What I Do with Charities that Call for a Donation

JLP complains that he gets too many calls from charities asking him to donate. We do too. It seems like there are a ga-zillion charitable organizations out there and we're on the list for all of them -- many of which we've never heard of.

So how do we handle the calls? Here's what I do:

• First of all, I NEVER answer our home phone. I know this will annoy some people reading this, but I always let the answering machine get it and if it's someone I want to talk to, I pick up. If it's a charity asking for a donation, I don't answer and delete the message.

• But if my wife is home, she almost always answers the phone. When she gets a charity on the line, she tells them that we never give to someone soliciting over the phone. If it's a charity she doesn't want to give to, she also tells them "no" at that time. If it sounds interesting to her, she asks the charity to mail us some information so we can consider giving.

• Whether or not we decide to get the mailing, she ALWAYS asks the caller to remove us from their call list.

• Once we get the information in the mail, we decide if it's something we want to give to or not. In most cases, we don't since it would take money from other causes we support, but we have been known to give this way if a particular need strikes us just right.

How about you -- do you get a lot of calls from charities? How do you handle them?

Comments

[David]

I'm like you. If I don't recognize the number on caller ID, I typically don't pick up. If I happen to, I refuse to commit to anything over the phone. They are wasting their time with me.

[WesleyTech.com]

I receive zero charity calls, but this might be because I have no land line. Only mobile lines and a VoIP line here.

[Raines.Joshua]

I never give to charities over the phone. I give to only 2 charities but I make them big contributions. One is for a non profit organization in my area that deals with helping Mentally Disabled Adults get jobs out in the community. The money goes to a company that gives them a workshop to go to and assemble stuff for other companies for those that cant fully work in the community.

And the other is Jerry Lewis Telethon.

[Mike]

One upside to using a cell phone is that I never get any of these kinds of calls on it. I give my number out all the time and have never gotten a call from a telemarketer. Not even once. I think this is probably because some sort of law prevents them from ringing you up on your cell and wasting your minutes. Either way, it works for me.

[Financial Goal]

I usually inform them that I already contribute to another charity and am not going to contribute to another charity at the current point. I also request that they take us off from their call list as well.

[Margo]

I shut down the Alumni Fund callers by saying yes and asking for the website to donate directly online.

[dogatemyfinances]

Who has a landline in 2008? They can't call your cell. This whole article feels very 90s.

[obsolete29]

LOL, you're right... screening calls annoys me because it's a matter of principle. It's my phone and I'm going to answer it. If it's somebody I don't want to deal with, I'll tell them to stop calling. Your wife handles the situation. You just avoid it. This non-confrontation stuff is annoying. ;)

[Param]

My 2 cents (or 2 grouses...):
a. One lady was soliciting for donations by knocking on the door. I asked for more info but all she had was a pamphlet. I said I'll think about it, but she wanted me to write a check as she had targets to meet. I said there is no way I'm giving anything RIGHT NOW - she looked pretty pissed off!
b. One charity that my dad donates to regularly saw its key person move to another charity. Since then he has been asking my dad to add this new one to his list (or divert part of the earlier contribution to his new employer). I was wondering what'd happen next year?
Bottomline - just like financial products you BUY are better than the ones you are SOLD, charities you solicit are more meaningful than the ones that solicit you. There might be exceptions, but not worth the risk.

[Rick]

I too use only a cell phone and never receive any "spam" phone calls. It's the way to go, I guess.

[Kevin]

We don't answer our landline, in fact it's not even hooked to a phone, just the DSL modem. They don't call cell phones I guess. We really only receive mail/email from charities we've supported in the past, which is fine with me.

[Jim]

Screening calls wont' make them stop calling. A lot of them will just keep calling till they get someone. If you tell them to remove you from their list then legally they have to stop calling.

On a side note, it doesn't apply to charities but the national Do-Not Call registry should get you off most unsolicited telemarketing to land lines: https://www.donotcall.gov/

Jim