LETTER – Persistence of charities asking for donations becomes irritating

Re: ROTHENBURGER – Do we give to charity for the wrong reasons?

I agree completely with your editorial this morning (Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023) on charity giving. I donate to many charities on-line in amounts ranging from 50 – 500 dollars. I like getting an immediate tax receipt by email. I always check the anonymous box if there is one as I don’t want any public recognition.

One of my pet peeves is that when I enter my credit card information, I can’t complete the transaction until I enter a phone number. I don’t want to receive solicitations by phone. Like you, I am also inundated with mail and emails from charities to which I have donated, the worst being the Mustard Seed and Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver. I continue to donate once a year to the Kamloops Mustard Seed, but the Mission is off my list because of their unrelenting solicitations.

I am happy to report that I am no longer receiving mail or emails from the Red Cross. I donated $500 for the fires in August and was invited to fill out a survey which included an email address to make comments. I sent the following email:

Please take me off your mailing list. Every month I get requests for money from the Red Cross along with items that I don’t want. I send donations out when I am ready, not when you send me constant requests in the mail which only serve to irritate me.

I got the following reply:

The practice of sending out these items is quite common, as many charities are finding this an effective method of fundraising. The cost of sending out these premiums is a minimal expense and has virtually no impact on our publicly donated funds. If you no longer wish to receive these items, please email us at WeCare@redcross.ca. Please be sure to include your complete address.

Perhaps you can pass on this information to your readers.

MARGARET GRAHAM