It would be an interesting question for a school ethics class: does saving one person's life justify exploiting another's?
That's the conundrum facing the charity sector.
A News Ltd. investigation has uncovered shocking tactics – including emotional manipulation, deathbed visits, and free legal advice – to get old and lonely people to bequeath their estates. The recipients range from cancer charities to animal shelters.They are all worthy causes. But this kind of practice is giving charities a bad name.
In my twenty years of charity work, I have seen some terrible things.
One event organiser routinely played a game of heads-and-tails, where each guest had to put $50 into a pot in the middle of the table before answering a series of true-or-false questions. The winning table doubled the pot; the event organiser took the rest.
When I asked whether the money was going to the charity, she replied, "God no. I've got to cover my costs somehow".
Equally execrable is the pressure applied by charity marketers.
The head of a large corporation once told me he only hires marketers with a charity background because, "They're the best in the business. They can sell the intangible – goodwill".
But this corporatisation is a cancer that's killing charities.
Every day we're bombarded by letters, emails, and doorknockers, offering to send us on a no-expenses-paid guilt trip.
Street stalkers are the new soldiers in this war on your wages. They don't want a one-off donation – they want to sign you up for life via monthly deductions from your bank account.
During my recent stint on Sydney talk radio 2UE, the program director warned us off doing charity stories.
"People are suffering from compassion fatigue," he said. "They feel like there's always someone with their hand in their pockets."
Charity has become the new 'c' word. Another 'c' word – “competition” – is driving them to seek suspect sponsorship.
Source: http://thehoopla.com.au/charity-c//
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