Stickler

British Red Cross

stickler — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 09:08:27 +0000

I received a telephone call from the BRC yesterday, during which I came under unrelenting pressure to listen to a litany of information I did not need nor wanted, and every time I told the caller very politely that I cannot give more than I already give, he just kept hammering on trying to deliver what was presumably a pre-determined spiel. There was precious little acceptance of my position, so I ended up telling him that there was no point in continuing what was for all intents and purposes a one-way call and terminated the call. Not very clever – this type of behaviour just alienates people who already give generously to the BRC.

Stickler

stickler — Sat, 21 May 2011 09:32:46 +0000

ZANE, the charity that does sterling work for unfortunate victims of the dreadful regime in Zimbabwe, sets a fine example of how to communicate with donors. The latest round robin from this organisation helpfully spells out how funds are used, corruption is avoided, and donors are given some control over application of their gifts.

Stickler

stickler — Tue, 10 May 2011 13:28:46 +0000

The rate at which charities’ appeals are coming through my letterbox has accelerated alarmingly over the past three months. I now receive at least one per day, which is rapidly making me become more and more choosey about the ones to which I donate funds. More gimmicky bits of tat, including the usual adhesive name/address stickers, are being sent out, whereas I would prefer to see funds being used for helping the needy rather than production of items which probably do not do much by way of encouraging donors to give. ZANE is a good example of a charity that wastes very little on verbiage and tat, and focuses on provision of meaningful information…. which is why it is one charity to which I give. The same applies to the Gurkha Welfare Trust.

Stickler

stickler — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:59:10 +0000

I recently gave a sizeable sum to SmileTrain, the organisation which provides free corrective surgery for children with cleft palates in third world countries. I am now regularly bombarded with pleas for more money. The latest appeal is accompanied by photographs of children with very severe cleft palates, doubtless aimed at applying some emotional “blackmail” to me, even though I am more than well aware of the nature of the deformities which led me to give funds in the first instance. The repetitive nature of these appeals, along with the photographs, are doing the charity a disservice, insofar as they are starting to turn me off the idea of making further donations.

Stickler

stickler — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:20:45 +0000

I was disappointed to see an appeal in the national press today by Christian Aid, in which this charity asked people to contact the PM and badger him about urging the EU to commit to absurd cuts in “domestic carbon emissions” among other more laudable objectives. That a charity of the standing of Christian Aid should align itself with the scientifically unsound claims about humanity’s supposed - but utterly inaccurate and widely discredited by many an eminent scientist – contribution to climate change, does it no credit and probably puts off potential donors. It has certainly ensured that I will no longer give to this organisation.

Admin. costs

stickler — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:27:57 +0000

In these times of belt tightening by us all, I would urge charitable organisations to adopt a policy whereby they spell out very clearly what percentage of any donation will reach the people who need help, i.e. break out administrative and other costs. If one were reliably informed as to how much of one’s donations will actually reach the intended recipient(s), one could ensure that the more efficient charities receive contributions, while at the same time probably making all charities more cost effective as they compete for funds.

Stickler

stickler — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:39:14 +0000

In the wake of the appalling tragedy in Myanmar, appeals for donations are flying around thick and fast. Given the corruption which is rife in Myanmar I would have hoped that the charities which are clamouring for funds might have taken the trouble to spell out to donors how they will ensure that aid is not diverted into the pockets of the junta and its cronies. A lot of people are reluctant to give money for this battered country because they do not believe that their charitable donations will be properly put to use.

Distasteful “charity” advertisement

stickler — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:10:29 +0000

The Scottish Executive, in a bid to entice more of us to register as organ donors (hence my designation of this story as a charity item), has been running a billboard campaign entitled “Kill Jill”, with a picture of a young lady above two empty boxes with “Yes” above one, and “No” above the other. The message is presumably intended to lay a guilt trip on people who see the billboard. I regard this as in appallingly poor taste, implying that those of us who would tick the “no” box would be content with the probability of the death of a person who needs a donated organ. What a thoroughly dreadful way to try to enlist donors. I have decided to cease being a donor after seeing this awful campaign.

Stickler

stickler — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:47:04 +0000

One of the charities which I patronize recently sent me a nice little handwritten note from the youngster in South America whom I sponsor; a translation of what she wrote was appended, however it was not accurate and missed out some of what she had written (I happen to speak Spanish so it was easy to spot). This sort of carelessness – or even worse, conscious omission – is wrong and does a disservice to the charity in question.

Smarmy approaches

stickler — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:17:01 +0000

One of the aspects of many a charity’s written appeals, which I find patronising, is letters which start with “Dear Friend,”. To be so addressed by an entity or individual to which/whom one is unknown grates with me, and tends to turn me off the idea of responding. The old “Dear Sir/Madam” has always worked well, so I would urge charities to look at this minor element of appeals.