Before anyone gets upset with me . . don’t want that again, do we? . . I am nice to the people on the phone because I know they’re just trying to make a living.
Tonight we received a call from a group wanting a donation and it was actually for a cause I believe in and support but do you know that when people like that call you and you donate, only a very small percentage actually goes to the cause. Here’s our conversation:
The Lady: Hello, I’m calling to raise money for (insert cause). We’re getting ready to send out envelopes and we have different envelopes to send, depending on how much you think you can donate. As you know . . (she goes on to explain why this cause is so worthy and why they need to raise a lot of money!)
Me: Can you tell me how much of the money I might donate will go directly to the cause.
The Lady: Hmmmm, let me see, hmmmm . . 12%.
Me: What happens to the other 88%?
The Lady: Our expenses, salaries for those of us making the calls, office expenses, etc.
So, if I had given $100 to this fund, the actual organization would have received $12. Doesn’t sound like a good deal to me!
Almost every time (and maybe EVERY time) someone calls you asking for a donation on behalf of someone else, that someone else is getting a very small percentage of what you give. Ask questions if you don’t already! Know who’s getting your money. Too bad we aren’t so lucky to be able to know what our ever increasing tax dollars are paying for.
