As a charity watchdog, CharityWatch receives a lot of complaints from donors about the practices of nonprofit organizations. One sentiment we hear often is this: “I am fed up with receiving a ridiculously large number of charity solicitations in the mail.”
Many of us have been to concerts or ball games where a chain reaction is set off by people who block the view of others by standing and causing the people behind them to stand until there are thousands of people who are unnecessarily standing. Charities that over-solicit can be like such event attendees–they are compelled to act in a way that unnecessarily inconveniences others. Because other charities are sending out large volumes of solicitations, a charity may believe that in order to effectively compete for donations they must do the same or else risk losing out on donations.
Sometimes an outspoken individual at an event will tell the people standing in front of them to sit down and this will set off a reverse chain reaction that will enable everyone to enjoy the event from the comfort of their chair. Something similar can happen in the charitable giving arena if donors become more outspoken to charities that over-solicit them, and act in other ways that motivate charities to increase efficiency by decreasing their solicitation volumes.
The number one reason why Americans give is because they are asked. Therefore, charities do a lot of asking. If donors stop contributing to organizations that send them paper solicitations too often, charities will have strong economic motivation to reduce their volume of solicitations.