At Christmas I try to send a donation to some worthy cause,anyway normally its Salvation army,hearing dogs but the other year I sent one to Ifaw,not a lot you understand I think it was £15 anyway since then I have been bombarded with literature,not just a letter big glossy mail shots,also address labels in my name,cards you name it,today I have received a 50p piece in a card,(a real one)
What I want to know is if they are desperate for funds why can they afford to send out all this stuff ? I want to support them but I feel that my original fifteen pounds would be a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of printing and sending out all this stuff,I cant understand it at all in fact Its getting annoying now.I co ordinate a rescue we send out newsletters nothing fancy,and a homemade card at christmas in return we receive a few donations in good faith,I hope we just put accross our case and if someone wants to donate then we are very grateful but this seem mad sending money through the post,how much must t have cost???
Sorry to ramble.

An awful lot I should imagine:( My Nanan who's nearly 90- sound mind could just be doing with a new body;) Anyway she signed up for this oxfam £2 a month- bear in mind she only receives my late Grandad's pit pension money which isn't much- after a while they started really badgering her for more money, more donations etc- she phoned them to say she was very sorry but couldn't afford anymore and explained she was on a pension etc- they made her feel terrible as she was cosy in her little ground floor flat while there were children out there starving:( They didn't even listen to her- Luckily when one of my Aunts found out she got on the phone and gave them what for and they did eventually- after threatening solicitors etc- cease to pester her anymore. It makes me wonder how they go on like this, surely they know 'age concern' is also a charity and therefore shouldn't be doing this especially at her time in life- they ought to just be grateful for the original £2 from her:(

Stacey x x x

I wondered about the two pounds a month thing,so really its just to get you in the system so they can badger you.
Im sorry for elderly people as they are very vunerable and cant put their foot down like us and say NO!!
I honestly do care about dog cruelty abroad does anyone know of a genuine one doing good work without all the Media Hype ad stuff??

Hi Mattie and Stacey..

I am trying to be careful what or how I say things on the site as to prevent conflict :-) or

misinterpretation. I am a bit of a straight to the point person but without a bad bone in my

body, LOL

Anyway as a child we took part in Salvation Army activities , nothing heavy just fun things. My mum always donated and help with funraising like collecting good used items for jumbles etc..

When I was about 12 a family moved in next door to us and they were all heavily involved with the Salvation Army and so was their family that lived at other addresses. For example the Mans brothers etc.

I think If I remember right there were 3 from the same family who were Captains or officers. ( can't remember exact name) but were the most senior in that group and location.

Well during the time they stayed there about 4 years I found out that as leaders they all had a brand new car that came from the donations/funds and with my own eyes I saw their house full of things that had been handed in for raffles etc..they even kept what they wanted form the food hampers they got.. they even offered my mum things. I remember my mum going mad after the things she had done for them.

Needless to say they never got another penny from my family or any help.

I am not saying they don't do good but they could have done a lot better with the contents of that house and the cost of the brand new cars..

BFN Kindest intentions.

Pam

I see what you mean as we all know a lot of charities offer their staff interest free mortgages etc..I suppose they speculate to accumulate Im not sue.
The salvation Army : I have personally had a lot to thank them for,My Son got into some difficulty once lets say he went off the straight and narrow
And there is only so much a family can do,anyway they were wonderful he went to stay in their hostel and they put him back on the right road,he always says that through the love of his family and the Sally army he is what he is today which is a loving parent and partner with a nice job a thing that we wouldnt ever have hoped for at one time.
Also My stepson lost contact over the years with his Granny (family thing)
anyway three years ago he made contact through them and he was re united with her,she died this year so he was lucky he had found her again.
I suppose there are good and bad in everyone and all organisations and you will always get the dishonest ones milking a good thing.
Im sorry your Mum had to see that.
I always try to let people know what we do with the money we raise in fact i'm just working out the kenneling bill right now

I am the same mattie hopefully it is but a few naughty sods..

I never pass a person selling Big issue on the street and donate to HADA ( Home a dog association) who do a wonderful job up here with unwanted and strays.

I just wished the govenment could do a bit more regardless if it is Teenager support, Dogs, OAP,

If they could help a bit more they could maybe govern a bit more also but who knows the best way.

I always wished I could do a bit more myself but I do what I can. never mind once they lottery numbers come up for me I will not only help out a bit more financially but with my time...goodbye desk :-)))

BFN

Pam

I am on the NCDL list and they bombard me with glossy brochures too. Plus I think they gave my name to IFAW and they sent me a lovely free glossy calender which hangs on my wall at work, but I've never given them a penny.

My money goes to my local dog charity (as if we didn't do enough taking Tinker :D), which runs out of a portacabin in someone's yard. They survive solely on fundraising and their only expense is a rehoming manager's salary and the phone.

If i get bombarded with useless glossy crap i make a specific point never to send money if they use it in such ways.
I think that the cats protection league and Redwings horse sanctuary are 2 of the better charities, they seem to put their money to good use.
NSPCC, IFAW, Oxfam seem to always be sending me pens and other stuff, so they never get a penny!!

Mattie
Please be aware IFAW IS NOT A CHARITY it is a private BUSINESS and they have a hell of a lot to answer for!

Who is/are the IFAW?? Companies change the acronyms all the time and if you miss one change you're completely lost.

Fiona
x x x

International Fund for Animal Welfare

I didnt know that at all I thought it was a charity,do they actually do any welfare work then?

They are not a registered charity, yes they do welfare work but they run as a business from USA and are not registered as a charity & therefore do not have to meet stringent requirements regarding their accounts & where the money goes. They are best known for their original work which was protesting against the seal culls, since then they have joined up with other "animal rights campaigners" in the murky underworld and have also given large donations to the Labour Party. I believe they are under some sort of investigation at the moment but don't quote me on that, I am not 100% sure. However I am 100% on the other information.