What? You give to worthy causes (and people you don’t know) under your own name. You give a gift to people you do know with no home address/email info.
The only part I can support here is that you DON’T support one of YOUR causes and count it as a gift to someone else. Like, “Merry Christmas; here’s a $100 check made out to a clinic in AZ that provides dental care to the homeless. I’ve included a stamped envelope for you; and I’ll mail it on the way home.”
I had a charity call me the other day and when I told the young man that I donated to a similar charity, he said something rather rude and hung up. So much for the Xmas spirit.
Donating money to charity as a gift to someone else is really only a gift if that person wishes to support that charity but for some reason can’t. If it is a cause that they don’t believe or- or perhaps just don’t even really care about one way or another- it’s not exactly a gift to them to have been involved.
However, I know that my grandfather has always wanted to sponsor one of the beautiful hanging flower baskets that line the walkways of the park near his house every summer. The town he lives in takes donations to fund the baskets. Last year for Christmas, I paid for one in his name, in memory of my grandmother. He loved it. He went and found the basket memorializing his dear, departed wife and would walk to it on his good days (sadly, fewer of those as the year went on). So this year I have committed to doing that again, and I hope he will be able to see it this summer as well.
Only point being- if you are donating in someone’s name, make it a donation that would mean something to them, and not to you. That is what giving gifts is about after all- making the recipient feel good, not the giver.
I made a modest donation to a national charity one time (key words: one time). So annoyed that in the years since then, they have spent many times the amount of my original gift in mailing me junk notepads, address labels etc. in thick packets of material. Wow.
Charity donations is very personal, we donate in our name and that’s that. As was mentioned yesterday, what do you give to people who already have everything? My partner and I organize a holiday meal with all the fixings for both sides of our respective families. It gives them a chance to meet once a year and we all have a good time. That’s the gift. Take it or leave it…
I used to donate in family members’ names as my gifts to them. AFAIK, they never got on any solicitation lists as a result.
So why haven’t I continued? Mainly because it’s not on their wish lists. They can contribute to whatever causes they like. What they want are expressions of more personal consideration.
I used to give my friends little gifts (such as calendars I knew they would like), and found they felt a need to give me things. It’s hard to know what to give me, as I have too much stuff and don’t want more. I had to stop giving these friendship gifts for this reason. Now, I just give gifts to people I know need it (and won’t reciprocate) and my family’s annual Secret Santa.
I have found a useful, free(ish†) “disposable email” site. When I donate money online, I use a disposable email, and set it to allow only responses from the one site. When the tsunami starts to arrive, I tell them to slow it down. Either that happens or I actually dispose of the email.
I’m not going to tell you where to find it: Too wide an audience here. DuckDuckGo is your friend.
† It’s free, but you can, and imo should, give a donation.
http://www.gocomics.com/frazz/2019/12/23You already get it. You don’t need me to preach about the joy I find in giving to people and organizations who can do better things with my money than I can. So I won’t. Instead, I’ll riff a little on the frustration that accompanies it. Specifically, there’s a line, and I don’t know exactly where that line is, and it’s pretty movable, but there definitely seems to be a line; and if you donate an amount below that line, the recipient will immediately spend that amount and beyond asking you for more money. So frustrating. But I’ll keep doing it, because, well, it’s not like the rest of the world doesn’t do the same thing. So the playing field goes back to level. Kind of mucky, but level.
I think disposable addresses is the only way to go for online giving. I quit giving by mail, as I no longer wish to write checks, or send my CC number in snail mail. If the free calendars quit coming, I’ll just quit using them, or print my own. I expect that will be many years from now.
No wonder the teacher lady (sorry I forget her name) hasn’t married him. He’s such a cheapskate. You don’t have to buy presents for everyone and they don’t have to be expensive. But if you celebrate Christmas, why not give some token thing to the woman you supposedly love?
Homeward Premium Member over 4 years ago
No good deed goes unpunished.
gsawyer101 over 4 years ago
Maybe when I donate as a memorial I should use the deceased information or is that selfish?
Old Girl over 4 years ago
What? You give to worthy causes (and people you don’t know) under your own name. You give a gift to people you do know with no home address/email info.
The only part I can support here is that you DON’T support one of YOUR causes and count it as a gift to someone else. Like, “Merry Christmas; here’s a $100 check made out to a clinic in AZ that provides dental care to the homeless. I’ve included a stamped envelope for you; and I’ll mail it on the way home.”
jvn over 4 years ago
Plus, tax write-off’s!
Smokie over 4 years ago
I had a charity call me the other day and when I told the young man that I donated to a similar charity, he said something rather rude and hung up. So much for the Xmas spirit.
Kit'n'Kaboodle over 4 years ago
Donating money to charity as a gift to someone else is really only a gift if that person wishes to support that charity but for some reason can’t. If it is a cause that they don’t believe or- or perhaps just don’t even really care about one way or another- it’s not exactly a gift to them to have been involved.
However, I know that my grandfather has always wanted to sponsor one of the beautiful hanging flower baskets that line the walkways of the park near his house every summer. The town he lives in takes donations to fund the baskets. Last year for Christmas, I paid for one in his name, in memory of my grandmother. He loved it. He went and found the basket memorializing his dear, departed wife and would walk to it on his good days (sadly, fewer of those as the year went on). So this year I have committed to doing that again, and I hope he will be able to see it this summer as well.
Only point being- if you are donating in someone’s name, make it a donation that would mean something to them, and not to you. That is what giving gifts is about after all- making the recipient feel good, not the giver.
pony21 Premium Member over 4 years ago
I made a modest donation to a national charity one time (key words: one time). So annoyed that in the years since then, they have spent many times the amount of my original gift in mailing me junk notepads, address labels etc. in thick packets of material. Wow.
cknoblo Premium Member over 4 years ago
I never buy calendars. I get too many free ones to use, so some get thrown away. I don’t give to any of the senders. Most, I have never given to.
cervelo over 4 years ago
Charity donations is very personal, we donate in our name and that’s that. As was mentioned yesterday, what do you give to people who already have everything? My partner and I organize a holiday meal with all the fixings for both sides of our respective families. It gives them a chance to meet once a year and we all have a good time. That’s the gift. Take it or leave it…
Stephen Gilberg over 4 years ago
I used to donate in family members’ names as my gifts to them. AFAIK, they never got on any solicitation lists as a result.
So why haven’t I continued? Mainly because it’s not on their wish lists. They can contribute to whatever causes they like. What they want are expressions of more personal consideration.
chromosome Premium Member over 4 years ago
I used to give my friends little gifts (such as calendars I knew they would like), and found they felt a need to give me things. It’s hard to know what to give me, as I have too much stuff and don’t want more. I had to stop giving these friendship gifts for this reason. Now, I just give gifts to people I know need it (and won’t reciprocate) and my family’s annual Secret Santa.
Concretionist over 4 years ago
I have found a useful, free(ish†) “disposable email” site. When I donate money online, I use a disposable email, and set it to allow only responses from the one site. When the tsunami starts to arrive, I tell them to slow it down. Either that happens or I actually dispose of the email.
I’m not going to tell you where to find it: Too wide an audience here. DuckDuckGo is your friend.
† It’s free, but you can, and imo should, give a donation.
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] over 4 years ago
Blog PostsFrazz17 hrs ·
http://www.gocomics.com/frazz/2019/12/23You already get it. You don’t need me to preach about the joy I find in giving to people and organizations who can do better things with my money than I can. So I won’t. Instead, I’ll riff a little on the frustration that accompanies it. Specifically, there’s a line, and I don’t know exactly where that line is, and it’s pretty movable, but there definitely seems to be a line; and if you donate an amount below that line, the recipient will immediately spend that amount and beyond asking you for more money. So frustrating. But I’ll keep doing it, because, well, it’s not like the rest of the world doesn’t do the same thing. So the playing field goes back to level. Kind of mucky, but level.
cknoblo Premium Member over 4 years ago
I think disposable addresses is the only way to go for online giving. I quit giving by mail, as I no longer wish to write checks, or send my CC number in snail mail. If the free calendars quit coming, I’ll just quit using them, or print my own. I expect that will be many years from now.
CalLadyQED over 4 years ago
No wonder the teacher lady (sorry I forget her name) hasn’t married him. He’s such a cheapskate. You don’t have to buy presents for everyone and they don’t have to be expensive. But if you celebrate Christmas, why not give some token thing to the woman you supposedly love?