constant pressure to give to charity

[dettu]

It's that time again, at least in the US. A major charity umbrella organization is gearing up its fundraising campaign, and all the corporations are prodding their employees to give, give, give.

We get emails at least once a day--long emails full of HTML formatting and graphics and so on to catch our attention--reminding us that we SHOULD give, we NEED to give, and don't we want to make our company look really good--oops, I mean don't we want to be generous--by giving lots and lots and lots, etc. In addition, the company has all kinds of events designed to raise money and/or just promote giving in general: bake sales, wacky races, silly hat contests, whatever. For months and months and months they bombard us with this stuff.

Yesterday, another admin emailed and asked if I'd mind fulfilling a minor duty involved in another "wild and crazy" activity. I said yes, I would. I don't want to do it.

I do not support this charity; their practices are highly questionable, to me. (No, I don't want to get into a debate about this charity; my post is about the pressure; my opinion of the charity is my own.) I prefer to contribute to charities that I really believe in, on my own, apart from my life at work. When she pressed me, I said so (leaving out my opinion of the Officially Sanctioned Charity). She said she felt the same, but was afraid to say so. And indeed, there's no need for us to voice our opinion unless someone demands that we participate.

And they don't DEMAND, they just constantly pressure employees to participate. I understand that it's even worse for management, that their pressure to participate/give is higher and more direct. How is it charity if all of us feel that we MUST give in order to demonstrate that we're good, worthy employees? Why is it okay for one charity to dominate?

I am so tired of this.

[countrigal]

Dettu... I'm so sorry that your company puts this much pressure on it's employees.  I'm really blessed that the company I work for is not allowed to do this.  They even had to get special permission just to send an e-mail out to everyone letting them know how they could help following Katrina's devastation, and that was after several employees (think hundreds) were asking what they could do to help.  But even then, they were only allowed to send one e-mail to everyone letting them know what they can do, who to contact (Red Cross or other local agencies -- no one in the company), etc and then any follow-ups to that regarding change of any of the information.  No pressure on anyone, just a sharing of information.  I really can't see how it's charity if the entire company feels like you do, that they are being pressured into donating.  If the company wants to look good through donations, then let the company make the donation and not rely on the employees of said company to do so.  If they want to publicize that their employees support charities, they might be better off doing something along the lines of our CFC (Combined Federal Campaign, I believe).  Each employee who wants to donate anything can, and they can choose their own charity from a huge list of Federally approved charities (these are ones that meet certain criteria, ie: minimum % of donations actually goes to the stated cause and not to salaries/upkeep.  The list is large enough and has most of the national charities on it, and still has local ones too, so that anyone who may want to donate can normally find their charity on the list.  Then my company simply promotes that X% of their employees support charities or gives back to the community (ie: last figure here was 89% of employees donate through the CFC).

Would this be something you could address to your HR department?  I'm thinking that if you feel this much pressure, then others might, and the company may be setting itself up for a potential lawsuit of some sort.  Not sure, not up on all that HR stuff, but it may be something to look into.

In the meantime -- Hang in there girl!  And come vent here as often as you need to.

CountriGal
Peer Moderator

[Jackie G]

Can you do a gentle fib and say you already 'give to this charity on a personal private basis away from work and that you therefore don't/can't give more'?  Ok, so it's a fib, but it's one that saves you face.

Alternatively just say NO.  It's your choice to give to charity, what, when and how much and if you don't like them and think they're questionable, then you shouldn't be feeling pressured into doing it.

Jackie, Peer Moderator
www.iqps.org

[raindance]

"No" is a good word - try "no". My company doesn't have chosen charities.  However, we had a colleague leave this year who indicated he preferred donations to a particular charity in lieu of leaving gifts.  It was a charity to which some people felt they could not donate because they didn't approve of its principles - a difficult one.

The only charity that I, personally, suggested my colleagues contibute to was the fund set up to support those injured or bereaved as a result of the bombings in London this summer.  

You could, Dettu, try voicing your concerns, as already suggested.  Sometimes you will find that a lot of people think the same way as you, and it only needs one person to start a debate.

Good luck.

Raindance

[gee4]

Sorry but no-one should bully anyone into giving money to charity.  Lots of us already give to chosen or personal charities and I think it should remain that way.

All you have to say is, "sorry I already give to my own chosen charity".

G

[smallfry]

The company i used to work for was a brewery that had around 70 pubs and hotels. They decided to take on a 'Chosen Charity' for this year and went on and on and onnnn making us give. I was on a very very poor wage there and i really couldnt afford to give much which they really didn't like.

But what upset many people in my office was that most of the individual community pubs already did regular charity fund raising things themselves for local, not very well off charities like old peoples homes and local disadvantaged kids and stuff. Because of the 'Chosen Charity' (which a very large, very rich national, even global charity) all this local money was diverted away from the local charities and off elsewhere.

Many customers were upset, and inturn so were the landlords. They did try to object but its a very awkward situation!!!

[smssilva]

I also agree that this is a personal matter. We have a right to choose which charity we suport.  Smallfry has a point, I prefer to support local charities, were i can see how my money is being used. Unfortunately working for a charity organization does not make people honest as we are realising with the "Food for oil" program from ONU. In my country we have a saying...Charity begins at home.

S.

[dettu]

Oh...I do only support my own charity, and I tell whenever anybody asks. But what really burns my toast is the barrage of emails, paper etc. supporting Big Institutionalized Charity of which I (and many others) do not approve! I just think it's wrong--but many companies do this charity's huge yearly campaign. It's not just my company. I remember being given a contribution envelope for this same charity when I was IN THE FOURTH GRADE. Every child was expected to contribute! This charity is, to say the least, ubiquitous.

I give to charities or organizations that are really nobody's business but mine. Last year for my son's birthday, he collected children's books for a local literacy group in lieu of receiving presents (it was a big party and we got lots of books). I like that kind of thing. I DON'T like the CEO in my electronic face telling me to register for the wacky activities.

[smssilva]

That was a lovely gesture from your son!

Can you tell them that because you support other charities you feel that your commitment for this one would not be 100% and that you were not able to give your best shot? Another person would be a better choice!
In this company the CEO does not get envolved...charity ininiatives are mainly from employees and are usually a box to collect donations in food, clothes or toys. Never money.

[spitfire78]

dettu,

I understand completely.  My company does the same thing (most likely for the very same organization). Oh yes, we can all say no (and many of us do).  The point dettu is making is that you shouldn't have to even say no.  They should give you the opportunity to contribute (one e-mail or one letter).  Anyone who wants to contribute can.  Anyone who doesn't won't.  In my opinion the way these companies handle this, it is harrassment, plain and simple.  One year, the CEO's secretary was instructed to do follow-up calls to anyone who hadn't contributed!  She felt awkward and awful about it, but I very politely told her that I didn't appreciate the phone call and that I considered it harrassment.  She said she understood, and they never tried that one again!  I don't understand why these companies do this.  Do they get kickbacks or something from this organization?  I mean what's the big deal, anyway?

[dettu]

I'm surprised this isn't happening to everyone else, at least every U.S. I thought it had crept into every corner. The only job I've ever had where this wasn't an issue was when I worked for a university--I think we might have received one email or something but because universities are non-profit, they don't promote "charity" the way corporations do.

Thanks, spitfire, I thought I was going crazy! I'll bet it is the same charity. It's everywhere, at least everywhere here.

[adminave]

I found I was bombarded with charity requests when I worked for larger corporations (probably the same charity everyone else is talking about).

Now that I work for a smaller company we only give $2.00/week to wear jeans on Fridays and then we vote at the end of the year for which children's charity we'll donate the money to.

Also, my present company is extremely generous with donations if one of the employees is involved in a charity run/walk or other fundraiser.

Edited by ddw on 09/09/05 02:01 PM.

[smallfry]

Yes they do, the more money they donate to the charity the more good PR and publicity they get from it.  From just being able to display the chairy logo on their affairs... to even, one company i worked for for a bit got Caprice the glamor model to do an advert for them for free... so yes it is worth their while to badger you!

[marieh2000]

Dettu and Spitfire, It's probably the same charity that is doing their annual drive at my husband's workplace.  Same high pressure, wanting you to give, give, give!!.  He said it really irrates him when they try to make you feel guilty for not giving, but they've heard "NO" from us for the past few years.  We'd much rather give to our favorite charities, whether it's local churches, scouts, St. Jude's, etc. instead of some "conglomerate" that makes their own decisions about who actually gets the money.

[dettu]

And spends how much of that money paying the execs. NO THANKS.

I give to the places and causes that are important to me, and I give the money right to them.