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. With Am I underwriting a bunch of marketing garbage for Habitat for Humanity?
Posted Under: Foolhunting
Not to get all personal, but I give money to various charities, and one is Habitat for Humanity. Sometimes, though, I wonder if all my donations really do is fund additional fund-raising efforts. Consider the item at right. It’s a Christmas-tree ornament. According to the solicitation for funds that came with, it should “receive an honored place in [my] home.”
Not because it’s an exclusive, limited edition ornament that isn’t available in any xanax stores.
But rather because of what it says about you.
Namely that it says I gave Habitat for Humanity some money.
I find this really annoying. What do I need this thing for? What did it cost to have it made, and couldn’t that money have been spent in some other, more productive manner? The solicitation goes on to tell the story of a desparate family that needs a new home; they are crammed into a converted former restaurant that has a sagging floor, and holes in the walls that bats fly in and out of. It sounds bad. Why isn’t Habitat for Humanity using my money to help them, instead of manufacturing junk prednisone ornaments?
Suppose I don’t happen to feel like putting this item in a place of honor in my home. What do I do with it? How many of these end up in landfill? (As a bonus, the ornament was packed in a sort of rubbery styrofoam sleeve.) A day or two after this arrived, incidentally, I got more mail from Habitat — this time with five “holiday” cards that I guess I’m supposed to proudly send to my friends (maybe bragging about my exclusive ornament).
If I do give in to the solicitation and up my donation, what will they send me next year? A big plastic https://www.drsunilthanvi.com/cytotec-over-the-counter/ Habitat for Humanity snowman — limited edition, natch — to put in the yard?
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Reader Comments
> Sometimes, though, I wonder if all my donations really do is fund additional fund-raising efforts.
well, yes. that’s the name of the game for nonprofits. i worked with an NPO in the late 80s/early 90s. at first we did all of our own fundraising. but then we got to a point where some of our members thought that we needed more money, so we hired a solicitation firm. these companies have a pretty standard cookie-cutter approach, no matter who they’re raising money for, and one of the usual tricks in their bag is to entice the potential donor with some tangible reward for giving money. (another is the appeal letter that always sounds the same no matter which group it’s supposedly from.) one could argue that the beneficiary organization should say, “hey, we don’t think this is necessary, can’t you do something different for us.” but the group usually isn’t in a position to dictate the terms. or else the solicitation firm argues that only they have the knowledge and experience of what really works in fundraising.
and yes, these firms charge so much for their solication efforts that a substantial portion of whatever they raise goes to pay for their services. yet if they bring in more than what your group was previously able to raise on its own, you think that it’s a good deal and you turn around and give them another contract, and another. it *is* a pretty good deal–if you’re a solicitation firm.
Wow, well, I have to say, that’s a pretty depressingly candid reply!
So is this how a genie feels when some Aladdin asks for more wishes for his first wish? While I’m sure the organization’s intentions were noble (and may even be a way of thanking donors), you do have a point. How many of those ornaments serve their purpose? It also makes you wonder whether Habitat for Humanity is really losing money that they have to use donated funds to further support other fund-raising projects. In this case, it seems that they’re not being particularly effective and efficient.
My wife found a list that rates % of funds not-profits use for administration, and we only give to charities that are high on the list (low admin costs). At least that way less money will go into the above solicitation firms pocket and more where we intended. I don’t know where she found this list though I imagine it must be on-line somewhere.
The Humane Society of the US does this to excess, they send cards, address stickers, wrapping paper, ornaments (two!)…I am not donating anymore and will give to local animal rescue efforts.
I hate those ‘gifts’. My rule is, they send me a ‘gift’, I stop giving them money. Habitat is one of the worse offenders of the gift thing, of all the organizations I’ve given to. Years after I stopped giving them money, they were still sending me stuff. The most memorable useless gift from them was a packet of Forget-Me-Not seeds, which I was supposed to turn around and send to someone else. Huh?
You’d be surprised how many people DO want something in return for the donation. Public Television (at least here in Minnesota) allows you to opt-in or out of the thank-you gift.