Only 63 Cents a Day

Is emotional manipulation crushing the act of giving?

Charitable giving is a noble thing. It can be a good deed, a tax write-off, good karma, a distribution of wealth on an everyday level…generally, a positive.

And for the record, I love to give. I would give much more than I do if I had it. Sometimes, I’ve given more any accountant would advise. I want to help everyone get through hard times, do good for people and animals, have a good meal and find shelter, be better and do better, and generally make the world a better place.

But as with all good things, there can be excess. There are those who prey on generosity, those who take it to a level that turns people’s penchant for kindness into a guilt-ridden expectation. I’m not saying that pertains to any particular organization or situation in this personal rant. But put it all together, and the current giving structure is going to collapse under its own weight.

TV Ads

I watch too much television. In particular, I watch too much news. Even when I’m not watching it, my television is turned on to CNN, MS Now, or BBC. I like to stay informed.

Watching live television means I see and hear commercials. Many of them sell products, like medications, self-care tools, betting sites, home improvement services, cars, and vacations. Some play regularly, which can get annoying, and apart from the occasional awful jingle that makes me want to rip my ears off my head, most ads can be ignored. Sure, good marketing preys upon a person’s insecurities and desires, but ads generally don’t go deeper than that.

Enter charities.

Large charitable organizations appear to have unlimited television advertising budgets, and they have no shame in using all of it to break your heart into a million pieces until you open your wallet or scan the code on your screen.

Don’t get me wrong; these charities are ones that appear to do good in the world. They solve problems and fill gaps that society leaves wide open. The organizations that raise funds do use some of that money for wholesome purposes, like caring for animals and children – noble causes for certain.

However, the means by which these organizations appeal to viewers for donations are getting out of hand.

The ASPCA and actor Eric McCormack show pictures of hungry, skinny, possibly-dying dogs and plead for $19 per month (only 63 cents a day!). They – still – need 3,000 new donors to pledge this amount or dogs will die. And you’ll get a plush dog as a reminder that you care.

Shriner’s Hospital for Children saves kids like Kaleb, who has broken his bones almost 200 times. He can only learn to walk because of generous viewers. Kids with missing limbs can do everyday activities – because of people like you – who donate just $19 per month (only 63 cents a day!). He knows you have your phone right there, and when you donate, you’ll get an adorable “love to the rescue” blanket.

St. Jude Children’s Hospital helps children with cancer and their families, none of whom ever receive a bill. Commercials show sad/cute moments with children struggling through chemo, hair loss, and mobility struggles to show that patients and their families are cared for. You, too, can help save a child from cancer for just $19 per month (only 63 cents a day!), and for doing so, you’ll get a t-shirt to proudly wear and show your support.

Save the Children helps children around the world suffering because of poverty, displacement, and a myriad of other disasters. This one asks for just $10 per month (only $.33 a day!) to rescue children.

Covenant House rescues homeless children and teens on the streets of America, giving them a place to stay and a way forward. For just $19 per month (only $.63 a day!), you can save kids from the dangers of street life.

The ACLU fights for the rights of Americans in the courts, defending the rights of women, transgender citizens, women, minorities, and immigrants. It fights for diversity, against banned books, for reproductive freedoms, against police brutality, for the Constitution, and against government overreach. A donation of $19 per month (only $.63 a day!) helps do this.

Planned Parenthood fights for women’s bodily autonomy and the rights of women to obtain healthcare, including abortion, as they see fit, not to mention the rights of doctors to provide said healthcare. Don’t you want to stop health care centers from closing? And don’t you want a “Care. No matter what.” t-shirt? It’s just $19 per month (only $.63 a day!).

The Southern Poverty Law Center fights hate through court cases and legal representation. Donating $19 a month (only $0.63 a day!) helps fight for justice and equality in America.

I’ll stop here. You get the gist. And let’s say that I can pick just three of those listed causes here. That’s $57 every month and $684 for the year.

But wait, there’s more.

Social Media Requests

Most people use social media in some form or fashion, whether to keep in touch with friends and family, stay on top of current events, see cute or interesting trends, or simply to laugh or be amused. Whatever the reason, social media is ever-present, and its algorithms make sure to take advantage of it all.

Charities are a part of the system as well. Follow Doctors Without Borders, and the internet determines that you care about people in fraught regions of the world. That brings in requests for donations to organizations that feed people, drill for water, provide medical assistance, help refugees, and a slew of other services. Follow anything related to dogs or cats, and every rescue organization will make an appeal for donations or sponsorships.

For example, I follow a couple of fox rescue organizations. Those alone appeal for money on a near-daily basis. They have Amazon wish lists, two-dollar Tuesdays or five-dollar Fridays, requests for special projects like building new enclosures or funding one of any number of regular fox health emergencies. There is the opportunity to sponsor a fox with a monthly donation or buy items from online gift shops to support the organizations.

Social media contacts often use their birthdays or other special occasions to do fundraisers for their favorite organizations.

And then there are the GoFundMe requests to help with everything from fundraising for a family in financial trouble to a tragedy-stricken person or family, people with medical emergencies with no or insufficient healthcare (easy to do in America with our horrible healthcare system), people who need help to bury a loved one, send a newly-orphaned child to college, support someone who lost a job, aid a person trying to transition off the streets, and the list goes on. There are social media campaigns to reward people for doing something good or kind, surprise someone who works hard and gives to others, or wants to do something good or kind.

The funding requests can be small (just $1 from every follower will help!) to monthly giving ($10 a month will feed a family for a week!) to large projects ($100 to support public radio will come with a tote bag!).

It seems to come from every direction for every type of organization, cause, and good deed. Most are very worthy. Let’s say I donate to one birthday fundraiser per month for $25, give $2 to an organization for four Tuesdays in a month, and I support one content creator friend through a $5 Patreon monthly donation. That turns into $37 per month and $444 per year.

Rounding Up

It might have started with McDonald’s asking you to drop your spare change or excess pennies into a bin to support the Ronald McDonald House. But over the years, more fast-food restaurants and coffee joints began setting out a box or cup that will hold spare change for a worthy cause.

That turned into a request at check-out to round up your purchase total for a worthy cause. “Do you want to round up to donate to the Ronald McDonald House?” Or insert the name of any establishment and change the name of a specific charity to an appeal that becomes hard to refuse. “Do you want to round up for sick children?” “Do you want to round up to send kids to college?”

The way they ask makes you look like an asshole for declining to round up. Whether I decline to round up four cents or ninety-eight cents, if I say no, I’m saying, “No, I don’t want to support sick children.”

But if I round up at one location, there’s another one around the corner at the coffee drive-through and one more at the smoothie shop. Even if I choose to round up at one location every day, say an average of $.50 a day, that totals $15 per month and equals about $180 per year.

More and More

There’s a friend whose child or grandchild or niece or nephew is selling overpriced cookies or popcorn for a school fundraiser.

There’s a kid standing in front of Marshall’s with a box of overpriced candy bars to support his basketball team.

At nearly every major stop light in major cities, there is a person asking for spare change – sometimes a person representing an organization that may or may not be real, other times an unhoused or unemployed person asking for a little help to eat or find a place to stay.

Okay, let’s say I give a couple dollars to one unhoused person per month at an intersection and buy one candy bar from a kid trying to raise money for a team or school project. That may only add up to $5 or $10 per month, but that adds up to $60 or $120 per year. For the sake of ease, let’s go with the lower number for this experiment.

To add up the hypothetical giving situations described herein, we’re giving $114 per month, which totals $1,368 per year.

For some people, that sounds like a drop in the proverbial bucket, but to those who struggle regularly, that is a significant amount.

Also, keep in mind that “cost of living” raises hardly account for actual increases in the cost of living, and those income boosts do not consider the level of giving that is raising its own bar month after month, year after year. Many people are having a harder time making ends meet because things like this are not factored in to the cost of living, though they are ever-present in today’s world.