# How do you respond to charitable organization phone calls?



## Stargazer65 (Mar 1, 2012)

I can't give to all the groups that call. I have giving obligations to the church, missions, and my family. 

Last night I got two calls. The calls I get are persistant and high pressure. 

The first call, I interupted and said thank you, but I can't give right now, and hung up.

The second frustrated me so I just hung up without saying a word, but I felt rude doing so.

How do you respond?


----------



## Andres (Mar 1, 2012)

I simply say, "No thank you." or "Thanks, but I'm not interested." Also tell them to remove your name from their call list.


----------



## rookie (Mar 1, 2012)

Andres said:


> I simply say, "No thank you." or "Thanks, but I'm not interested." Also tell them to remove your name from their call list.



Agreed, and if they are not politely hanging up, I proceed first....


----------



## SolaScriptura (Mar 1, 2012)

I don't care who they are or for what purpose they're trying to raise money. I politely interrupt them as they are doing their initial sales pitch (why have them waste their breath?) and I say, "Sir/Ma'am, no thank you, I'm not interested. Please remove me from your calling list. Thank you." And then I hang up. That simple.


----------



## nicnap (Mar 1, 2012)

I borrow from Seinfeld. When they call, I say, "I am sorry, I am terribly busy, may I have your home number so I can call you back later? ... What? I can't call you at home? Well then, don't call me at mine." And then I hang up. They get the picture. (Okay, I don't actually do that, but I always wanted to do that.)


----------



## Tim (Mar 1, 2012)

"Please put me on your do not call list". To the best of my knowledge, they are required to stop once you say that. Also, check out the national do not call registries.


----------



## Scottish Lass (Mar 1, 2012)

Tim said:


> "Please put me on your do not call list". To the best of my knowledge, they are required to stop once you say that. Also, check out the national do not call registries.



Our Do Not Call lists do not include charitable organizations and political polling. 

We say some combination of "No, thank you," and "We've made our charity decisions/giving already this year."


----------



## Tim (Mar 1, 2012)

Scottish Lass said:


> Our Do Not Call lists do not include charitable organizations and political polling.



Oh, I didn't know that (I was thinking businesses, but the OP specified charitable organizations).


----------



## Rich Koster (Mar 1, 2012)

SolaScriptura said:


> I don't care who they are or for what purpose they're trying to raise money. I politely interrupt them as they are doing their initial sales pitch (why have them waste their breath?) and I say, "Sir/Ma'am, no thank you, I'm not interested. Please remove me from your calling list. Thank you." And then I hang up. That simple.



Ditto.


----------



## Hilasmos (Mar 1, 2012)

I don't answer my phone


----------



## jwithnell (Mar 1, 2012)

"I'm sorry, but we don't take phone solicitations at home."


----------



## Rich Koster (Mar 1, 2012)

If you have repeat annoying callers, (I had one from some energy company that just didn't get the hint) here's what I tell them. "Give me your home number ,and what time you plan on having dinner, so I can interrupt you this time."


----------



## JML (Mar 1, 2012)

Part of me is annoyed but I then realize that they are only doing their job and putting food on the table for their families. I try to be a polite as possible and tell them thank you but that I am not interested. If they are not getting paid to do the job and are just doing it for the cause or for fun, it is a different story I suppose.


----------



## Jack K (Mar 1, 2012)

I politely and kindly tell them I'm not interested. Only if they impolitely continue to jabber at me do I hang up on them.

I used to tell them I'm not interested and then, if they continued to talk, just set the receiver down without hanging up. Let them talk to themselves as long as they like. I found it amusing. I'd listen to them in the background, yakking away, at some point realizing I'm no longer talking back, "Hello? You still there?" Or maybe I'd pick up the phone again and ask why, since I said I wasn't interested, they were still talking. Did they have something _else_ they wanted to sell me, I'd ask, since they were still talking and I'd already told them I wasn't interested. Basically, I amused myself by giving them a hard time.

But I've come to see that wasn't kind, so I've stopped that. Answering annoyance with kindness is a good discipline for me.


----------



## Somerset (Mar 1, 2012)

In this country all of these calls are illegal if one has signed up for the "Telephone preference Service". I put the hand set down next to the phone and wander off.


----------



## Berean (Mar 1, 2012)

SolaScriptura said:


> I say, "Sir/Ma'am, no thank you, I'm not interested. Please remove me from your calling list. Thank you." And then I hang up. That simple.



I have Ben screen my calls.


----------



## he beholds (Mar 1, 2012)

I do a number of things, depending on my mood. If it's specifically a legit charity, say for cancer or something, I will usually just say no thank you and hang up as quickly as possible. If it's a Christian organization that I have given to before, I tend to be nicer but still say no thanks. If it's a random unheard of charity like the national policeman's charity or something that I don't even know whether it is real, I tell them I don't make pledges over the phone. Sometimes I put my kids on the phone. Sometimes I get them to talk to me about random things. (One time I had a guy telling me all about his weird breed of dogs.) If it's a business (not charity) and I'm feeling feisty, I'll also do those things or start making up all kinds of problems to talk to them about. Like if it's a credit card company I panic over whether I should get a credit card even though I am a shopoholic and how my dog just died and I don't know if I should color my hair, and if so, what color. You know, typical stuff.


----------



## Scottish Lass (Mar 1, 2012)

I used to say we didn't donate over the phone. Their script response is that they'll mail you something.  "No, thanks" is less likely to give them another script option.


----------



## PhilA (Mar 1, 2012)

I'm with Ken. I ask them to hang on, put the phone down and and walk away. Interesting to see how long they are prepared to hang on for.


----------



## Constantlyreforming (Mar 1, 2012)

I have my own charity, and I ask them to donate to it.


----------



## Stargazer65 (Mar 1, 2012)

Constantlyreforming said:


> I have my own charity, and I ask them to donate to it.



That's a good one! I thought about saying, "I fund a private boarding school (homeschool) on my income, so I'm a charity as well".

---------- Post added at 04:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:01 PM ----------




Joshua said:


> "Hello?"



I usually start with that also, but it just makes things worse.


----------



## Constantlyreforming (Mar 1, 2012)

please make any charitable donations to my paypal address at _________________

I had one guy say he would, yet, he did not.


----------



## Kim G (Mar 1, 2012)

A friend of mine used to work as a telemarketer and hated it. He said the best thing to do if you don't want to donate (or buy, in the case of a business selling something) is to kindly say, "No, thank you, I'm not interested," and then hang up. 

He said it's the kindest thing for two reasons. 
1) Telemarketers are supposed to keep pushing, so if you hang up they don't have to worry about being pushy. 
2) Telemarketers usually earn commission, so if you are serious about not giving money and hang up quickly, they can call more people and make more money.


----------



## Hilasmos (Mar 1, 2012)

I agree with Kim. I worked in a call center for a few years and I could have cared less if someone just hung up.


----------



## KMK (Mar 1, 2012)

The phone is dead to me. I hardly ever answer it or use it to make a call. I much prefer email, text, PM etc.


----------



## thbslawson (Mar 1, 2012)

Disconnect your home phone and use a cell phone for all your calls. =)


----------



## MarieP (Mar 1, 2012)

Stargazer65 said:


> How do you respond?



Well, the only call I get that is more than a "No thank you" is when National Right to Life calls. I used to get calls from them practically every week. I tell them that I am giving to my church, which is involved in pro-life causes here locally. Usually they are happy with that, except once I was rather taken aback by the response. They said, "Well, we are not against grass-roots efforts, but we want to spend money on legislation, you know, something that really makes a difference..." Looking back, I probably should have asked to speak to her supervisor, but I was so shocked and angered I just hung up!


----------



## Pergamum (Mar 1, 2012)

I don't even have a phone, but two weeks ago this happened:

-An acquaintance I know skyped me. He is preparing for missions and he had asked a year ago if (when it was time) that I might consider praying and/or supporting him. 

I replied yes, of course.

So, I get a skype asking if I still felt the same way now (a year later). And when I said yes, he asked me how much that I thought I could give.


It really rubbed me the wrong way. 

But, I am sure his missionary org probably coached him how to do this. It also made me examine and think back to all my interactions with supporters ("how did I come across - especially when I was living on 300 USD a month and waiting for someone to commit"). Pastors I talk to say that they get sometimes 5 calls a week from missionary orgs or missionaries trying to raise support.

What can be done?


----------



## Edward (Mar 1, 2012)

The bulk of 'charities' that cold call you are scams. It's one thing if you have a relationship with the organization - you attended the school, or you've bought books from them. Those claiming to represent law enforcement organizations are among the worst.


----------



## Scottish Lass (Mar 1, 2012)

MarieP said:


> Stargazer65 said:
> 
> 
> > How do you respond?
> ...


We got that call, too. I made it clear that donating time, money, and effort to our local maternity home really made a difference in my book.


----------



## Miss Marple (Mar 1, 2012)

"What can be done?"

I think churches, as individual churches or presbyteries or denominations, should send missionaries. Rather than missionaries going about hat in hand.


----------



## Zach (Mar 1, 2012)

We get so many at home that for the most part I just hang up. I think most of them are scams anyway.


----------



## Pergamum (Mar 2, 2012)

Miss Marple said:


> "What can be done?"
> 
> I think churches, as individual churches or presbyteries or denominations, should send missionaries. Rather than missionaries going about hat in hand.



Churches and denominations do send missionaries, and support-raising is still a need among those missionaries, too.


----------



## Rich Koster (Mar 2, 2012)

Miss Marple said:


> "What can be done?"
> 
> I think churches, as individual churches or presbyteries or denominations, should send missionaries. Rather than missionaries going about hat in hand.



In my experience, when someone is sent by a local congregation, we network with "sister congregations" to develop a support base for them. This may involve an elder recommendation letter or just a friendly conversation developing into "talk to Mr. X at Y Baptist in Z town".


----------



## MarieP (Mar 2, 2012)

Scottish Lass said:


> We got that call, too. I made it clear that donating time, money, and effort to our local maternity home really made a difference in my book.



I just got a call from them 30 minutes ago. I had my weather radio on and everything! She said, "Oh, right, I hear you have a storm/tornado watch going on there," and she keeps on talking! I told her about supporting A Woman's Choice and that they saved nearly 600 babies this past year- and she says good, and keeps on. I said no, not now (and she said, what about in several weeks), and I hung up.


----------



## AThornquist (Mar 2, 2012)

I pretend I don't speak English.


----------



## Miss Marple (Mar 2, 2012)

Pergamum said:


> Miss Marple said:
> 
> 
> > "What can be done?"
> ...




I hope my statement did not sound to you like I criticize you for asking for support. I am promoting a different paradigm for mission support which I think is most helpful to the missionaries. I certainly did not mean to imply that you should not ask for support. There is nothing wrong with that.


----------



## Pergamum (Mar 3, 2012)

Miss Marple said:


> Pergamum said:
> 
> 
> > Miss Marple said:
> ...



Oh, no problem. I just don't believe that that other paradigm need to be the only one.


----------



## TexanRose (Mar 16, 2012)

Charitable organizations are required to tell you what percentage of donations go to overhead/administrative expenses, if you ask them. Once we got a call from an organization that provided teddy bears for police officers to keep in their cars in case they run into a distressed child. We asked what percentage of donations actually went towards the purchase of the teddy bears. His answer? Five percent! We couldn't believe it! Of course we didn't donate (not that we would have anyway). So ask about administrative costs; you might get an interesting answer.


----------



## tabrooks (Mar 17, 2012)

Edward said:


> The bulk of 'charities' that cold call you are scams. It's one thing if you have a relationship with the organization - you attended the school, or you've bought books from them. Those claiming to represent law enforcement organizations are among the worst.



This is absolutely the case. Be careful even to give information. Ask them to remove from their calling list and file complaint with donotcall registry (after registering your phone number).


----------



## Edward (Mar 17, 2012)

tabrooks said:


> file complaint with donotcall registry



That's not going to help - the politician carved out exceptions for themselves and for special interest charities when they drafted the law. So to the extent that they minimally qualify as a charity, they can continue to harass you, as can mis-guided politicians who think that you'll be more disposed to vote for them if they harass you on the phone (although 'push polling' probably does work.)


----------



## jogri17 (Mar 17, 2012)

I ask them I will read their litterature. They can send me their litterature or I will even give them my e-mail (not the one I use for personal stuff but for giving out publically) and read it with an open mind, but I don't like phonecalls. I can be manipulated too easily  #problemofbeinganiceguy


----------



## Scott1 (Mar 17, 2012)

Get caller i.d. to avoid the confrontation.

But if you do answer, sixth and ninth commandment and other biblical principles apply- let your conversation be seasoned with grace.


> Colossians 4:4-6
> 4That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
> 
> 5Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
> ...


 Your response may be used as a testimony of your life, and the Lord hears all conversations.



> Westminster Larger Catechism
> 
> Question 135: What are the duties required in the sixth commandment?
> 
> Answer: The duties required in the sixth commandment are, all careful studies, and lawful endeavors, to preserve the life of ourselves and others by resisting all thoughts and purposes, subduing all passions, and avoiding all occasions, temptations, and practices, which tend to the unjust taking away the life of any; by just defense thereof against violence, patient bearing of the hand of God, quietness of mind, cheerfulness of spirit; a sober use of meat, drink, physic, sleep, labor, and recreations; *by charitable thoughts, love, compassion, meekness, gentleness, kindness; peaceable, mild and courteous speeches and behavior; forbearance, readiness to be reconciled, patient bearing and forgiving of injuries, and requiting good for evil;* comforting and succoring the distressed, and protecting and defending the innocent.



Directly, but politely decline. It's a tough job for them, and some charities are well worth supporting.


----------



## PointyHaired Calvinist (Mar 17, 2012)

"We do all our giving through our church", i.e., we trust them to use our monies in a God-honoring way.


----------



## O'GodHowGreatThouArt (Mar 17, 2012)

First time: I kindly decline and ask them to remove me from the do not call list.
Second Time: I start reading them the Do-Not-Call Implementation act of 2003 (taking special care to note the potential fine of $16,000/call).
Third Time (Yes...someone actually tried it again...while I was in class): I have to admit I wasn't kind about it, since the circumstances really angered me. But I generally told them that if they called again, they will be turned in.

Haven't heard from them since.

Lately though, some nut has been sending me text messages saying I've won a Walmart gift-card worth $10,000.


----------



## Andres (Mar 17, 2012)

O'GodHowGreatThouArt said:


> Lately though, some nut has been sending me text messages saying I've won a Walmart gift-card worth $10,000.



wow! I received this same text this morning! It completely caught me off guard and I had never heard of, nor seen anything like it before. Of course I immediately recognized it as a scam, but its interesting to know I'm not the only one.


----------



## Miss Marple (Mar 17, 2012)

How about giving them the gospel? Would that be a situation of throwing pearls before swine?

I don't consider telemarketers "swine," they are probably just people in desperate need of a job. But would it be appropriate to ask them, "Do you know the Lord?"


----------

