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Donate to this charity we support! Please, please, PLEASE?!

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  • Donate to this charity we support! Please, please, PLEASE?!

    Awhile back my company started communicating that they had partnered with a certain major charity (I won't name them but if you think of big charities, this particular group is one of the biggest) and sent out a memo to all departments saying how awesome <big charity> was and how we should be so incredibly thrilled to have the opportunity to pitch in and help them out!

    A couple of weeks after that, posters began appearing in employee only areas around the building. The top half is the logo of the Charity and the bottom half is (once again) all about how awesome they are and how we should feel so inspired to donate to them.

    It also mentions that if we donate to them we get...wait for it....A FREE T-SHIRT

    A couple of weeks later, more posters showed up next to the old ones, this time they gave a numbers breakdown of how little it would cost us to donate to <big charity>. Basically, they are looking for employees to contribute one hour of pay per check to <big charity>. Of course at the bottom of these new posters, it says:

    Donate now! It will cost you ONLY $XX.XX for the whole year!

    As if that weren't enough, when I wandered into the break room for a few minutes this morning they now have a 55 inch TV set up playing a commercial for <big charity> on an endless loop and in front of it forms to sign up for the payroll deduction.

    This bothers me for two reasons.

    1) I do not like <big charity>. They have been involved in some controversies and there's much speculation about how much of their donations actually go to the causes they collect for vs. how much goes to marketing/overhead/paying the big wigs/etc.

    2) I understand the company is really big on this, but the ever increasing pressure to donate is getting annoying. Of course they can't FORCE us to donate, but they certainly do a good job of shoving it in our face every day at work with all the ads around the property.

    I DO donate to charity, but I donate to smaller groups and to places where I KNOW that what I provide will do good. I recently donated 20 pounds of food to my Church food bank. I am MUCH happier doing things like that than throwing my money into the apparent vortex that is <big charity>.
    "If we refund your money, give you a free replacement and shoot the manager, then will you be happy?" - sign seen in a restaurant

  • #2
    I think I know exactly which charity we are talking about, and thank you not very much for reminding me I'll have to deal with them in a couple months.

    Funny thing is, most of the employees at your workplace, and probably mine too, are probably more likely to need the charity's services than be in a position to donate to them.
    Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

    "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

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    • #3
      I'm with you on this. There is a certain very big "umbrella" charity that we get donation forms for each year. I do not give to this group because they take at least 13% off the top for their own admin costs, before passing along the rest of the donation to a group under their umbrella. I'd rather donate directly to one of those places. They may also take some off the top for admin but at least they will start with the full amount I donate, not [amount] minus 13%. I can't afford to give that large of an amount as it is.

      We contribute to food drives and we shop at AmVets thrift stores, whose money goes to help veterans. I also give to other places now and then when I can.
      When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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      • #4
        I know what you mean about the big charity drives. It wouldn't bother me so much, except for the posters and fliers everywhere that I know cost a pretty penny to produce and which will be thrown away at the end.

        Even so, I must admit that I was impressed that Big Boss met our employee's contributions dollar for dollar.
        A lion however, will only devour your corpse, whereas an SC is not sated until they have destroyed your soul. (Quote per infinitemonkies)

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        • #5
          I don't mind a one-off asking of employees if they'd like to donate to a particular charity.
          Might inspire someone who hadn't really thought much about it to do so, or just inspire them to donate elsewhere.

          Beyond that, it starts to annoy and even anger me when management pushes a charity.
          I hate having a charity chosen by someone at top of a corporation pushed onto the people working there. Corporate gets to decide who they themselves donate to, and who company money gets donated to. They don't get to decide who anyone else donates to, nor is it any of their business.

          As a responsible adult, I will choose my own charity, thank you. I may research and choose the one known to give the highest percentage to the actual cause (as opposed to fund raising, overhead, etc). I may choose one close to my heart, such as a charity finding a cure for a disease a loved one has. I may choose to fnd a charity that works at a very local level in order to give to improve my own home area. I may choose not to give to an organized charity, but instead buy a few groceries for the older couple next door on a small pension, or dog food for the dog of the family down the street living on unemployment who might otherwise have to give up their pet. There are loads of good reasons I will use to decide who to give to. The one reason I will NOT use to decide who to give to is because my company wants me to. Sorry, not a valid reason.

          I do, however, really love a few places I & hubby have worked, who have a very wide list of valid charities that they will match employee donations to.

          Madness takes it's toll....
          Please have exact change ready.

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          • #6
            Ugh.

            Hate Big Charity + Corporations teaming up to harass their employees for automatic payroll deductions.

            Other than the bragging rights of the Corporation to say "Hey, we donate $$$$$ so shop here! We're Good Guys!!!" What do they get out of it?

            Maybe I'm just bitter and jaded but I find it doubtful that any corporation is teaming up with Big Charity simply out of altruism. Plus, they get to look like they are donating the money when it's the employees doing the donation...not the company.

            When the employees have payroll deductions going to a tax exempt charity does this in some way affect their bottom line? Anyone know?

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            • #7
              Quoth Merriweather View Post
              I don't mind a one-off asking of employees if they'd like to donate to a particular charity.

              Beyond that, it starts to annoy and even anger me when management pushes a charity.
              Quoth Not Lillith View Post
              Ugh.

              Hate Big Charity + Corporations teaming up to harass their employees for automatic payroll deductions.
              This. I too don't mind being asked but more than once and I consider it nothing more than harassment.

              We too were asked to donate to "Big Charity" which I distrusted. The next year was the HUGE SCANDAL (you can find it if you search), and we were _still_ asked to donate! I mentioned this to the poor sap who was tapped to oversee donations for our department - he went to management and mentioned the real problems this posed. Finally management dumped them (like many others around the region did as well). They never were replaced and thankfully we aren't harrassed every year about this...

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              • #8
                We had one a bit like that where i last worked.

                Only the shirt wasn't exactly free. But you could wear it at work for the duration of the event (about one month).

                I don't know if the charity has been involved in big scandals, but ... I do know there has been talk about how much money really goes to the cause. And they have a reputation for running other charities into the ground with lawsuits.

                So yeah, I opted out. Thankfully though they didn't shove it in our faces too much.

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                • #9
                  Just me being curious, but was the donation employees only or did they try to ram it down the customers throats too?
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                  • #10
                    Quoth Irving Patrick Freleigh View Post
                    I think I know exactly which charity we are talking about, and thank you not very much for reminding me I'll have to deal with them in a couple months.

                    Funny thing is, most of the employees at your workplace, and probably mine too, are probably more likely to need the charity's services than be in a position to donate to them.
                    Hmm...you may be thinking of different one. The one to which I refer has no color in its name.
                    "If we refund your money, give you a free replacement and shoot the manager, then will you be happy?" - sign seen in a restaurant

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                    • #11
                      Oh great... I forgot about charity time. My company does this with the same "charity" I believe the OP is talking about. My company does all of their donating at an online website. Every employee is required to fill out the form, but there is a choice for "I do not wish to donate at this time". Last year, we were again told that we should take a percentage out of our paychecks for the year to donate. I said screw that and attempted to write a check for $5 just to get them to leave me alone.

                      Oh, wait, they don't take checks less than $10? Fine. I'll give you $10 THIS YEAR, but it'll be a big fat zilch next year. This charity is EPIC FAIL and I refuse to be pressured into donating to a charity I dislike.

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                      • #12
                        Quoth lachesis View Post
                        Oh, wait, they don't take checks less than $10? Fine. I'll give you $10 THIS YEAR, but it'll be a big fat zilch next year. This charity is EPIC FAIL and I refuse to be pressured into donating to a charity I dislike.
                        Guess what? You just were. :-P

                        People, take this as a warning, step up to the bullying.

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                        • #13
                          Quoth CrazedClerkthe2nd View Post
                          Hmm...you may be thinking of different one. The one to which I refer has no color in its name.
                          The one I'm referring to doesn't either.
                          Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

                          "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

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                          • #14
                            Ugh, I hated this. One job many moons ago was a non-profit that was a recipient from one of these umbrella organizations... of course some political stuff later the non-profit was no longer officially getting money from said umbrella org... It didn't stop them from, every darn year, trying to twist employee arms to donate, both to the umbrella org that publicly didn't support the non-profit, but also to the non-profit. We had to go watch a movie about how wonderful both groups were, and why we should not only give a cut of our paycheck, but also should consider them when estate planning.

                            My first year, I started a couple of months after this non-sense was done for the year. The second year though I was there when all the fun started. To make things better I wasn't getting a raise that year, so the non-profit basically wanted me to give myself a voluntary pay cut which would then be used to pay me... The guy in charge made a big deal about how he wanted a 100% contributions office. I am proud to say, that I ruined it for him.

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                            • #15
                              Quoth Irving Patrick Freleigh View Post
                              The one I'm referring to doesn't either.
                              I was thinking it may not have, but I know the one that does have the color is wide known for their humanitarian efforts, this other one...not so much. In fact they are probably more known for their donation drives than anything else.
                              "If we refund your money, give you a free replacement and shoot the manager, then will you be happy?" - sign seen in a restaurant

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