Is this OK...or not?

[mjr]

As a few of you know, I recently got a job offer after being laid off a couple of months ago.

Now, over that time, I got a call from a charity (one of the police ones). I think the same guy called me twice.

The first time, I told him I was unemployed. I should have just said I wasn't interested, but that got him off the phone.

The second time, I just let him talk until he realized I wasn't responding and he hung up.

So, I've been considering this. If they call again, is it OK for me to say, "I don't give money to charities that call me."

Do you see anything wrong with that? I would be polite about it, as I don't think it's a scam, and I know it's probably just someone doing their job.

Also, apparently the new job is one of those where they try to get people to donate to the United Way. Now, I don't really have a problem, per se, with the United Way, as I haven't really looked into them. And I don't know when they do their United Way donations, but I don't know if I should feel compelled to donate or not. I don't want to look bad as the "new guy", and I don't want to feel compelled to donate to a charity through work.

My issue there is it should be completely up to me to decide which charities (if any) I donate to. And how much I donate.

So how should I handle these two situations?

[csquared]

"I'm sorry. I already have a list of charities that I support. Please remove me from your call list."

It is illegal to require you to donate to a charity. However, I am guessing that you have read the stories of the high pressure tactics that have been used to "persuade" people to donate. You will have to read the office on this one. The first time around you may be able to get away with saying that your are short on funds after being unemployed for a couple of months. Or find a way to jokingly say "Gee, I hope your not the type of person that would make me files a Hostile Workplace lawsuit against you."

And congrats on the new job!

[Pixelated]

Ditto congratulations! For the police charity, I'd go with whatever works, whether it's your comment about "I don't donate to charities that call me" or csquared's suggestion.

The office is going to be a bit tricker. I'd definitely go with csquared's suggestions on that (you're short on funds right now after your time of unemployment) and then use the time until the next "donation" request (yeah, I'm being sarcastic) to see how the mood of the office runs and what's the best way to politely reject their request ... or whether you want to cough up $5 or even $10 just to get them to STFU and go away.

I think I'd save the "Hostile workplace" joke for further down the line ... at least until you've passed your probation.

[mjr]

My wife told me that once upon a time, way back when, she took a job where they had people give "sob stories" about the United Way and how it helped them. She then said they handed out forms for each person to fill out. She said they were pushing for you to write 2% of your income annually. She put down a one-time $25 (I think because she felt she had to). But then she noticed they were taking the 2%. She went to HR, and she told me the HR lady was mad (because the HR lady was one of the "sob stories"). Turns out the HR lady changed it to the 2%, and my wife fought it.

I guess they figured people wouldn't check pay stubs.

But I don't want to be "that guy who won't donate to charity". Especially if I'm the new guy.

It could be one of those "culture fit" things, too. This isn't something that came up in the interview, either.

So I wanna send a thanks to both of you for the advice, I'm definitely going to have to think about it.

[taxguykarl]

I never gave more than $1 per paycheck. Let the higher-ups look good with their own money. Could you have another Cranky Bungler, collecting for personal glory?

[MoonCat]

As long as you're polite, there's no reason you can't tell the guy not to call again.

As for United Way, you should be given a form that has a list of charities your money would go to. I think - I might be wrong on this part - you might even be able to write in one if it's not on the list. But be aware that United Way takes something like 13% off the top of your donation before they pass it along to the chosen charity. This is for overhead.

So if you want to donate, go ahead, if not write "declined" on the form, and if anyone asks, tell them you prefer to do your giving another way. It's none of their business where or why.