SPECIAL POST
Three charities have recently sent me requests for donations and included either a nickel, a quarter or a dollar. These campaigns go out to millions of people at a time. How many people are there in this country, anyway? So, let's be conservative and say 10 million pieces of mail go out with a nickel in each; that's $500,000 in nickles plus the cost of the postage at 28 cents a piece...$2,800,000 for a total of $3,300,000 they spent trying to get my contribution. Oh, and plus printing costs and admin expenses, let's say a paltry $200,000 more, or $3,500,000 for one mailing. Some agencies mail three or four of these requests a year, or more, and to more people. If they send a quarter or a dollar... well, we're talking serious money here.
Take the American Cancer Society. They are certainly a worthy organization on the face of it; last year, I sent them $35.00 as a donation. This year, I received requests from the local organization, the county, the state, and national on a weekly basis! Then, I started to get telephone calls and, when I complained about why they are calling me, they try to tell me I gave them permission when I donated. As worthy as they may be, they are annoying beyond words and have been crossed off my list.
Now, they all seem to share names and addresses. All of the sudden, I am receiving 30 to 40 pieces of mail per week from charities I never even heard of. I've tried to shut this stuff off, to no avail. In some cases, I have contributed and then received a "thank you" along with a pleading, "Can't you give just $25.00 more? Think of the good it will do."
Frankly, they have worn out their welcome. If they have dwindling revenues, they have no one to blame but themselves. My money is now going to local charities only, the ones who don't have the kind of money it takes to run one of these national campaigns.
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