Charity Begins From Home

Each year I contribute what I feel to be a reasonable amount of money to several charities. Some are easy to and painless, such as Metro united Way and The Funds for the Arts, which I support through payroll deductions. I have been supporting these worthy causes over a number of years, and each year there is a drive and a sign up period to continue.

 Outside of these I would venture to say that off and on I contribute to at least twenty others yearly on a regular bases. There are some rules that I have come to implement recently, due to the way charities operate. For one thing I will no longer pledge funds over the telephone. Until I had my residential phone line removed these were almost 80 percent of the calls I was receiving. While I was able to block the telemarketers, this guys were relentless. Many of them called and asked for me by name, as if we were close friends. Since I usually also received a mail request from the same people I defriended them.

Some organizations have begun sending me money. Maybe three nickels, pennies, or a dime. They usually come with a letter letting me know how much this change can do for someone, and I believe they are trying to shame me into sending them back with a donation. To those charities I normally send my one or twice a year donation, and keep all the change that comes my way. I figure if they have enough change to send to everyone on their donors list they won't miss it. In other words, don't ask me for help and then send me money while doing it.

Then there are those charities that once you send them a donation are kind enough to send you a receipt, a letter of thank you, and by the way "can you send us an additional contribution." I know contributions to charitable causes are down, but squeezing your regular contributors in this way is a little hard to swallow. It is also puzzling to me, who has watched Jerry Lewis' Telethon since I was a little kid and it was in black & white, why we haven't been able to find a cure for Jerry's kids. MS is a terrible disease and I know there have been advances, but surely we could have done better.