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Bad Manners and Brimstone
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#Post#: 78212--------------------------------------------------
Online Fundraising
By: DaDancingPsych Date: December 29, 2022, 7:05 am
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This has happened to me a few times in similar ways and I am
curious about your feelings.
A few weeks back, my Facebook feed had a solicitation for money
posted by someone I know. (In this case, it was for a college
sport team trip and while the person is now an adult, I worked
with this person in this activity when they were in high
school.) I wanted to give money, so I did. While the website
that their group is using sent me a confirmation / thank you for
my donation, I never received any sort of personal
acknowledgement from this person. To me this is the same as
giving a gift that doesn’t receive a thank you note, so this
will be the last time that I donate to this person. But maybe I
shouldn’t see it as a gift like you would for a wedding or
birthday?
To add to the insult, the website sent me a message a few days
back telling me that their campaign was coming to a conclusion,
but they had not met their goal. It suggested that I share it
with friends / family. I’m sure that the person that I know had
nothing to do with this message, but that felt rude in the
absence of no personal acknowledge. The website sent another
message this morning telling me that this was the last day and
suggested that I should increase my donation to help them meet
their goal. Again, this felt rude to me, but maybe Brimstoners
feel differently?
I don’t plan to do anything, so I’m not looking for advice in
that area. Like I said, I will be much less likely to donate to
this person in the future. However, I wonder what the manners
around something like this are or maybe how they should be.
Thoughts?
#Post#: 78213--------------------------------------------------
Re: Online Fundraising
By: Hmmm Date: December 29, 2022, 9:34 am
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A couple of thoughts.
1. I'm not sure if the person who had posted the link requesting
donations would actually get info back from the online tool
alerting them of your donation and especially that it was done
because you saw the post on this person's feed. I often see
friends of those requesting donations via an online feed making
a comment that they've just made a donation. If you alerted the
person or are sure they were alerted from another source that
you had made the donation at their request, then I can see being
upset that they didn't acknowledge your gift.
2. I don't see giving to a third party charitable donation
someone supports as being the same thing as giving a gift to
them. I have a niece who is highly involved in shelter program.
She'll often post a link to donate to the animal rescue
organization. If I do make a contribution and I will sometimes
comment under her post that I made a donation she will often
post a thanks. But I see that as a "thanks for supporting the
organization I support" not thanking me for a gift given to her.
3. Requesting additional donations from donors who have made a
previous donation has been going on for as long as fundraising
has been occurring. It's just easier now to have the automatic
mass emails sent out than it used to be to either call a donor
or to send out a letter asking for more donations. I'm not sure
why I'd see the email you received as an insult. The
organization that you sent money to acknowledged your
contribution. They then tried to get you to donate more. It's a
very standard practice.
#Post#: 78216--------------------------------------------------
Re: Online Fundraising
By: DaDancingPsych Date: December 29, 2022, 10:57 am
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Thanks for your thoughts! You always have great insight, Hmmm!
1. I'm not sure if the individual got some kind of alert to my
donation, although if they did not, then I would say that's a
fail to the website. If the website is able to prompt me for
more exposure and money, it should also alert the individual
(and probably should promote something like a personal
connection.) However, there was a wall where you could leave
messages and I did so. I also identified at least six people
that I know who also donated on that wall, so the person would
know at least some of the people who donated. But it's possible
that the website was set-up and they never looked again.
2. I do agree that giving to a charity is not giving the
individual a gift. I may donate in honor of their wedding or
birthday, but I am giving to the charity. (And despite them
supporting the organization, I would only support the
organization if it something that I believe in and not just to
celebrate them.) And I have done this in the past and the person
never contacted me directly (and maybe it's not their
responsibility in that case?)
In today's example, the group that I donated to is not a
charity. It is a college team traveling for a big match. So the
money either went to the individual that I know or to the entire
group to pay for their travel costs.
3. Charities have certainly come back to me asking for more
money. I do find it somewhat annoying, but I also understand
that I have been identified as someone willing to support their
cause. I don't fault them for checking in a few months later.
However, I am trying to recall when a student activity has come
back asking for more money. Sure, the Girl Scouts will knock on
my door annually, but to me they are gaining funds for a new
year / new projects / new trips, not the same one. Either way,
I'm not upset about the email, but it would have been much more
effective if the individual would have contacted me personally
first. My brain might have said, "Dennis really appreciated my
donation, so I can throw in a few more bucks to help them to
their goal / so I can repost this so others see it."
However, it sounds like you think that the person has no
responsibility to contact me directly, so maybe I am expecting
too much.
#Post#: 78217--------------------------------------------------
Re: Online Fundraising
By: oogyda Date: December 29, 2022, 12:17 pm
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DDP, your second post answered the question I had about what
exactly you were sending money in support of. So, thank you.
No matter what, I think that someone who is actively soliciting
donations has an obligation to track those donations and send
acknowledgements and thanks to those who donated from their
request.
So often nowadays, charity donation sites and crowdfunding sites
make it all too easy to take care of everything that
organizations and individuals often forget that there are social
obligations to be met as well. They probably don't have any
control over the follow up hounding for donations.
In the past, I have been requested by a family member to donate
to support their group's travel. It was a cause I felt like
supporting so I sent relative a check with a note that I'd
rather her group get all of it rather than having to pay the
fundraising website their fee. It was only 5%, but with enough
donations, that could make a huge difference.
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