🚀 go-pugleaf

Keith P. Keber (keethie@iguanabbs.com) wrote:
: Well, yesterday at work I got a white ceramic coffee mug with the campaign's
: logo on one side and the words "In Grateful Appreciation" on the other. Upon
: inquiring, I was pretty shocked to find out that just 4 people out of the 85
: who work with me chose to donate at all. I was told this was an improvement
: over last year, when just 2 people donated. Last year, I was the single
: largest contributor (figured by percentage of income) in our office. Sounds
: terrific-until you find out how little I donated. Gee, ain't I great...

The low participation at your office *may* be due to resentment on the
part of your co-workers that their employer is seemingly pressuring
them to give to charities.  I use "seemingly" because the pressure may
or may not be real.

When I was a student at Carnegie Mellon (in Pittsburgh, PA), *many*
staff members would complain bitterly about the annual United Way
fundraising efforts conducted by the University.  These people did not
object to giving to charities.  They objected to the way they were
being solicited.

Examples:
	They could only give to the United Way.  Many employees object
	to some of the groups that United Way sponsors.

	In lean years, the University would not give raises, but still
	spend its own money on personnel and materials to solicit
	employees for donations.

	The donations were allegedly anonymous, but each return
	envelope was labelled with the employee's Social Security
	Number.

There are lots of reasons why people choose not to donate to charities
through their employers.  Before assuming that your co-workers are
selfish or uninterested in donating to charity, find out whether they
donate outside of work.  You should also consider that some of your
co-workers may be donating time on weekends rather than money.

In the end, though, how much and where your co-workers donate to
charity is absolutely none of your business.  Don't be surprised if
they resent your inquiries into their donations.

	-Jay Laefer
	jay@gordian.com