Seeking donations is part of running a profitable NFP. Harrassment to obtain those donations, is not.

What defines harrassment?

Calling the same person week in week out despite being told they do not want to donate. Trying to “guilt” the person into donating through dubious phone calls. Having a total disregard to what is being said and overriding the person’s wishes.

Despite having a Do Not Call register in Australia, calls still exist and in particular, are made with alarming regularity to older Australians and retirees. This sector is a target for many reasons including being home a lot of the time so the phone is being answered at a much more frequent rate than most and this gives the caller the ability to talk their way into a donation. The elderly who are often lonely or disadvantaged themselves, can feel overwhelmed by the tactics used by the caller and will donate regardless of whether they can really afford or want to do so. It is reported that many are now not answering their home phone and screening all calls to avoid the confrontations with charity callers. This in itself is a form of bullying when a person has to change their habits to avoid being harassed by another.

The issue is further heightened by the fact that a lot of major charities now outsource their donation calls to for profit call centres.  These centres are paid a percentage of all donations as their fee to handling the donation calls.  Sadly, this leaves the playing field wide open to operators who lack empathy or consideration for the other person and their situation and can cause great distress to those that are not in a position to donate or able to refuse the caller.

If we want to continue the ethical success of our charities, we need to look at ways to be innovative when seeking donations without being ruthless and overbearing so that people feel genuinely compelled to donate instead of donating from a place of fear or overwhelm.

What is your experience with charity calls? Have you felt like you were being “strong armed” into donating?