A good day

[pch1.livejournal.com]

So I knew yesterday was going to be a good day when I was able to walk by both Starbucks and Diesel Cafe without being approached by any of the kids repping Save The GreenPeace Children from Masspirg.  Then I started to wonder, why is it that these guys can so relentlessly solicit donations everyday, yet if they were to put down their clipboards and strap on a guitar and play for donations they could be ticketed or asked to stop for performing without a permit.

What's up with the priorities around here.  I'd much rather be passing by a street performer than a political missionary.

Comments

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Oh, please do. I have never yet found the body language to make them not intrude on me, and they make me want to stab everything in sight. (I, also, change my walking routes and choice of local business to avoid them. It is simply no longer worth it to plan on going to Diesel in the summer. At least Starbucks has one door that's usually safe.)

[toilandtrouble.livejournal.com]

The catch is that they cannot accept a one-time donation. If you're going to give via the clipboard carrier on the street, you have to commit to an automatic monthly donation of some sort via credit card or your bank account.

I got suckered in by Greenpeace a few months ago on Elm Street in Davis and resent that I'm now giving them $15/month. Yes, I could call and cancel, but I don't want to hear their spiel again. I'll get up the gumption to do it at some point. At least I have an excuse not to talk to the clipboard carriers anymore!

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

And there's just no way I'm going to give that info to some random person on the street. I do all such giving online these days.

Yeah, earn donations by offering something good to the community!

[turil.livejournal.com]

I, too, think it's a great idea. I'm a big fan of non-profits earning money by actually doing useful things that people will pay for.

[turil.livejournal.com]

I did it for one day and our commission was 50% of the donations, but no other pay. It sucked. But sometimes people are desperate. So I can understand why people stick with it for a while.

Tabling needs a permit, standing around doesn't.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Back when I was on the Bike Committee I checked in with the City's permitting guy, and he said that we could walk around and talk to people as much as we wanted, but that if we wanted to have a table of information (even without asking for money) we had to get a permit.

It presumably has something to do with the freedom of an individual to express themselves, while structures have zoning codes. (A table, stall, cart, etc. would be considered a structure.)

slightly less annoyed...

[wellthan.livejournal.com]

Even though I am annoyed by the canvassers, I always think of this story when I see them, (especially the young women) and feel slightly less annoyed:

When I canvassed for Greenpeace 15 years ago, we went door to door, SOLO. During one of our rounds, one of the female canvassers was flashed (pants down) by a man answering his door.
Greenpeace then changed their canvassing policy so that we would only go out in pairs from then on. It seems that at this point, they and other organizations like them have moved away from door-to-door altogether.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

The donations that people are soliciting are monthly charges. You got 50% of the first month? Every month?

Re: Do you hate puppy seals too?

[ilai]

[turil.livejournal.com]

Well, I only was accepting one time cash and checks. And I got 50% of the entire donation as my pay. I think I might have gotten $5 before I just gave up on asking for money and instead talked to them about issues, and gave them flyers about the organization.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I find them really annoying, but I at least sympathize with the folks shilling for organizations I support.

OTOH, when the guy representing the so-called HRC stopping me in the street as I was getting on my bike, I took the time to tell him why I would never support his organization. He clearly had no real idea what the HRC even did, ignored everything I said, and tried to make me out to be some sort of homophobe for not supporting them. I hate to even think about all the well-intentioned money going down the drain there.

Re: slightly less annoyed...

[dystocia.livejournal.com]

When I canvassed for the Sierra Club back in 2003, we went door to door also. One guy answered the door holding a 22 and told me to get the f*** off his property. (this was in Maine)

[waaronw.livejournal.com]

I support many of the organizations, but absolutely not this form of fundraising. (It seems to work for them, but I don't necessarily believe it to be a "necessary evil")

I have made up a large "No Solicitors" button which I wear on the strap of my bag. When they approach, I smile and point to the button. If they don't see it or don't understand, it seems to at least confuse them long enough for me to get away.

When I am without my button, I usually just say "No" but sometimes I'll let them know I support the cause, but not the methods.

If they all had guitars, I would think more seriously about giving them the time of day.

Re: Do you hate puppy seals too?

[thespian.livejournal.com]

my great grandfather apparently used to be a seal hunter; my mother recently sent me an article that interviewed him about the work (the interview was done in the 30s, about his experiences in the 1890s). I'm pretty sure he was doing it because the money was handsome and not because he had a hate-on for the seal pups.

On the other hand, everyone hates sea kittens (http://www.peta.org/sea_kittens/).

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

it wouldn't work precisely because they don't make the bulk of their money from your donation, they make it by selling your name/info to direct marketing firms. so even if masspirg had guitarists out there trying to save the planet, they'd still need you to sign their clipboard. it's tougher to get people to sign if you don't get in their face.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

I'm happy you at least acknowledge you're crazy.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

The truly insidious thing about these solicitors is that they exist to harvest direct marketing information. Give them a donation, sign their petition, and then see how long it takes before you start receiving mailings from the "Ingrown Toenail Relief Foundation" or the "People for the Ethical Treatment of Tollbooth Operators" asking you for even more money.

The one perk is that you'll have enough personalized return-address labels to last a lifetime (provided you never move).

So I do suggest that if you ever feel compelled to donate, you do it anonymously, with cash. Sure, it might give the kid a chance to pocket your money and not report it. But don't you think they should? They work a shit job where everyone crosses the street to avoid them. And you're a sucker who stopped to talk to them.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

they aren't volunteers. many of them don't even care about the issues for which they're fund raising. it's a summer job.

[nonnihil.livejournal.com]

Usually you can just cancel it with your credit card company and you'll never have to talk to them again.

I've also heard good things about the newish single-use credit card numbers for dealing with scams of this sort.

[starry83.livejournal.com]

I try to avoid the solicitors too, but if they do engage me, I say I've already donated to their cause or am a member of Greenpeace or whatnot. They can't argue with that... they do usually want a high five though.

True!

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

I have a drawer FULL of nice stickies with my address. Too bad I almost never mail stuff.

[mihmo.livejournal.com]

i dont think they are that earnest or interested in their cause or other human beings really

first off, every single person trying to go to the davis sq farmers market this wednesday was accosted. i'm just trying to get groceries, i'm not interested. but i humor them. i tell him right off the top, i just paid over $600 to get my car repaired, i am hurting for money and have none for you. he insists on pushing it anyway. he blows through some statistics that seem wrong to me, like 80% of waste in massachusetts could be recycled or otherwise processed and is not. so i ask him, what about the deer island treatment plant? is that being counted in your statistic? and he has NO IDEA what deer island is. you would think if he were an earnest MA little tree hugger he would have at least heard of the deer island treatment plant, no?

blocking the entrance way to the farmers market is definitely totally not cool though.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure it is, and I believe that there was a precedent-setting case involving the Salvation Army kettles, no less. But I am too lazy to look it up.

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

I did this kind of work, too, but door-to-door. We had to raise a certain minimum quota for the week. Our paycheck was half of that plus a percentage of anything we raised above it - and no, you don't make royalties on recurring donations. :)

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

I feel bad for the kids. It wasn't their idea to solicit donations.

They applied for a job because they needed cash and were assigned to solicit donations on busy street corners. Then they're put under intense pressure to meet their "quota."

I had to go to door-to-door soliciting donations for MassPIRG years ago. I lasted a week before I quit. It's the worst job I've ever had.