Donor Fatigue Is Real

 Some call it donor fatigue.

I'm sure there are other names for the phenomenon, and there undoubtedly is some psychological explanation. But for me, donor fatigue is a result of never-ending appeals for money.

I donate a lot of money each year to roughly a dozen charities. I won't donate to any charity to which I have not previously donated because I don't want my personal information sold to still more organizations that will bombard me with appeals for donations. And I don’t want or need calendars, note cards or address labels. 

Some of my donor fatigue comes from the organizations themselves. Example 1: I donated a small amount of money 25+ years ago in response to a natural disaster in Pakistan. All these years later, Mercy Corps continues to send regular appeals for money in response to some emergency or other. The same goes for the Sierra Club.

Example 2: Yellowstone Forever, a group that raises funds in support of Yellowstone National Park, earlier this year sent an appeal for donations that included not one, but two, donation forms, along with a letter asking me to send money in both April and May. 

Example 3: The Albuquerque Rescue Mission, which serves the city's large homeless population, sent me appeals for money repeatedly, despite my numerous requests to stop. I hate seeing non-profits waste donor money on repeated appeals to people who don't want to donate to their organization.

Example 4: GoFundMe campaigns that show up too often in my Facebook newsfeed. Some are legitimate, but some are ridiculous. For example, the high school student seeking donations for a mission trip to Central America so she could proselytize her religion to the residents.

Yes, donor fatigue is real. Every time I sign a petition I am asked to ‘chip in’ to cover the cost of the online petition. The same goes for online donations to charities. Not only am I asked to make a donation, but I also am asked to make an additional donation to cover costs. Please, let me pay you to take my money.

And now, with rampant inflation resulting in fewer donations to non-profits, the demand — and need — for donations is greater than ever. I understand that, but how many people are financially able to respond to each request with another donation? And like everyone else, I, too, am impacted by the high cost of groceries and other commodities and services. 

I also am well aware of the fundraising trick that involves listing the first amount on the reply form so it's larger than the previous donation. So if I donated $50, the amounts on the subsequent form will start at $100. After I donated $500 to the local Meals on Wheels chapter, the next appeal wanted me to donated $1500 'or more.'

What all of this amounts to is frustration and annoyance. I still donate to my favorite charities, of course, and maybe the constant requests for still more donations is a successful way of raising funds. But in the case of Mercy Corps and the Sierra Club, I don't even open the envelopes. They go directly into the recycling bin.

It may be the season of giving, but for the majority of us, there is a limit to how much we can give. So please don't take us for granted, and stop bombarding us with requests for still more money.