Charity Telemarketers

I have a hard time keeping up on magazine reading, so when a company called selling magazine subscriptions, I wasn't interested, even though it was to benefit Special Olympics. After turning down the salesman several times, telling him I didn't have $80 to spend on magazines, he told me they did have a smaller Sports Illustrated package, 28 issues for $20. I gave in, thinking that although I probably wouldn't read them, it was for a good cause.

The next week, I received the invoice, along with a thank-you note from Special Olympics. In that letter, they mentioned they get 12.5% of the proceeds of the subscription price. I'll save you from having to do the math: they got a total of $2.50 of my $20. I was none too pleased about that.

My advice if you get calls such as this:

• If they're selling an item you were considering buying anyway, ask how much of the sale price the charity actually gets, then use that as basis for your decision whether to buy it from the calling company.
• Otherwise, if it's a charity you would like to support, tell the caller you'll just go to the charity's website and make a donation. Besides the charity getting the entire amount of your donation, that alternative would eliminate any questions you have as to whether the telemarketer actually represents the charity (which is a legitimate concern). Additionally, a direct donation allows you to help a good cause without adding unnecessary clutter to your life.
• Consider doing your online shopping through a charity shopping portal such as iGive.com .