Charity Donations

[grumpy01]

How do these charities calculate these different sums they request people to donate.Have just seen the Salvation Army asking for £19 to help people who are less fortunate. I am sure a lot of people,especially the elderly,are put off by these figures.Surely better to say can you spare a few pounds to help those less fortunate than ourselves would be more productive.

[Mamyalynne]

They'd be better off saying '£19 would buy...' but you can donate what you can afford.

As with most Charities it's up to you what amount if any you spare them.

https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/donate-page

[grumpy01]

That’s exactly my point Mamyalynne.Also we see those poor children with Trachoma or the others carrying or drinking dirty water in Africa.Surely governments of all hues should have been making sure issues like this were sorted and not ending up in the pockets of corrupt politicians.

[grumpy01]

Should have mentioned overseas aid re Trachoma and water.

[Peter Pedant]

make sure you give by giftaid
80 knicker becomes 100 - wiv tax relief

[Mamyalynne]

I do agree that mentioning a figure may make some turn away feeling they can't reach that amount, especially those with little knowledge of how things work.

As you say - self defeating.

[Buenchico]

I've also wondered about how charities come up wit a specific sum.

Crisis at Christmas always asks for an exact amount to the penny (or a multiple of it). This year it's £28.22
https://www.crisis.org.uk/get-involved/donate-to-crisis-this-christmas/

£25 I could understand. £30 I could understand. But where do they get £28.22 from, I wonder?

[emmie]

i too have wondered that Chris.

[Maydup]

Its just a marketing strategy which seems to work as they all do it. The sums are all similar but just slightly different to make us curious I suppose.

[rowanwitch]

The rationale is potential donors can relate their gift to a specific objective, not I made a donation to a charity for whatever, I paid for a homeless person to have shelter, a family to have a gift and support at Christmas eve . It makes it personal and specific and it is very effective because of that.

[alavahalf]

I had 12 years working for a charity .. my fee for any job was £15.00 .. For that you could have all your locks in your house changed, I would supply and fit them. Most plumbing jobs and any other job around the house. Every call out was just £15.00.
When I had finished I would give the customer a questionaire to complete. It would state that the charges made in no way reflect the costs involved and anyone with the capacity to do so, could make a donation to support the Charity.

[alavahalf]

Sorry .. this approach brought in a few hundred every week !

[Theland]

As moved as I am but the pictures of starving, sick children in war zones, I stopped sending any money to any overseas charities a few years ago, due to finding out just how much is taken in admin fees, and corrupt governments seeing such charity as an excuse to wothold their own help.
If I can afford it, I continue to pay my standing orders to home charities, and give whatever else I can afford to individuals, usually family, who are struggling.

[jno]

Chris, it's a guess (or an estimate, if that sounds more scientific)

//Because Christmas is being run differently to safeguard against the spread of the Coronavirus, it's been slightly more difficult for us to predict the cost of this level of support. The cost is an estimation based on the expenses and costs we saw in 2019 when funding our Christmas services and year-round work.//

https://www.crisis.org.uk/crisis-this-christmas/