Free Stuff From Charities: It’s All a Mind Game
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: gifts
Dear Friend,
I am writing to you today to request your assistance in [feeding the homeless / rescuing the rainforest / saving the endangered African spotted owl]. We desperately need your help to overcome this problem. We hope you can find it in your heart and your wallet to give generously to this worthy cause.
Enclosed with this letter you will find some [customized address labels / holiday greeting cards / money-saving coupons] as a thank you for your generosity. Even if you can only give [$5 / $20 / $27,000], it will go a long way toward helping those poor [homeless / rainforests / birds].
Sincerely,
Some Charity
Look familiar? You’ve probably gotten these kinds of solicitations in the mail many times—charities looking to guilt you into coughing up a donation. Sometimes they enclose a “free token of their appreciation” like those ubiquitous address label sheets, all in an attempt to pry a few dollars out of you. And perhaps you’ve given in to these “desperate pleas” and sent a couple of bucks to charities like the National Foundation for the Association of Agencies. If so, then I’m afraid I must inform you that you were fooled by one of the oldest psychology tricks in the book.
It’s a simple tactic, and charities have been using it for decades to “con” you out of your cash. Here’s how it works:
- Charity gives you something of nominal value for free.
- Charity doesn’t make it easy for you to refuse or return the gift.
- Your mind may trigger the irresistible urge to return the favor.
- You return the favor many times over with a gift far more valuable than theirs.
At least that’s how the charity wants it to work. And guess what: it does.
Okay, so maybe you’re not in the group of folks who send money to every charity that “gifts” you with address labels and greeting cards. But plenty of other people do it—more than enough to make it heavily profitable for these charities to send out labels and cards and all sorts of other crap to every mailbox in America.
Here’s another example you might recall from the late 1900s: airport Hare Krishnas. If you flew frequently, you’ve probably seen these groups of bald religious dudes in orange robes soliciting donations from weary travelers. Some of them would give away flowers, seemingly as an innocent gesture of generosity or perhaps as a religious practice. In reality, they were giving you something of little value in hope of triggering that psychological urge to return the favor with even just a dollar or two. And since frequent airplane travelers are typically of above-average wealth, they more often received fives, tens, and twenties. The Hare Krishnas raked it in, all for just the cost of a few bunches of flowers.
So what do I do when I get a free gift from a charity? If it’s useful, I’ll keep it. If it isn’t, it goes in the trash. Do I feel bad about keeping these gifts without sending in a contribution? Not one bit, and I’ll tell you why:
- It’s all a clever ploy. Charities know what they’re doing by sending you these free items. They know all about how the mind works, and they’re really hoping to trick it into entering automatic generosity mode. If all they wanted to do was give you a gift, they could do that without enclosing a return envelope!
- Most gift-giving charities are horribly inefficient. Whether by accident or by design, most of the charities who resort to this sort of bribery to solicit donations are just not that charitable. Too high of a percentage of your contributions will go toward employee salaries and administrative costs. I save my money for charities I know will use almost every dime to directly help those who need it.
- If they don’t get the message, that’s their fault. There are charities to which I have never donated a penny, and yet they send me a fresh batch of address labels every year or so like clockwork. You would think they’d save repeat gifts for those who give in return, but they don’t. It’s just another sign of how poorly some of these mail-gift charities are run.
My advice to you: pick your own charities, and give to them like crazy. Do your research first to ensure they’re using your money wisely and that it’s truly going toward a worthy cause.
My advice to these mind-tricking, gift-bribing charities: Drop a 52″ plasma HDTV in the mail. Then we’ll talk.
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19 Responses »
1.
The Saving Freak
November 13th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
I do not respond to anything a charity sends me in the mail. I prefer to research them to make sure most of the money I am giving is actually going to charity and not to administrative fees. Salvation Army gets most of our non-church charitable giving.
2.
FinanceIsPersonal.com
November 14th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
I give away quite a bit of money, but only to a couple of charities that I have researched quite heavily and definitely feel m money’s going to good use. I say no to random solicitations in public and in the mail.
3.
Tom
November 14th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Here in Detroit, they have tactics like this on our streets. Homeless people will come up and claim they are from a “veterans charity” They will hand you a little flag and as you walk away, they will yell “hey, why don’t you donate some money?”
4.
dr.xnlb
November 15th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I think we’d all be better served if Charities got better at pitching their causes than guilting someone into supporting them with “free” stuff.
“Free” stuff costs money to make.
5.
Madison
November 15th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
I like to assume that if I use the mailing address labels that I am doing free advertising for them if they put their logo on it. My donation is that I will use their labels.
6.
Lynnae @ Being Frugal
November 15th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
I completely agree with dr.xnlb. It irks me when charities use money to send “free gifts” to potential donors. If I give to a charity, I want to know that my money is going to the cause….not to producing address labels.
7.
the baglady
November 17th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Can’t agree more with this post. My husband stopped donating to a charity after I said to him, “you know they’re using all your money to send you junkmail”. He realized that was true and then the charity still kept on sending junk.
8.
Obbop
December 1st, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Hooray!!! Boot camp done with. Orders in hand, I enter San Diego’s Lindberg Airport to catch a flight home for a couple weeks leave before heading for my ship.
Being from the San Francisco Bay Area I was aware of the Hare Krishna folks. When several of them approached me I stood and listened, enjoying the interaction with something not related to the military.
No way were they going to ‘brainwash’ me, however. It was just an enjoyable diversion for me while waiting for the plane.
Be aware this was 1975 and there were plenty of World War 2 and Korean war Alpha Males out and about.
After I had listened to the Krishna crew for a few minutes I looked up…. and, standing there, around 20 feet away, were 8 or 9 grown males, standing, staring, with frowns on their faces.
Hee hee…. they were my “guardian angels”!!!!! Those guys saw a young guy, obviously fresh out of boot camp, and they were ready to go to war to protect me, if need be.
The looks upon their faces told the story. I would not want those guys angry with me…they looked and were serious!!!!
Not wanting to hold those “angels” up I said good bye to the nice Krishna dudes, nodded at the guys guarding me, and went on my way.
I noticed the most serious of my guards, the one with scowl and with muscular arms crossed over his barrel chest. He nodded back at me. It’s a guy thing I could interpret… he was ready to “go to war” to protect me from what he considered could be a threat.
Those Krishnas were lucky they did not grab me and try to isolate me as a potential “brainwashable” adherent. That one guy alone likely had the ability to devastate those Krishnas!!! Let alone the half-dozen or so others ready to assist.
Kinda’ gave a guy a warm fuzzy feeling back before “warm fuzzy feeling” was in the lexicon.
Oh, charities….. Starvation Army for me. I believe they keep the waste to a minimum.
Feeling charitable?
On those bitter cold days with the wind chill temperatures in the single digits or lower, offer to buy the Starvation Army bell ringer a coffee or a hot chocolate. Golly, those folks are so grateful when you return with a cup of hot liquid for them to wrap their paws around.
9.
Joe
December 20th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
I know! These charitys sometimes take 95% of the money and use it for “paying the workers” or “funds/bills” ETC and any excuse they think of! There big scammers…
Dont forget the local hobo who asks for money and goes straight to the licor store!
10.
S
August 13th, 2008 at 6:41 am
You know, it’s people exactly like you lot that make it so damn hard for charities to even break even.
You should be ashamed of yourselves.
11.
computer freezing
September 4th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
To the poster above, to each his own I guess. A lot of people were already screwed by organizations posing as charities and asking donations so it really helps to do intensive research first before shelling out your hard-earned money. Our donations should really go to those who are deserving and in dire need.
12.
دردشة
November 30th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Merci pour le bénéfice article utile et merveilleux Vhaknahnak
13.
منتديات
November 30th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
I thank you a lot on this article deals, and that attracted me a lot
14.
International flowers delivery
February 1st, 2011 at 2:14 am
Yes even I believe in charity but giving charity is not only your job.Whether the money you are giving is being used properly or not should also your concern.
15.
Property Marbella
October 8th, 2011 at 5:16 am
In reality, they were giving you something of little value in hope of triggering that psychological urge to return the favor with even just a dollar or two. Property Marbella
16.
دردشة عراق الرومانسية
December 24th, 2011 at 8:48 am
thank you a lot’s bro dd
17.
دردشة عراق الرومانسية
January 6th, 2012 at 2:30 pm
دردشة عراقية كتابية ||
18.
replica jewelry
January 25th, 2012 at 11:36 pm
Nice hosting! It’s my first time to read like this article.jdyji
19.
شات
January 27th, 2012 at 9:43 pm
thanx this topic very very good
i will spend my time in this site
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