Okay, Matthew and I are members of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Hurray. But they keep sending us these little “gifts” along with their “please give us more money” notes. In the last year, they’ve sent us: two personalized coffee mugs, a key-chain, a necklace, and an umbrella.
Now the question I have is: Is the money we’re sending them going to help animals, or fund these trinkets? I’m already displeased about money I give to charities being used for postage to ask for more money instead of to the cause I support, but if it’s also going to pay for these cheap little gee-haws, then I’m even less happy.
*grumble grumble grumble*
I’m still going to give HSUS money, ’cause I know they do good work, but I wish I knew whether these “gifts” were donated or if they actually spent money to buy them.
I’ve wondered the same things before whenever I get a free windbreaker or name labels in the mail along with a letter asking me to donate more. Is this where my money goes? :/
I’m hoping these “gifts” are donated to them to help with their fund-raising, so at least I’m not paying them to buy me a mug I didn’t need or want. But even if that’s the case, they’re still paying postage and handling to mail it to me.
There must be someone I can write to about this . . .
it’s called “operating expenses” and yes, a lot of fund raising money goes into it. i wont say HSUS does this, but here ya go:
http://www.hsus.org/ace/11678
their FAQ, and lists how to find out financial info, which should include where money given by fund raisers goes.
Coolness. Thanks! Now I have to get off my unmotivated but complainy ass and request it!
I think they include the ‘gifts’ because experience has shown that if they throw, say $10,000 of envelopes and address labels at a mailing list of half a million, they receive *over* $10,000 more back from that list than if they had just sent out letters begging for money.
How are you on calenders? I’m up to four. ( I think I would have gotten more except Defenders of Wildlife did a phone campaign and bad-mouthed Farm Bureau to me – I can see their point but I’m not a happy camper – and I wrote them a nasty letter.)
But calenders are useful. Address labels, now, I still have addy labels left over from two moves ago.
– hossgal
I’m all for them making more money, but I can’t help but find the whole spending money to make money to spend on making more money thing kind of funny. Funding to help the animals doesn’t seem like a big enough part of the loop, or even in the loop although I know it is. Somewhere. I guess there’s some business savvy somewhere in there though. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.
Calendars. Hmm. I believe only two so far. But, since I only need one . . .
All the waste bugs me too. Like the necklace HSUS sent us is this cheap little plastic thing that I would never wear and have since thrown out. I certainly don’t want them spending money on real jewelry to give me, but I have to ask, what were they thinking sending it to me in the first place? Argh.
Uncle The Dude’s Storytime
Perhaps my weirdest experience with this phenomena was giving to the local NPR radio station a year or so ago, and receiving a subscription to Newsweek. Now, yes, I like “Cartalk,” but I’m giving money because I like having a news source around that isn’t directly owned by one of the handful of global mega-corporations that run the media here in the good ol’ US of A. So…why would I be interested in littering my house with the self serving drek of one of said mega-corps? Ah well, subscription has run out now, which has noticeably lowered the rate of garbage-bag filling.
PJI, who’s been in more a music than news mood of late… you ever noticed how difficult it is to local a radio station playing a reasonable amount of music in the morning these days? It’s like waiting for music videos on MTV….
Re: Uncle The Dude’s Storytime
Yeah, I don’t see the point of news on paper anymore. The Internet is so much faster and cleaner. Oh, and free. Can’t forget free. Although I guess there are still people out there who still cling to their old-style news mediums. Matthew’s parents subscribe to at least two newspapers . . . although since Matthew’s brother is an editor/columnist at one of them, that might account for that one. Parental pride and all that.
Re: Uncle The Dude’s Storytime
Well, it’s still far more awkward to read news via electronics than via paper in rooms containing running water, or in the back seat of someone’s car. 😉 ‘Course, I tend to use those times to read non-news things.