Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Friend of a Friend worked for $9 something an hour and was pressured to donate.
He gave them the "Really?" look and did not. Pressure was subtle but constant. 6 months later he found 10 bucks and no pressure on anything but "do your job."
I would do a nominal amount just to get them off your back - BTDT in terms of more than one employer who pressured everyone and I mean EVERYONE to contribute. They did BS things like have a pot luck lunch that they charged $5 for, and had everyone fill out a donation sheet to count that $5, to up the participating numbers. That's not to say I'm fine with those tactics, but giving $5 or $10 to make it all stop was the path of least resistance and sometimes it's worth it to take that path.
Now I work for a not for profit and they don't even pressure us to donate here at all - most people kind of see the reduced salaries we get as a form of donating, I guess! lol!
Our corporation would give presentations hosted by all of upper management showing videos as to why it's important to donate, and emphasized emphatically to use our hearts and give as much as we could.
When it was all said and done, not one of the upper mgmt staff gave anything. How would I know that? Because my task was to input all of the donations into our payroll data base.
What is an acceptable amount to give to United Way from a paycheck on a clerical worker's salary?
My late father gave away 10% of his earnings post-retirement to charity. His earnings were from a pension that was okay (back in the day when these were common), Social Security, and dividends from investments. He also took the odd cash job that may have went (ahem!) a bit under the table, as far as Social Security was concerned.
(My dad was a good man, with a hint of Devil on his shoulder too. Like most people, perhaps? He coached me pretty well on the decisions a man must make, the moral dilemmas, and usually suggested "Don't get greedy, son!" I know he didn't. Can't say as I do, either.)
He gave to the church (Catholic diocese), his alma maters (two colleges, one high school), and various other organizations. I backed out his books for about five years, when he passed away, and figured out how he ran his finances in good detail in case the IRS came after any of his returns. Sure enough, they did on one, which I corrected.
Don't the major religions that require tithing specify about 10%, such as LDS? Maybe someone from LDS and others that require it can comment.
I worked for an organization that received UW funding. We had several grants that provided services to at risk children and matching them to mentors so to say that they don't provide services is wrong. But anyway, every year we were given a packet of non-profits in the area that were UW orgs. We had specific rewards for the percentage of people who donated with 100% participation being able to wear jeans for the rest of the fourth quarter. We always gave at 100% to be able to wear jeans. I think I donated like $20 one time.
Years ago in my place of employment at the time I was asked to donate something, anything really - even one time only- to UW to ensure 100% participation.
I researched the salaries of their executives + perks and administrative costs and refused to donate to them.
My company literally begged me to give only 1 to two dollars to ensure 100% participation. Call me what you want, I refused.
I find it obscene to collect money from some low wage workers- we had a lot of those employees- and have UW executive salaries on that scale. I think this is UW business model - approach big corporations with multiple workforce and get them to donate money to this unworthy charity in my opinion.
I find it interesting that UW addresses these campaigns on their website, under the heading "I feel pressured to contribute at my workplace"; https://www.unitedway.org/contact-us/faqs.
There has to be something I'm missing, bragging rights doesn't seem the answer as to why companies continue to do this. Really, who are they going to brag to?
I'm pretty sure the nonprofit I work for receives UW grants. But they also get 8 hours of volunteer time from me every week, on top of the 40 hours I'm paid for. It's not the first time we've been asked to contribute to a fund raiser, and it's not the first time I've declined.
For many years I gave $4.00 a week. At some point I bumped it up to $7.50 a week. I always gave substantially to other charities so I never let the company put the squeeze on me for the UW.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.