We give modest donations to a few (maybe half a dozen) organizations each year. What annoys me is that soon after, and especially soon after we add a new organization to the list, we get a bunch of begging letters from other 'good cause' organizations.

I know for sure where some of them got our name. One organization put 'station main' on our address by mistake (we use a rural mail box) and sure enough, this error keeps popping up on solicitations!

We recycle, and it's annoying to be getting a crop of such letters every month. Worse, some of them send those sticky plastic 'return address' things, and they can't be recycled. The supply I already have will surely outlive me.

So I've decided to pick one organization and send a healthy donation to it. I will drop the other charities. I will put a small insignificant error in my address and see if I get a rash of solicitations addressed to us; if so, I'll pick another good cause to be our only beneficiary.

Question:
I'd like to see which class of beneficiary people think is best.

Choices:
Ecology (e.g. 'green' issues)
Protection of animals
Education (e.g. public broadcasting)
Political party
Public awareness (e.g. watchdog org's)
Service clubs

 

I selected Education/ Public Broadcasting because that is such an important platform for all the others, a means of getting the word out about issues and events, but they are ALL so important that I can easily understand why you're having some trouble picking one.
I would most definitely cease donations to the organization that sold/shared your name and address, perhaps sending a short note explaining that you assume they no longer need your full support based on their encouraging other groups to contact you.
Those address labels are good for putting on the inside covers of books lent out and I carry a few in my purse to use when entering contests or adding my information to mailing lists

I use a bogus middle initial to track the origin of my junk mail.

I had a neighbor a while back who came from Calgary, Alberta and he said that they had a sticker they could put on their mailbox and it notified the mail deliverer not to leave any junk mail. I wonder if that's only true of Alberta, or not true at all? At any rate. here in the U.S. it's quite a hassle ro try and get rid of. Here's a website:FightJunk MailThey provide two types of notes to cut out and send to prevent selling your name to adbertisers, etc. and Quick Letters to affix mailing label to:kindly remove my name from your mailing list, etc. A Waste Management Company sponsers this site.

MrsS says

quote:

...perhaps sending a short note explaining that you assume they no longer need your full support based on their encouraging other groups to contact you.

Ohhh, you're naughty! That's a good one. I must remember not to mess with you



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This message has been edited. Last edited by: MrsS,

What? (looking impossibly innocent) I'm just always so pleased when I learn that a charity has all it could possibly need, to the point that that they can afford to direct my contributions elsewhere


(and Bab, the glitch was NOT your doing, it was entirely my fault.. I had a massive synapse lapse and hit "edit" when I intended to "reply" )

Public broadcasting? That's not a charity, that's a levy Though I'm sure the BBC would consider charitable donations if it wasn't, under the terms of its Charter, funded entirely by the TV licence that everyone, save the over 75s, pays annually for their TV reception [£135-50, about $270, or £45-50, $90, if you can satisfy the Licensing Authority that you are the one person left in Britain who only has monochrome ]

There's no box for 'guide dogs', either for the deaf or for the blind, so I ticked 'animals' (though they are like 'watchdogs' if you think about it ).

Well I suppose the individual color-TV license pays for the broad and generally excellent radio and TV coverage one can get in the U.K. but there's no such here. We have CBC which is tax-funded. There are a couple of good programs -- I like The Hour,, documentaries, some news feature shows that focus on particular social issue s, and they e-mail me the news every morning which saves me from being in the hands of TV news broadcasters, who want you to look at local crime and Bush, Bush, Bush.

So in B.C. Canada we can either voluntarily support either PBS in Washington State which is pretty good, or Knowledge Network (KNOW) here in this province. KNOW was started as a schools program, and was fully funded by the province. But then it broadened its scope and began asking for donations. I have supported both in the past. I like it better than KSTW (PBS) because although it isn't as lush, the quality of programming is better.

I porkchopped those three URLs so badly I'm going to re-do them. And then I'm DEFINITELY going back out and finish mowing the west lawn!
The Hour
documentaries
and some in-depth news programs.

But in general the drama and comedy is pretty bad, sometimes embarrassing. The best comedy program coming out of Canada right now, Corner Gas, is on CTV (private station.)

And we have the Open University, too:

Open University

This started in the 1960s. The lectures are broadcast by the BBC. Students may acquire full degrees, recognized everywhere, through the University. The idea behind it was to afford university education and qualifications to those who had not had the opportunity or who had not taken the opportunity to qualify. It has flourished and continues to do so because there are still large numbers of people, particularly of the older generations, who regret not having the time or occasion to obtain a degree and who now welcome the opportunity.

The BBC also broadcasts school programmes, some as an aid to teachers and some directed at pupils. Come exam time these include aids to revision, which prove very popular.

Babthrower, you could always send donations anonymously. If you don't have your address on your checks, you could just send out money as you feel it is appropriate.
I used to donate to a lot of different charities, but we have cut down to about a dozen that I feel very strongly about. I just recycle everything else. It's been a few years and we don't really get too many solicitations anymore. It's just those Cystic Fibrosis people and the AmVets who won't leave us alone... The real issue is the phone calls, but we have caller ID for that.
If I had to pick just one charity, though, it would either be Planned Parenthood, or the Victory Junction Gang Camp.

Yabbut I want the tax deduction.

Planned Parenthood! What a great idea! Hadn't thought of that one! And I'll check out VJG.

What I'd like to know is: How come everybody with a product or service to sell is allowed a cut-rate on mailing me the junk I don't want or need, while I, the poor citizen tax-payer, has to pay the full rate for every ounce and fraction thereof??? Don't we already get enough junk advertisements included in our newspapers??? Only in America!

I think any tax-exempt non-profit organization would be great. Make certain that before you donate that you research their overhead costs. Some organizations only apply part of your donation to the charity and the rest for various expenses and overhead. I have read some statistics where as little as 5% of your donation actually goes to the charity.

I personally think Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is one of the best place to donate. PBS programming is commercial free. Did you, your kids or your grandkids grow up watching Sesame Street? Someone donated funds for that to air. I have donated to PBS as my way of thanking them for their wholesome programs. My son and I loved watching PBS. PBS allows you to see where your donation is going. Remember, Elmo loves you.

quote:

Originally posted by frankvan:
What I'd like to know is: How come everybody with a product or service to sell is allowed a cut-rate on mailing me the junk I don't want or need, while I, the poor citizen tax-payer, has to pay the full rate for every ounce and fraction thereof??? Don't we already get enough junk advertisements included in our newspapers??? Only in America!

No, sadly not 'only in America'. The various mail services in Britain, including the Royal Mail, offer enormous discounts to bulk mailers. Meanwhile the Royal Mail has come up with a strange idea to 'improve' the post. Now if you send a single A4 sheet of paper (about 10 inches by eight inches) flat in an envelope you pay more than if you fold the same sheet once and post it in a smaller envelope. That the weight of the letter is almost exactly the same is immaterial It's the size of the envelope that makes the difference.

What exactly does a 'watchdog organization' do? Is that like drug campaigns?

A watchdog organization just looks out for the public. They make sure people collecting donations are honest and they monitor unlawful activities. They just "watch" and inform the public. It is comparable to a charity Better Business Bureau.

examples of watchdog organizations

Bear's right. In the wider sense, 'watchdogs' check the facts when a politician or a bureaucrat has a cover story when his/her department fails to do what the taxpayer pays him/her to do. The watchdog might report that a department that is supposed to look into worker safety in mines, for example, had several reports of serious violations but did nothing but give the company further extensions. (Based on a true story.)

So we need them as 'lie detectors'. Otherwise all we have are the department 'spin doctors' to explain why something went sideways.

I've never received any solicitations from other groups after giving to the American Cancer Society. Nor have I ever received anything after giving to Leukemia research or food banks.