Board 8 > Minimum donations are the most idiotic thing ever.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Where is the pun.

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I understand if there's a service somebody is using that requires a minimum donation to go through tier service, but the majority of donation methods aren't used that way. I think it's so ridiculously stupid when I get an email about a cause that's clearly not spam, I read up on it, feel like donating, and then they put a minimum on it.

Or causes I already know about, things I truly believe in. Even if I plan on exceeding the minimum, I just won't donate. I also hate it when they suggest "at least $25" or something like that. The phrase "at least" makes it seem like anything less is not appreciated at all, even if they allow it via the donation thing.

Anybody else hate it on principle?

edit: no pun

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Digi
Put some ham and pineapple on some bread earlier .. because that's Hawaii roll.

if it's something like $25, yeah it's stupid

but if it's something like $1 to make sure they're not losing money through middle-men, then it's not idiotic

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To an extent. I mean donating a penny is kind of.... eh.

But yeah, if it's for a good cause they really should just accept any money they get. They're just making the people with not much to spare feel bad for no reason.

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From: GTM | #003
if it's something like $25, yeah it's stupid

but if it's something like $1 to make sure they're not losing money through middle-men, then it's not idiotic

I (mostly) mean anything above $1. I got an email that said "at least $3" and it was through a service that didn't take a cut. I emailed them back and told them to jog on and marked it as spam.

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Digi
I plan on being more spontaneous in the future.

I feel like I read a chapter on this in freakonomics ever so long ago

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Beggars can't be choosers.

That'd be like if some hobo on the street asked you for money, but only if you could give him 5 bucks at least.

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The only thing more stupid than this is not donating when you were planning on exceeding the minimum anyway.

Don't hurt the cause because you disagree with the methods behind collection.

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Call me numbers.

You can't equate most charities with hobos though, that's ridiculous.

These places have got employees and records and protocol to follow. It's not that strange. Most of the time these places with minimum donations give something back to their donors, so it makes sense.

Most of the people who donate to these places aren't going to donate less than $25 anyway.

From: dragon22391 | #008
The only thing more stupid than this is not donating when you were planning on exceeding the minimum anyway.

Don't hurt the cause because you disagree with the methods behind collection.

It's a matter of principle. And I stand by it.

From: colliding | #009
You can't equate most charities with hobos though, that's ridiculous.

These places have got employees and records and protocol to follow. It's not that strange. Most of the time these places with minimum donations give something back to their donors, so it makes sense.

Most of the people who donate to these places aren't going to donate less than $25 anyway.

The protocols are idiotic and predicated on making the person who is donating feel bad because they can't donate more. I don't want to donate to make myself feel better, but I also don't want to feel like they're turning their noses up at using my $5. I'm not looking for things to be given back, I'm looking to GIVE money away. They shouldn't tell me how much. Again, if their method of receiving donations takes a cut, then that's fine - they should have made a better choice, really.

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Digi
It must be very hard to prove Viagra works.

Conceptually, if you're doing a "pay whatever" pricing scheme, you really don't want to attach a minimum to it.

The number of people willing to experience your product for a certain price grows exponentially as the price approaches 0. Even if the limit is $1, you're cutting off the huge market of potential customers that would pay anywhere from 0 to 99 cents. And in a "pay whatever" system, the goal is to get as many customers as possible so that the word of mouth spreads as far as possible, making it more likely to attract potential customers that will pay far above the average price, and you will end up with a net increase in revenue.

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_foolmo_
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Isn't it because it just ends up making the department have even more work? It probably doesn't apply to all cases, but when Wikipedia had their donation (I think they had a '50% goes to charity' thing) it had a $5 minimum and you could also choose which non-profit organization you wanted the money to go it, but they asked you that you not do this, since it just makes them have even more paperwork.

http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate/Questions/en#Why_is_there_a_minimum_donation.3F

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I wonder what they are doing where the fee is signficant like that?

I work for a school district and I have never had a problem with getting loose change "donations" from people who just don't want change. Costs us nothing and takes like 1 minute to process.

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(Maniac64 at work)
Guns don't kill people, Kinder eggs do. I saw it in a post on GameFAQs. ~FAHtastic

I have many, MANY problems with Wikipedia's donation system, from their banners to their methods. That whole nonprofit thing is there because they're volunteering to help. They're suggesting you donating to that is making them do more work, which implies they don't want to help as much as they lead on. It's not that simple, sure, but like I said, there's a ton about Wikipedia's donation that I dislike immensely and, really, it doesn't even start with the minimum of $5.

And that's also away from the topic at hand, really. I'm talking straight-up donating to a cause. One that emailed me a couple days ago was some democratic party looking to raise a million bucks to fight some other republican party. I don't particularly care and wasn't going to donate either way, but the point there was that they wanted a pool of a million and still suggested $5 and had a minimum of $3. That's money that's going right in and staying there until they use it. How they choose to direct the money is not my concern. Set up something free and have it go right into an account. It's not difficult and not counter-intuitive.

Blah. This post probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

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Digi
Woke up this morning to a tap on my door... my plumber has an odd sense of humor.

I agree completely.

When I see someone asking for donations I'm like sure, I can spare a buck. And then it's says, "Error: $5 Minimum" and I'm just in shock. Add it to my purchase or something. I don't think I've ever donated online because of this.

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Just imagine if you went to donate to the red cross in person and they had those little donation boxes, but it had a scanner like a soda machine and only accepted five dollar bills. It's the same thing.

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Digi
I've grown to hate low ceilings.

Gah... Only clicked on this because I thought it was a pun topic.

But yeah minimum donations are r******d.

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It's a matter of principle. And I stand by it.

How self-centered are you that this is a more important principle that whatever it is you're donating money for?

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LOLContests posted...
It's a matter of principle. And I stand by it.

How self-centered are you that this is a more important principle that whatever it is you're donating money for?

He could just be switching to a different charity instead.

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(Maniac64 at work)
Guns don't kill people, Kinder eggs do. I saw it in a post on GameFAQs. ~FAHtastic

From: LOLContests | #018
It's a matter of principle. And I stand by it.

How self-centered are you that this is a more important principle that whatever it is you're donating money for?

How is it self-centered? People donate to things they care about in hopes that their money helps. I don't believe the people who would manage a company this way have my money's best interest at heart and won't put it where it goes to. There's nothing self-centered about it. I'd rather donate my money to causes I know will use it how they need to, and won't be so malicious in their intent to try and make people feel bad for lesser amounts. You can call me self centered all you want, but principles DO matter. That's what donating is all about, really - giving money to something you believe in.

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Digi
I’ve spent my entire life researching the multiples of zero and it has amounted to nothing.