Donor fatigue? What donor fatigue?
After a year of unmitigated disasters from tsunamis to earthquakes to hurricanes, we've been hearing an awful lot about how people are fed up with giving to charitable causes.
What people are fed up with is being interrupted constantly at home at all hours by telephone calls from long-winded telemarketers who prey on our feelings of guilt. Don't confuse that with a drop in people's concern for others.
Like everything else, there's a right way and a wrong way to solicit donations.
World Vision, Canada's largest private relief agency, has found one great method of combining conscience and Christmas. Their gift catalogue, which allows you to buy a rooster and two hens to feed a family or to buy a deep well that can supply clean water to a village, is a cornucopia of potential gifts for those in your life who are tough to buy for or who would appreciate being reminded of the caring message of Christmas.
The catalogue started slowly but has been gaining momentum quickly, according to Emmanuel Isch, the Erin Mills resident who is director of emergency response and disaster mitigation for the Mississauga-based charity.
"Last year we were at about $6 million in gifts and it looks like we're up about 30 per cent," Isch said this morning. "I think we're going to go past the $7 million figure. Before Christmas I was told we were getting up to 2,000 calls a day, so people are becoming more conscious of it."
He attributes the increase to several factors: the ability of people to see coverage of a calamity in the media and respond instantly online, increased media coverage of the catalogue itself and a general growth in disposable income among North Americans.
When he was in Niger last summer, Isch was struck by the number of villages that now have clinics and personnel but no medical supplies. For $100, in the name of a friend or a loved one, you can supply a clinic or immunize a whole community of children.
More than one parent has used the World Vision catalogue as an object lesson to explain the intent of the season.
"I feel very positive about what's happening," said Isch. "Let's hope it's a trend that's here to stay."
Christmas may be over but the gifts would work just as well as birthday presents all through the year.
Comments (1)
Many people are fed up as it seems there's way too many organizations, more than usual seeking money which gets annoying to say the least.
Many people want to help but have a hard enough time supporting themselves.
Wish I could recall where I heard years ago but probably still applies today, the only people who give to charities are the ones who know what it's like to be without and those donors finally reach their breaking point refusing to give because they themselves can barely afford to survive.
Unfortunately I have no solutions but if I come up with something I'll be sure to let you know.
Posted by John Granic | December 30, 2005 2:16 PM
Posted on December 30, 2005 14:16