This is probably going to come across as either insensitive or politically incorrect but if I receive another e-mail from someone raising money for charity…..
The number of these of e-mails flowing into my inbox is getting out of hand. The Web has made it far too easy to reach out to friends and colleagues when it comes to raising money for charity. All you need to do is tap into one of your online address books, click on “all”, and, voila, you’ve just asked most of the people you know for a donation.
The problem is the process has become too easy and impersonal. It used to be that you would personally go around and ask people for a donation, or you would call someone and have talk to them about what you were doing. Now, there’s nothing personal involved. It’s all digital.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a charitable person, although I wouldn’t describe myself as a philanthropist. But it’s just become annoying to be inundated with solicitations, even if they are for good causes.
Technorati Tags: charity
I would call the street teams representing Sick Kids as spam also. I have already talked to two of them (in different areas of toronto) and have had the same conversation both times. The issue I have is they try to get my attention every time I walk down the street. I can hardly leave my house or office without having to find a detour around them.
Well said, Dave.
I hit the comment button to make the same statement.
I actually give to Sick Kids monthly but get hit up by the crew all the time.
Even if I say “I already give to Sick Kids” to the chipper kid in the light blue t-shirt on the way to lunch, the same kid kid will ask me again ten minutes later
Shouldn’t we be celebrating this rather than commplaining about it? The internet makes hitting people up for charity more efficient. Hurrah! Charitable giving has gone up (inflation adjusted) in recent years. Historically, charitable giving tracks the success of the economy fairly consistently, so it might not be entirely clear as to why, but wouldn’t it be cool if the internet actually had a positive affect on giving in gross dollars? I’ll be happy with the burden of a few extra emails a week or the embarassment of an occasional “no” if that’s the case.
Anthony,
I agree that the Web can be an effective and efficient tool for charities to raise money but the question is how people raising money use it. To me, blasting out hundreds of emails to everyone you know isn’t personal fund-raising given there’s little effort involved to solicit donations.
Mark
I know they do good work, but unfortunately they don’t seem to grasp how most people think.
For example we get them ringing our house and asking for donations. Once my mum decided she may as well, so she donated some money to the charity thinking they’d stop ringing after getting what they wanted. Instead they put our name down on a ‘regular’ call list and just began ringing even more.
I don’t get why the fact that there’s “little effort involved to solicit donations” is relevant. Isn’t that what makes it the “effective and efficient tool”, as you called it?
By the way, I don’t think it is at all “politically incorrect” to bemoan barrage of unsolicited emails we get, whether it is a request for charity or otherwise. A conversation on the openness (if that’s a word) of email communication is certainly worth having. But on the charity issue specifically I just don’t get the points made on this thread. I don’t think there’s any obligation for fundraisers to have to work harder for their money – I think it perfectly sensible that they take advantage of the internet like the rest of us and raise as much dough as possible. So be it if they fill up our inboxes. I’d prefer if we concentrate on real spammers or other people who take 6 emails to get one point and invariably end an email thread with “ok”, then send another with some stupid emoticon, and then other with “LOL”. Let’s let the fundraisers keep doing what they’re doing and ban the ones who are truly filling up the ether with electronic rubbish.
“Shouldn’t we be celebrating this rather than commplaining about it?”
In a word, no we shouldn’t. Anyone that abuses the ease of access that e-mail provides to irritate others by spamming them about their particular product about which the recipient has no interest deserves to be prosecuted, and that that goes double for those who who seem to consider themselevs above the law on this matter: charities and clap-happy religious groups being the top two offenders.