OT strange charity calls

[micky]

OT Something that makes me suspicious. Should it?

I just got my second call today, and my fourth in about 3 weeks, from someone saying they would have a truck in my n'hood next week and wanting to make an appointment for me to give them clothes, furniture, etc.

A) The whole method of finding things seems so inefficient. 98% of the people with my phone exchange have a car, and unless it's big furniture, ti's easier to take stuff like this to Goodwill than to make an appointment. That's from my pov. From a cold calling pov, how many of those they call will want to box things up by next week.

When I told them I took things to Goodwill and asked them to put my number on their Do not call list, each person responded the same way. Apologized, read off my phone number to verify that they knew which number it was, and said they woudl contact their supervisor to do this, and then thanked me again. . The procedure was the same in so many details, I felt I was dealing with the same caller, even though they gave different names for their organizations. Was it the same caller?

I did get a call a few years ago from a charity that has collection trucks that I had heard of, St. Vincent de Paul, maybe, which I think exists in Baltimore (and elsewhere??) but no one since then until the last 3 weeks. Has some law changed that makes this sort of fund raising more profitable?

This all raises another point. Maybe 3 years ago, all of a sudden in store parking lots all over this suburban area (and maybe in the city or rural ares too) appeared big metal boxes with big doors asking for contributions to an organization I had never heard of. (I can go out and get their name if you want) but it seemed so strange that they had boxes everywhere -- the boxes are not cheap -- And why were they competing with Goodwill and the Sal Army. Yet how could it be a scam? ... Well, it could be a scam because Goodwill makes money on contributions, money it uses to train handicapped people for jobs they can handle. So scammers woudl just keep the money for themselves. Have you ever heard of such a scam?

Or was it some group whose heart is sort of in the right place, but is so self-centered, it's ready to drive the Goodwill stores out of business?

[Moe DeLoughan]

From my pov, it's much more convenient for me to bag/box my donations and leave them on my front step, where the charity picks them up. No appointment needed. They schedule a reminder robocall the night before, telling us to put our stuff out the following morning. Their driver will pick it up and stow it in their truck and leave a donation slip behind.

There are all kinds of charities out there that make housecalls to pick up donated goods. If they've got a pickup scheduled in a neighborhood, they just might cold-call some surrounding neighbors in hopes of scoring still more stuff, thus making their trip more worthwhile.

I started with the Disabled American Vets making twice-a-year pickups. They now call every six weeks, as do the Lupus Foundation and a few other local groups. The reason: they all make money off the donations. Only the best ends up in their stores, due to limited capacity and the huge amounts of old stuff Americans have to donate, but the rest is sold to companies who buy scrap metal, old clothing, etc. They're all competing against each other for the stuff, so not only are more of them calling, they're calling more often. It's a minor nuisance. I tell the ones I won't donate to that I've already got my regulars picking up, and I tell the regulars to call back in a few months if I have nothing to donate immediately. But I'm getting older and decluttering my life, so I'm usually good for stuff every few months.

[Frank]

Lot of these charities give money to the charity but most of what they take in goes to support their effort.

I hear the cancer charity here is like that and are pests continuing to call me even though told on numerous occasions to stop calling me.

I simply assume any unsolicited call to me is a crook.

[Tyler B.]

There is a scam going around, read about it a couple weeks ago. The caller is hoping the other person will say something like "I won't be home that day". Guess what happens next?

[Tony Hwang]

Only donations I make is to my church these days. Those big tax exempt charities are just a big business. Look at what kinda annual salary top guys draws. Not even 50% of what they collect goes to real cause. Cancer society is a JOKE as far as I am concerned. When they collect good used clothing they sell some at their drift store but most goes to poor places like Africa sold by the weight. Another money making scheme.

Once I tried to give away a pair of real leather shoes I can't wear and some pairs of Levi Jeans which I don't fit in person to a homeless guy, you know what he was so choosy, wanted to pick and choose. I said take all or leave it all, then he grudgingly took it all. All volunteer oragization I don't mind helping out. Now those calss are coming thru cells too. Very annoying.

[philo]

Purple Heart calls for pickups when they are in the area.

They are legit.

[Frank]

I give most of my used stuff to Goodwill but was also appalled to find that the local head made $264,000 in 2011. Much better to give useful stuff to churches.

[gregz]

Salvation army is supposed to be good.

Greg

[micky]

I don't see anything wrong with sending clothes to poor places in Africa. If people in the US won't wear them, and they won't wear all of them, what should they do with those clothes instead?

Goodwill spends its income on job training for handicapped and disabled people. I don't think they repair small appliances anymore, but they do teach them to do things and hold a job.

[Frank]

I think they do good work on this. I had a mildly retarded cousin kept home and shielded by my aunt until she died. At about age 60 he went to a group home that put him on one of these jobs and it was the happiest time of his life.

I still prefer to give to those with low overhead where profits can be used to help the disadvantaged.

[Moe DeLoughan]

Salvation Army has a billion dollar-plus endowment they're sitting on, which is why I don't donate to them.

[Ed Pawlowski]

That is security for the future and interest is funding. They have the lowest cost to actual use ratio so your money is doing real good, not going into the hands of a fund raiser. The SA has also done a lot for out servicemen too, more than others from all the stories I've heard over the years.

[Stormin Mormon]

I've heard from more than a few people who really appreciate the SA, and prefer SA over Red Cross.

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

. .

[Kurt Ullman]

Having worked the front lines of a couple of disasters, I would give to the SA long before Red Cross, for example. They were always the first to arrive and the last to leave, they usually just did their jobs with little red tape and even less hooha. They didn't spend a lot of time looking for the cameras.

[Doug Miller]

micky wrote in news: [e-mail]:

The problem is that donations of used clothes to poor places in Africa has destroyed the market for the clothing manufactured in those countries...

[micky]

Yes, I've heard of them. I wish I'd paid more attention to the names, but it wasn't Purple Heart.

The fact that their reaction was almost word for word the same when I asked them not to call me again has convinced me it was one company, and it had a to be a profit-making company.

I also got a third call in 3 days trying to sell me alternative electricity

[ChairMan]

Do you have caller ID? If not, it sounds like it would it would pay for itself in no time. I have it and if I don't recognize the number, I don't answer. It's MY phone and I CHOOSE when to answer it. Also, if your carrier supports it try

works like a champ

[ChairMan]

+2 SA is one of the only legit charities out there. I wouldn't give Goodwill anything because they're strictly for profit

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

I look at the caller ID and don't answer a call from a charity (especially excessively generic ones like "clothing pickup"). They usually act as if my money and other stuff is really theirs and I have some obligation to send it to them. I respond to mail IF I decide to give.

BTW, once I got a strange call where someone thanked me for a donation, without trying to extract more. Just once.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per ChairMan:

My wife likes to write checks to charities and now our mail is about 80% by weight mailings from charities looking for a buck. I guess once you give to one, they hang you out there like a piece of meat for the other dogs.

I've gotten to the point where I pre-screen the mail on the way back to the house from the mailbox, winnowing out the obvious scams (per

before she sees them.

Anything to do with veterans (especially disabled...) or cops seems to have an extremely high probability of being a scam.

"American Federation of Police & Concerned Citizens", "Coalition to Salute America's Heroes", "Paralyzed Veterans of America"... sheesh! Give me a break!!! Seems like there is a cottage industry that consists of thinking up charitable organization titles that appeal to good-hearted people who could never imagine what bottom feeders are out there.

Consequently I am acquiring a somewhat jaundiced view of the charity industry and my own preference is to select a few four-star-rated organizations from CharityNavigator and stick with them - canceling, of course, my support after the second telephone solicitor's call.