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I don’t know if this annoys anyone else but I hate going to the shops and shopping centres and being harassed to purchase stickers, tickets, badges or just have tins rattled at me, I know charities are doing It hard as are most people, how ever a lot of these sellers are on commission and a lot of commission, so not all of your money is going to the charity they are collecting for, several years ago my husband and myself made a decision that we would make donations each year to causes that meant something to us, we are not wealthy but after looking at our budget we decided on $2k per annum, we actually budget weekly for this. It is our contribution to the community, we donate this to PTSD for returned servicemen, we donate to the local childrens hospital, and children hearing impairment as we have a granddaughter who is profoundly deaf with 2 coclear implants, we still buy different tickets it they are supporting local sports teams, schools etc but our main donations we feel are making a difference and we control where they go, has anyone else made decisions like this.


Posted by mom109463, 13th February 2015


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  • Yes, i donate monthly to our local PCYC. I dont mind the collectors in malls etc but i hate the pleading phone calls when we genuinely cant afford to do more than we do.

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  • So annoying, same as door to door ones and you feel guilty and then angry saying no
    Also those people tring to flog beauty stuff, solar shutters etc.,

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  • i don’t like being harrassed either and some won’t take no for an answer and then they will be rude and even bully you. then of course that makes you think that you were right in not giving them money. i like how you do contribute to charities though


    • Thankyou for your comment, it is annoying to be harassed and since we took notice of who we were donating to it is so much easier, and I think that we probably donate less because we budget for it and can direct it to where we want, we still do adhoc donations to local school fundraisers and that sort of thing but we like to contribute so some of the larger charities as well. And this is something we will continue to do for as long as we can afford to.

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  • I think that is amazing. A lot of people would not factor in charity support to their budget.


    • Thankyou for your comment, we actually started when we had a business and I used to budget for the business, then when we sold it, we were constantly paying out for donations etc, and when we thought about it we were spending a considerable amount of money and had no idea where it was going, so we decided to put a limit on it and donate to charities that were of interest to us, this has made us feel good and also when we get the heaps of phone calls I simply tell them that we have charities that we donate to and that the money has been allocated, the charities we use are ones that we feel are beneficial to our family and to the local community.

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  • I donate to causes that I believe in such as The red cross and the MS society as I have MS. I don’t mind a badge for anzac day at the local but other than that, I have no trust that the money is going where it should and I don’t appreciate being badgered by telemarketers. Its hard enough as it is to make ends meet.

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  • I feel the same as you as well. We regularly donate to “kids for cancer” and prefer to just donate to one charity but i always get hassled and they say but you can donate to more than one you know and get tax back on it.
    Far out what a cheek i never claim the tax back on my donations anyway.
    all i want to do is my shopping in peace.

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  • Yup, I only donate to those who have volunteers collecting money rather than paid workers. That way, I know 100% of my donation is going to the charity and not just someone else’s wage.

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  • I agree I don’t like to be approached to donate but donate when I want to

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  • I actually don’t mind charities at shops. It does get harder and harder for charities to raise much needed funds. I do however; object to the gyms, perfumes, skin care and other products that are pushed by sellers in walkway areas. I have been walking along and engaged in conversation and have been rudely interrupted for someone to push gym membership. They persisted with following and their sales push. They received a very firm “NO!” This has occurred with other products too!


    • I agree with your comments on shopping centre pop ups that harass you when you are trying to shop, most of us are in there for a purpose, generally with a little one in tow and do not need someone trying to sell us something we do not need, I do not mind the raffle tickets, we have one in South Australia that is put out by the credit unions and sporting and community clubs can sell them and they get 100 percent of the profits, as the costs to run the raffle is born by the credit unions, different clubs are always at the local shopping centres trying to sell their allocation, we always end up with heaps of these, but for all of the other charities, especially those that pay commission to collectors, I hate them, we donate what is for us a large amount each year and we actually feel good that we can see where it goes and direct it. and amazingly enough I think that we probably donate less because we keep track of it now with our budget so if we have extra we can donate that to causes close to our hearts.



      • The pop ups always manage to strategically place themselves where you need to go too!

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  • Yes. I won’t donate in shopping centres or on the street, or to phone callers. We donate to the Cochlear Implant Centre and RIDBC, and to SIDS and Kids. They’re our three charities. I’d prefer to make a substantial donation to them – and make a real difference – than throw away a few dollars here and there. Also, I know the money is going to them, not to a collector or agency.


    • Thankyou for your comments, we are the same, we make a considerable donation compared to our means and we know where it goes, and that makes us happy and we feel we are contributing to society. I am pleased others feel the same way.



      • BTW we always make donations to the Cora Barclay Centre in SA, they help hearing impaired children, our granddaughter was born profoundly deaf and has two cochlear implants and spent a lot of time with them for therapy etc, she is now 11 and sings, dances, plays music and you would not know she is deaf, they do wonderful work with minimal funding so a great charity to support, cochlear implants are miracles in themselves.

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  • I totally agree – I don’t like being approached to make donations etc. If I want to donate to something it will be something I am directly affected or involved in – not because someone (who is being paid) approaches me randomly in the street.

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