etc on TV and then not donating (other than the change I give at work). It feels like I’ve sneaked in to a cinema without paying…
Posted by Amy B on July 20, 2010
For starters, don’t feel guilty about not wanting to automatically give money to chuggers, particularly ones that knock on your door. You have the right to go away and do the research yourself and work out where your money is going to do the most good, in your opinion.
In an ideal world, we wouldn’t need charities. Wealth would be distributed fairly and those with extra needs would have them met without having to rely on the kindness of strangers. Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world and we have to make the best of the world we do live in.
As you say, there are so many charities and it is inevitable your choice of who to support is going to be affected by what you have links to or experience of. I would say, keep donating to charities as long as you can afford to, but more importantly, campaign for improvements that mean less charity is required in the long term. I also think when choosing charities, the ones that are aiming for long term improvements are the better ones to back. E.g. Building schools rather than just giving a handout. Obviously not applicable in all situations.
You can’t donate to every worthy cause, and nobody would expect you to donate every spare penny you have. Doing what you can is important though, and you’re clearly doing that.
(Sorry if that was a bit rambly and incoherent; hope I managed to sort of get across what I was trying to say.)
Posted by Rachel on July 20, 2010
My grandma gets leaflets and letters from charities on pretty much a daily basis sending ”gifts” and stories to try and get her to donate but she only donates to certain charities when she can and has done for years.
The way I see it is that people tend to pick their ”favourite” charities and causes, which is fine because although there’s always guilt if you choose not to donate to one cause – there’s likely to be somebody else donating to it who probably doesn’t donate to the causes you choose.
Charity is also about donating time, as well as, or instead of, money. Helping out at coffee mornings or similar events is still making a contribution as it means that fundraising events can still go ahead. Just doing what you can is better than doing nothing
Posted by Corey on July 20, 2010
I totally totally understand this problem, and I too have feelings of guilt on the subject.
Its horrible but I always get the feeling when I’m stopped in the street/met at the door or caught on the phone that I’m being conned and the money will be going straight in the pocket of the person talking to me.
I know this won’t actually be the case but I’ve a real issue with being confronted/pressured, and although I agree that if this is the way they have to act to make more for their very deserved charities then thats what they will do,……I don’t like it…..the same way that I don’t like being sold things that I wouldn’t have brought had they not called me.
I know a couple of people who work for a couple of the ‘big’ charities in the UK and they seem to raise funds in a slightly less confrontational way….but thats maybe because they have the repution and don’t have to sell themselves as much!?!
I think charities are wonderful things and the people who donate/work or volunteer for them are amazing but I (as harsh as it may sound) have to have an interest in the charity before I’ll donate……or I’d never be able to choose who is worthy.
Reading that back, I’ve made myself sound mean….I’m not I promise!……..tomorrow I’ll seek out a worthy case and make an impromtue donation.
Posted by Rachel/Pandora on July 20, 2010
I generally find those charity types very irritating, and sometimes plain rude. After refusing to talk to one collecting for a children’s charity outside the Bullring in Birmingham he shouted after me ‘YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT DYING CHILDREN THEN?’. Lovely stuff.
In general, I donate to charities that have a personal connection. I’m sponsoring my sister to do the Great North Run for Cancer Research UK, as my granddad recently died from the disease. We also recently donated 5 or 6 bin-bags to its shop too.
I don’t think anyone should feel pressured into donating to a specific charity. Surely a donation to any charity is better than no donation at all? It’s still helping the elderly/children/animals etc….