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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI am suffering from an email overload...
This is something I have been wanting for months to post here. I have been resisting that impulse, for reasons that I will explain later.
I get dozens of emails every day from various Democratic and left-leaning candidates and causes. They all are asking for money. They all are promoting causes and candidates I favor. I wish those candidates and causes well and hope they succeed.
However, there is no way I can give money to more than a small fraction of them. As I said, I get literally dozens of them in my inbox every day. They ask for $3, $19.67, $10, some of them even ask for just $1. (How do you give $1? Doesn't it cost more than that just to use the credit card?) If I gave that minimum $1 to each and every one of them, that would be $36 every day that I give away, guesstimating that I get three dozen of these pleas per day (I haven't actually counted them).
Giving away $36 per day is WAY more than I can afford. That's more than a thousand dollars a month, $13,000 in a year. I am just a retired fellow, living on a monthly pension and social security, struggling to get out of credit card debt now that I finally have just managed to finish paying off my house and car.
I always feel really guilty when I just go past these pleas for money, especially because I hope these candidates and causes succeed. Some of them I REALLY, FERVENTLY want to succeed. I can't think of anything I would love more than to get that arrogant con man out of the White House, for example, and to get the turtle out of the Senate. I actually did give $5 to Amy McGrath's campaign the other day. But, usually, almost always, I have to just go past the part of the email where they ask for money. And I always feel really guilty about it. Especially when they're only asking for $1 or $3.
So why am I posting this? I'm just trying to get it "out there" so that there will be somebody who understands why I'm not giving them money.
And why have I resisted the urge to post this for months? It's because I don't want to seem to be complaining about these people who are sending me this avalanche of emails, and I don't want to discourage them from doing so. Out of every emailing there will be a certain percentage of positive responses, and they will get donations in support of their causes, and because I support those candidates and causes, I want those donations to keep coming, even if I am usually unable to contribute to them.
Now there, I've finally gotten this off my chest. Thank you to those of you who have taken the time to read it.
-- Ron
Karadeniz
(22,587 posts)Law enforcement or whatever, I tell them I don't donate to anything over the phone...and hang up fast!
Raine
(30,541 posts)environmental and animal welfare groups all asking for donations. The animal ones are the closest to my heart and often bring me to tears but I just can't donate. I couldn't give much during the best of times and I sure can't give now. I've having to delete them one after the other without opening most. I really don't want to unsubscribe so I let them keep coming.
progree
(10,924 posts)on my own a few worthy organizations and candidates to donate to each year. Got it all spreadsheeted so I know what I've given to what/who every year for the last 15 years.
ooky
(8,930 posts)I can't keep up with deleting them any more. It's become a daily chore.
ibegurpard
(16,685 posts)And know that it's appreciated and will have to be enough.
sinkingfeeling
(51,482 posts)It's so bad that I no longer even read most of them. About half are political and the others are from wildlife and climate folks.