In the words of Smashie and Nicey many of us like to do our bit for "chairidee"!
Did you know that we donated £8.9 billion to charities between 2005 and 2006? Clearly we are a generous bunch here in the UK!
28 million of us here in the UK like to give money to charity and there are many ways to do it; a cash donation, a regular payment by direct debit or even setting up a fundraising page on www.justgiving.com for a specific project.
Perhaps you even signed a charity donation form after you were stopped/accosted* in the street by a "chugger"? (* you decide how you would describe it!)
Yes the "chugger"; the term means "charity mugger" and refers to one of those people who stands in the street with a big brightly-coloured bib and quite possibly a clipboard soliciting donations to the Feline Liberation Army or some other worthy cause!
Chuggers are just another one of the myriad ways of collecting money for charity although they seem to be the most controversial and annoying!
They came to Britain from Austria in 1997 and Greenpeace was one of the first charities to employ chuggers, and they are now a common sight in many of our towns and cities (much like pigeons are...)
But are chuggers really such a pain in the proverbial? Let be honest, they are only trying to raise money for charity (which is always a good thing!).
But it seems that face-to-face fundraisers, (as they describe themselves) get our goat for two very good reasons:
First, that they do that most un-British of things: step right up into our body space without invitation, often when we're busy. The fact that they are all quite young, bright and breezy and look like they have just come back from a years trekking in Peru makes them especially irritating.
Put simply, lots of us don't want to be stopped in the street by a complete stranger, whether or not they work for a charity.
It normally takes quite a lot of self control for most of us not to administer a rugby hand off or beat them with our umbrella/bag/copy of Metro...
Secondly street teams are usually employed by professional fundraising companies. The charity pays a flat fee to the firm (typically about £70) for each supporter they sign up. Some people therefore worry that their donation goes to the fundraising company and not the charity.
But to be fair and to put things in context, the concerns are understandable, but not entirely justified!
Yes, it's true the charity you sign up for might not get much in the first year, or even the second, because your donation will be swallowed by your recruitment costs.
But over time the benefits of the chuggers come through for the charity, so rest easy as it means the pandas/whales/ruffed lemurs will be well taken care of!
For those of us in the urban jungle that are forced to beat our way through the chuggers lying in the deep grass on the way to work every morning, we need to take the art of chugger dodging seriously!
We should always prepare ourselves before entering the theatre of war. And here is how we do it:
- Maintain a brisk and purposeful walking pace
- Equip yourself with emergency diversionary tools; i.e. a mobile phone, newspaper, a tiger on a lead...
- Do not under any circumstances make eye contact with the enemy (not even if the chugger is very pleasing to the eye)
- In the last resort, try an escape route; a passing bus, your bicycle, dodging into Laura Ashley...
But are chuggers really that bad? Why not share your thoughts in the comments?Alternatively, why not dodge the chuggers on the 'Chugger Chase' online game?!
Charity Facts, an organization that collects information on charities, reckons that face-to-face fundraising like that done by chuggers brings in about £5 for every £1 spent. Gifts are also usually made under the Government's Gift Aid scheme, so the Treasury tops-up donations with an extra 28p for every £1 (so they are doing something useful for a change!)
But because of the controversy of chuggers, many charities are pulling away from using chuggers and there is also a more pragmatic reason: between 10% and 40% of people cancel their direct debit or standing order within the first year.
We might have qualms about some of the more aggressive forms of fundraising like chuggers but they tend to be more profitable than mailshots or raffles. They also tend to be cheaper than TV or newspaper advertising and less labour intensive than big events.
Online fundraising is relatively new, but is growing popular with many of you as the bigger charities can take a secure donation from a credit or debit card online, while smaller organisations can employ an agency to collect the funds, such as Justgiving or Givenow.
So, we may find it hard to walk down the street without being besieged by fluorescent bibbed do-gooders, but its worth looking past the bad press that chuggers get and look at the charities they are raising money for!
That is the whole point after all!
'Can you spare five minutes for charity?'