on Oct 31st, 2006
I hate fundraising.
A few days back I was sitting on my couch quietly, just barely getting my eight month old to calm down, when the door bell rang. I answered it to find a three foot tall being muttering something about buying chocolate for $2 “for school.” Now, don’t get me wrong -I loves me my chocolate, but I don’t really feel like supporting “fundraising efforts” that generate more revenue for the fundraising company than the school. I politely turned the small creature down and closed the door.
Time travel to a day later. The doorbell rings and I am confronted with the same three foot bipedal organism. She asks again, quite cherubically, if I’d buy chocolate. I’m thinking perhaps she doesn’t remember hitting this side of the complex already. “How determined!” I think to myself. Again, I politely turn her down and close the door.
Fast forward one additional day. I arrive home from work to find some cheap looking chocolate sitting on the counter. When I inquire of my wife about the “Finest Quality” brand on the chocolate, she tells me she purchased it from a little girl that was, you guessed it, fundraising. We compare notes; it’s the same girl.
Who is coaching these so-called “children” in the ways of door-to-door salesmanship? I wish my wife had read this.
So when that same girl came back around for Halloween, did you offer to sell the cookies back to her?
That wily sneak probably wore a mask. Drats!
So am I a bad person for sympathizing with a child that wants to win some prize for selling the most chocolate? I remember doing the same thing myself - me not my mother or father. I wasn’t one of those kids whose parents sells it for them. Okay, so the chocolate wasn’t that great but testMonkey didn’t seem to mind. I hope that child got something for all her hard work!
YOU hate fund-raising!? Please! Talk to me when you’ve been a professional fund-raiser for a few years. You want bitter with your side of chocolate?!
Those chocolates and Girl Scout cookie peddlars are the tips of the iceberg. We get hit up with the wrapping paper/candles/housewear detris. And what can you say PBS pledge drives? Concerts for Katrina/Tsunami/SEpt. 11th? What about those solicitations that come with your very own pre-addressed labels? AND all the Holiday/year-end appeals that will be shortly hitting your mailbox? Don’t get me started, and I have to create and mail the damn things.
Anyone know of a library position that will start in the $40Ks, that will take a burnt-out fund-raiser?
ooohhh… I love those free labels. Wait -I’m supposed to donate when I get those? Tricksy little professional fund-raiser-etses.