Now, That's A Lot Of Appeals For Support!

As we’ve reported many times before on this blog, some donors get hundreds of appeals from charities each year and they don’t like it! I mention it again as this very topic was the focus of a recent article in The Oregonian which revealed that one donor received at least 220 solicitations in the past year! The reporter, Brent Hunsberger, very cleverly titled his article “Some Tips on Giving Defensively.”

I got a kick out of that, but it also made me sad. Is it really too much to ask that our favorite charities respect our wishes and refrain from sending numerous and expensive appeals? Moreover, shouldn’t they protect my privacy and keep my contact information confidential? Rest assured that many charities really do respect their donors in this way, but you as a donor need to check that out FIRST before you give.

• Start by checking Charity Navigator’s site to see if the charity has a donor privacy policy (whereby they promise not to share/sell/ trade your information).
• Consider giving anonymously. Many online tools allow you to do just that!
• Review our site for more tips on how to avoid a mailbox full of appeal letters.