Yesterday in the mail I got a really nice invitation to contribute to an organization whose goals I support. They even sent me a nice little pocket sized copy of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. And these guys are good; I really do like the work they do. And I won’t send them any money.
Why? Because it means that they will immediately add me to their list of people to harass constantly and incessantly for more, more, more. I have had this happen with any organization to whom I give a dime. I donated a couple of times to the Wounded Warrior Project, with a letter asking them very plainly to not waste their money (the money I donated, in other words) sending me crap in the mail begging for more. I know who you are, I told them; I know where to find you and if I decide to donate more, I will do so without their prompting. Furthermore, I told them, if they did decide to waste the money I donated on mailers and phone solicitations to try and get more from me, I would cut them off.
Unfortunately, since then they have wasted much of the money I donated on mailing me crap every week or two begging for more. Sorry, screw ’em. Not another penny, since they seem to be more focused on soliciting money than anything else. I won’t donate to organizations that will simply waste the money.
I told the NRA the same thing. After I joined I was inundated with junk mail begging for donations. I wrote them a nice letter telling them that if they continued wasting my dues on sending me junk mail, I wouldn’t renew. The junk mail stopped, and I’ve been a member ever since.
Most of the solicitations I get, though, go unanswered. It seems that too many organizations are no longer charitable or activist or whatever their nominal purpose is — they are focused on fundraising, apparently for the sake of fundraising. If I could kick in a few bucks and be left in peace, maybe I would. But I hate paying for more junk mail. Sorry if that makes me a tightwad.
But can a person take frugality too far? Is there a point where being frugal turns into being a tightwad?
This isn’t about frugality… to me, it’s about not letting fake “charities”, or very poorly run ones, squander your money.
For example, Wounded Warrior Project has wasted at least every penny I donated sending me crap in the mail begging for more money, even after I specifically told them, in writing, not to do so. I feel the money I gave them – a fairly substantial amount – was completely wasted. They won’t get another penny from me.
I recently read that the director/CEO of our LOCAL Goodwill made nearly a million dollars last year, and has over a dozen staffers making six figure salaries. Guess who is NOT getting any more of our donations? They’ll go to DAV or a local shelter instead.