Why do charities specify a particular donation?

I’m sure they’re grateful for any donation. As far as I have ever seen, besides the suggested amounts, you can always specify your own.

I have noticed this too. Some say £x ‘or whatever you can afford’ whilst others simply ask for £x. I was horrified yesterday by a mail shot from a charity wanting over £80 (or multiples of it) for a pack of a tent and basic supplies etc. I don’t know how many replies they got to that.

There is more often than not, a space for giving any amount you prefer.
With some I give more, in others less, than the suggested amount.

They pitch for what they think the market will deliver.

And, of course, it’s a simple, likely to be amplified (as your post shows) and thus effective, marketing strategy.

What also irks is the tenacity with which the charities to which I have donated continue to 'reach out', as they say, even when the donation is not insignificant - a hefty gift from my mother's estate comes to mind.
I had to persuade her not to be seduced by one of the many advertisements on day time television saying 'just £3 a month will ......' . You had to give a phone number for them to call you back and agree to be contacted by them at any time.
I felt she would be under considerable pressure, living alone. All she wanted was an address to which she could send her cheque! Better than nothing, surely?

I was somewhat annoyed recently when one of the charities I support, who had sent a mail shot about gifts in wills, asked if I had, or would consider, leaving them a gift in my will. I replied truthfully that I had done so. Within days there was another letter asking if I had left a specific amount (and if so how much), my entire estate or a percentage of it. There was a ‘prefer not to say’ option. I could see no reason for the question being asked and thought it rather rude. Letter, meet bin.

Then there are those who knock on the door. Again it’s always to pay so much a month every month. As I already do this for my preferred charity I decline but tell them I’d be happy to make a small one off donation there and then but they are never able to do this.

I too dislike the radio or tv appeals which state quite high amounts. Think crisis for Christmas is asking for £60.18 or something equally bizarre.
£60, £30 or £20 is a lot of money to ask for and prefer they left it open for people to decide what they themselves can afford

I look up the charity’s financial situation before I commit and then mostly dont, their wages bills are significant with many employees earning six figure sums, assets are in the millions and the beneficiaries receive very little.

The British legion have 240 million pounds in long term investments and receive 90 million a year, I dont understand the workings of the charity but why are there still ex service personnel living on the streets due to poverty?

I used to think, naively, that a donation would suffice. Then the charities would pursue an untapped audience.
It seems now that, once 'in the system', they are very reluctant to let you go.

25Avalon

Then there are those who knock on the door. Again it’s always to pay so much a month every month. As I already do this for my preferred charity I decline but tell them I’d be happy to make a small one off donation there and then but they are never able to do this.

I would never give on the doorstep, I think that many people who collect in this way are paid a percentage of what they collect so it isn't an effective way to donate. It makes for more sense to give online and use a Gift Aid tax form.
Our private estate has a policy of not allowing door-to-door collection, though some collectors are very unpleasant if you point this out to them.

I’ve always just given monthly to a number of charities, some local, some national and some where it’s definitely directed overseas, such as Water Aid. It all adds up, but when I sign up on line, I indicate no contact - in my mind it saves their postage and me from demands to increase my Direct Debit.

It does make me take notice when an ad appears on tv asking for an odd amount, I guess it doesn’t matter how or how much we make as a donation, as long as we do.

I think of all the postage they are paying and all the paper that goes straight into the recycling. I've had six this week including a pack of Christmas cards which about 20 years ago I did buy and was pestered monthly. It said on the envelope do not return, why not they could cover the address and pester someone else with them.
We all know the charities we support and it is my personal choice, advertising is a waste of the money and when you hear what some of their staff get up to like after the earthquake in the `Caribbean a few years ago, I will persist in donating to whoever I want.

I think there is a psychological advantage in making donors feel, we are paying for something specific - a Christmas meal, a nights accommodation, lunches for children, a specified amount of medication or whatever rather than seeing our donation “disappear” into the admin costs of the charity.
Good marketing.

Germanshepherdsmum

I was somewhat annoyed recently when one of the charities I support, who had sent a mail shot about gifts in wills, asked if I had, or would consider, leaving them a gift in my will. I replied truthfully that I had done so. Within days there was another letter asking if I had left a specific amount (and if so how much), my entire estate or a percentage of it. There was a ‘prefer not to say’ option. I could see no reason for the question being asked and thought it rather rude. Letter, meet bin.

Goodness, what a cheek!
Almost more of a cheek IMO was after someone we knew very well had left the house where he’d lived with his wife for over 20 years, to a favourite charity. (There was another house but I still thought it was a shocking thing to do - TBH he wasn’t a very nice man.)

He’d been advised by the solicitor to leave the house, not the proceeds of the sale, otherwise there’d be endless hassle - why hadn’t it sold yet, why hadn’t it sold for more money, etc.

Several months after the charity had been informed of the bequest (dh was executor) they wrote to the widow (who was up to her eyes trying to clear the place - her dh had been a hoarder) to say, basically, ‘Actually, it’d be much easier for us if you would sell the house yourself and just give us the money - thanks.’

The widow was distraught.
I’m glad to say that dh wrote back PDQ, telling them in slightly more polite language, to sod off.
It’s a major charity with their own legal dept. - all they had to do was pass the keys to an estate agent!

I’ve collected door to door and never taken a penny. Those who want you to sign up to regular donations do get paid by the charity. Whilst they are on my doorstep I would give a small donation. Christian Aid do envelopes which their volunteer collectors leave with you and come back for - you can gift aid on the envelope. I’m not sure how much gets donated that way though. Some people only put a penny in whilst others give nothing and are abusive and some kind folks give generously. Having traipsed round for a couple of hours collecting all the envelopes up, often in inclement weather, you go home to open the envelope up and count the money, and then pay it in. Sometimes if the collection was low I’d think why did I bother, why didn’t I just put £25 in! ( This was a few years back).

My experience too, Avalon.

I have Macular Degeneration and I am a member of the society. Last week I was sent an email wanting £100 and 2 days later, a letter asking for the same donation. I sent zilch.

When I pay my annual donation I always give extra and I do not like to be told how much I should be donating.

Pestering donors can backfire. We support a couple of favourite charities, but make one-off donations to other Christmas or special appeals. Some of them never let you off the hook once you’ve donated and we wouldn’t give to them again because of this. It must be obvious surely after several years of sending out monthly appeals (with all the costs associated with it) that we’re not going to bite!

One of our direct debit charities would ring every few months to persuade us to give more, until the day I told them that I’d cancel the direct debit if they did it again. To their credit, they didn’t.

At different times I have had both knees replaced at a London hospital. Once a year I receive a very glossy letter asking me to do a 5 mile run to help towards a few bricks. As I can barely walk 1/2 mile to the nearest bus stop that will not be happening anytime soon.

One look at my year of birth, 1943 may have also been a clue and they could have saved money.

25Avalon

Then there are those who knock on the door. Again it’s always to pay so much a month every month. As I already do this for my preferred charity I decline but tell them I’d be happy to make a small one off donation there and then but they are never able to do this.

I had a similar experience.

"We are not allowed to take cash" said the chugger, grinning - like he'd got one over on me.

"Well that's a pity" I said "because I'm not prepared to commit to monthly payments on the spur of the moment - do you have a website?" He grudgingly gave me the address and was clearly miffed that I refused to 'sign up'.

Actually, I think charity people knocking on the door asking for money to be donated in that way, is damned intrusive. I'm sure some people are intimidated and don't like to refuse. But IMO it's wrong.

I read somewhere that half the people who sign up for these direct debits, pull out before the end of the year.

For those of you who are pestered by charities, think about opening a Charities Aid Foundation account (google CAF). You pay in whatever amount you choose every month and they collect the Gift Aid (if you agree) and add it to your account and take off a small amount as a fee. You then donate online or by CAF cheque, and because you can donate anonymously, the charities you choose can be different at different times, and they can't follow you up and ask for more. It works for permanent charities and also for temporary Disasters emergency appeals.

We started years ago after my brother recommended this way of avoiding constant demands, and we've been happy with it. The website is not the quickest or most user-friendly, but it works and does the job securely.

(Sorry to those who are fed up hearing me banging on about this, but I do know how infuriating it is to be pestered by charities that you maybe only wanted to donate to once for a specific reason!)

Theexwife

I look up the charity’s financial situation before I commit and then mostly dont, their wages bills are significant with many employees earning six figure sums, assets are in the millions and the beneficiaries receive very little.

The British legion have 240 million pounds in long term investments and receive 90 million a year, I dont understand the workings of the charity but why are there still ex service personnel living on the streets due to poverty?

You managed to look up their finances online

Why not look up what they do for ex-service personnel?