Left rectangle ads redesigned
Robert Ripps book
History of Tribeca Buildings
Seen & Heard: Don’t Give to Charity Muggers
••• It’s chugger season again, so please pay attention: Those cheery people asking you to support a worthy cause? Don’t do it! Most of your money goes to the company that hires them on behalf of the charities. (Do you really think the charities are hiring all those people themselves?) Giving directly to charities makes far more sense. (“Chugger” is a Britishism for “charity mugger.”)
••• The rarely open Concepts sneakerhead store on Hudson installed a “fireworks stand” yesterday. It was a New Balance promotion, and there was ice cream; no clue if it’s open again today. (UPDATE: It was one-day only.)
••• The Ghostbusters mural (?) outside Ladder 8 got a fresh coat of paint. Just in time for the firehouse’s three-year renovation! (Actually, the ghost is different. Compare it with the older photo below. Also: I need a life.)
••• There were a handful of comments/emails about Euphoria Spa recently, and owner Kristen Haines responded with this comment: “Please email Kristen@euphoriaspanyc.com with any questions or concerns regarding these issues. I have personally responded to all emails, so please reach out for accurate information. Please let me know how I can help. Thank you so much for your patience!”
••• Press release: On July 12, “Brookfield Place celebrates Bastille Day with a full day of music, games, and family fun. Le District will offer several activations and promotions celebrating French food and culture, including a Ricard bar and a roving ice cream cart. Equinox will run a Tour de France spin class on the plaza with stationary bikes. The event will incorporate many other activities for all ages including live music and parkour demonstrations and lessons. Caricaturists will also be on site for portraits along la Seine (Brookfield Place Waterfront). Stroll into Montmartre (The Winter Garden) for music by wandering musicians and various retailer activations. Once inside, guests are also invited to visit the Champs Élysées (230 Vesey Street 2nd Level Shopping) for children’s storytelling by Posman Books, French lessons by Bilingual Birdies, and a short one-act performance of Sleeping Beauty by the New York Theater Ballet. Brookfield Place’s brasserie Hudson Eats will play a selection of French films throughout the day. All events are free.” Activiation is one of those words that shouldn’t leave the conference room.
••• The Water Street Greenmarket has returned as of today.
12 Comments
Comment:
Medium rectangle #1 (top)
Right column rectangle ads
Mega rectangle
Restaurant guide icon
http://nypost.com/2011/08/28/charity-crews-are-beggars-for-hire/
” […] Chuggers, or ‘charity muggers,’ are professional fund-raisers hired by an East 28th Street company called Dialogue Direct. And while they say most or all of your money will help starving kids, in many cases, the company pockets half, The Post has learned.
“The shady practice hasn’t stopped organiz ations like Children International from using their serv ices to snag $22-a- month child spon sorships.
“Dialogue Direct chug gers, who earn perform ance bonuses, will do just about anything to get passers-by to listen to sad Third World tales.
[…]
“Dialogue Direct’s Web site says 100 percent of the donations it solicits goes to client causes.
“That’s far from the reality. The for-profit fund-raiser pulled in over $12.5 million for Children International, but pocketed more than 50 percent of that in fees, the charity’s 2010 tax disclosures show.
“The company claims it does turn over every cent to a charity first.
“’Dialogue Direct does not handle any of the funds which go to Children International, nor are we paid a percentage of the funds that Children International collects from the donors that we locate on their behalf,’ a spokeswoman said. ‘We receive a flat fee out of their marketing budget for each successful donor we are able to acquire.’”
is there any way of regulating how many “chuggers” i need to walk through every week to get to whole foods? if it’s not children’s international it’s greenpeace, if it’s not greenpeace it’s amnesty international etc by the end of the week, my “no thank you” sounds more like “NO THANK YOU!” and i haaate it when they ask me “are you a nice person?” !!!
The chuggers you walk through all work for Dialogue Direct on behalf of their marketing clients Children’s International, Greenpeace and Amnesty international.
Haha you need to master the art of “cutting a wide berth to the guy/gal with the clipboard” on approaching WF entrance…yet not so wide that you end up out in traffic. :)
I feel bad for the kids who work for them. They’re often fresh out of school and in need of a job, with little understanding of the money flow. I din’t know if this company pays them only if they meet their daily quotas, as some do.
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/you-cant-escape-the-canvassers-pitch-6393547
VILLAGE VOICE
YOU CAN’T ESCAPE THE CANVASSER’S PITCH
BY ELIZABETH DWOSKIN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2008
” […] Despite the fact that his breathless spiel is all monologue, Garth’s job title is ‘dialoguer.’ It’s a term coined by an Austrian company known as the Dialogue Group, which helped to develop this brand of street confrontation and brought it to U.S. cities a few years ago with a subsidiary called Dialogue Direct.
[…]
“[Stefan] Siveski is only 19, but within a few weeks of starting the job in late June, he was promoted to team leader. He’s one of the most successful in an office that includes about 60 canvassers (the number varies from week to week because so many people quit or get fired).
“Although the Dialogue Direct website promises that its approach ensures ‘the fun stays within fundraising,’ about 40 percent of new canvassers quit in the first week, according to Dialogue Direct vice president Dan Mandell. Those who do stick with it, however, seem to enjoy themselves.
[…]
“Canvassers are paid a base rate of $10 an hour, as well as bonuses when they get more than two sign-ups: $50 for the day’s third sign-up, $70 for the fourth, and $180 for the fifth.
“‘Ultimately, they don’t stop for the charity,’ says Sarina Martin, who is a top signer in the group. ‘They stop for you.’
“Dialogue Direct and other charities admit that not everyone is cut out for this line of work. It involves long hours, the personality to approach random people, and dealing with rejection and even cruelty. Canvassers get frustrated. Garth, the self-proclaimed asshole, was fired for his attitude just a few weeks after he was first encountered on the street by the Voice.
“‘I guess I’m not a team player,’ he says.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703957604575272551499243576
The Wall Street Journal
Earnest Fund Raisers or Hired Guns?
By ANNE KADET
Updated May 29, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET
‘ […] What these fund raisers and their nonprofit clients don’t like to chat about is the financials—the outfits initially declined to divulge any details, but they all have their 2010 national contracts on file with Washington State. The fine print yielded some interesting findings, which they later confirmed. Children International, for instance, pays fund raiser DialogueDirect a $245 fee for each new $22-a-month sponsor. The ACLU and Amnesty International USA, meanwhile, pay fund raiser Grassroots Campaigns $175 to $180 for each half-day canvassing shift that will produce, on average, less than $150 in donations.
“There’s no law requiring commercial fund raisers to share a percentage of the take with their clients, and the New York attorney general’s office says it hasn’t taken any action against the street canvassers. But Washington State, which issues an annual commercial fund raisers report, ranked DialogueDirect at the bottom of the state’s 109 registered fund raisers after it returned -23% of the year’s take to Children International. Grassroots Campaigns, meanwhile, ranked fourth from the bottom, returning zilch.
[…]
“But Grassroots Campaigns says that within the first year, the average donor’s sponsorship lapses after seven months. If you’re anything like that typical giver, your contribution doesn’t do much more than cover the nonprofit’s fund-raising expenses.”
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-04/news/ct-met-sidewalk-canvassing–20130904_1_nonprofits-sandra-miniutti-charity-navigator/2
The Chicago Tribune
For some firms, nonprofits mean big profits
Fundraising companies charge charities hefty price for street canvassing
September 04, 2013
By Naomi Nix, Chicago Tribune reporter
” […] From October 2011 to September 2012, the most recent year for which contract records were available, DialogueDirect charged Children International $270 for every sponsor it recruited who agreed to donate a minimum of $25 a month, records show. At that rate, a donor making the minimum payment would have to donate for nearly 11 months for Children International to see a return on its investment.
“The charity received $17.5 million from DialogueDirect donors between October 2011 and September 2012 and paid $7.2 million to DialogueDirect over the same period. Revenue generated from DialogueDirect includes money given by donors recruited in previous years who are still giving during the time period of the financial report, while the money paid to the company is only for that time period, according to the charity. That fundraising investment represented about 4 percent of the charity’s total expenses — about $158 million — during that time period, according to the charity’s financial records.
[…]
“Ciera Alexander, 22, started working for DialogueDirect in Chicago during the summer of 2011 at the recommendation of a friend. She earned $10 an hour plus performance bonuses, asking passers-by to sponsor needy children in other countries through Children International.
“‘I actually did believe what I was saying. I did care about the causes I was canvassing for,’ she said. ‘I think that kinda helps people jump on board with you.’
[…]
“Indeed, at least one other organization — Children International — has seen a financial benefit from prolonged commitment to its campaign. From October 2009 through September 2012, money from DialogueDirect donors increased about 40 percent, while the money paid for those donors increased by about 14 percent.”
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-04/news/ct-met-sidewalk-canvassing–20130904_1_nonprofits-sandra-miniutti-charity-navigator/2
The Chicago Tribune
For some firms, nonprofits mean big profits
Fundraising companies charge charities hefty price for street canvassing
September 04, 2013
By Naomi Nix, Chicago Tribune reporter
” […] From October 2011 to September 2012, the most recent year for which contract records were available, DialogueDirect charged Children International $270 for every sponsor it recruited who agreed to donate a minimum of $25 a month, records show. At that rate, a donor making the minimum payment would have to donate for nearly 11 months for Children International to see a return on its investment.
“The charity received $17.5 million from DialogueDirect donors between October 2011 and September 2012 and paid $7.2 million to DialogueDirect over the same period. Revenue generated from DialogueDirect includes money given by donors recruited in previous years who are still giving during the time period of the financial report, while the money paid to the company is only for that time period, according to the charity. That fundraising investment represented about 4 percent of the charity’s total expenses — about $158 million — during that time period, according to the charity’s financial records.
[…]
“Ciera Alexander, 22, started working for DialogueDirect in Chicago during the summer of 2011 at the recommendation of a friend. She earned $10 an hour plus performance bonuses, asking passers-by to sponsor needy children in other countries through Children International.
“‘I actually did believe what I was saying. I did care about the causes I was canvassing for,’ she said. ‘I think that kinda helps people jump on board with you.’
[…]
“Indeed, at least one other organization — Children International — has seen a financial benefit from prolonged commitment to its campaign. From October 2009 through September 2012, money from DialogueDirect donors increased about 40 percent, while the money paid for those donors increased by about 14 percent.”
I used to work for the organization, DialogueDirect, for many years.
I’m amazed at how little people actually know about that work. We get it, it’s annoying, but it works. And it gets people to give to a legitimately good cause.
And no, DialogueDirect doesn’t employ every canvasser for every charity, James (whoeverthefuck you are). And yes, the money does go directly to the charity, and yes, when this kind of work is outsourced, it is paid for out of the charity’s own marketing budget. Look at the filings for either the charity or the company and you’ll see that.
Just saying stupid ignorant shit on the internet because something annoys you doesn’t make it true, and it hurts the ability of an organization who does something that actually helps people be generous and helps a good cause to do their work effectively.
The problem isn’t canvassers, it’s the fact that people would rather wait in line for 20 minutes to overpay for their coffee than to spend two minutes listening to someone who maybe wants to help them give hope to someone who really needs it. And, yes, you can’t help everyone, we know. And there are absolutely bad apples out there, just like in any line of work. But it’s absolutely legitimate from a business perspective and a moral one, and, as a professional fundraiser working within an non-profit now, I will always respect people that will stand up for something (even if it’s just because they’re paid to) and try to get the attention of an inattentive and sometimes insensitive public.
Just a thought.
Not everyone wants to feed the world. Some people just want to get themselves a cup of coffee. That’s okay too.
The multiple uses of profanity here are not the most respectful way to engage people in conversation, whether on the street or online.
You probably know it is Dialogue Direct who put on their site: “When you hear the words ‘street fundraiser,’ you should only think of DialogueDirect.”(http://www.dialoguejobs.com/what-we-do/)
Annoying people on the street on behalf of charities is what has led to the groundswell of opposition and negative press, in my opinion.
How about the Euphoria Spa just taking people’s money in the form of gift certificates & selling people packages when Kristen Haines knew she was going out of business?! Huh, how about it? Huh, how about it, Kristen? Do you tell your children that their mother’s pants are on fire and she is a con-artist?! What does the NY Attorney General do? What does Kristen do? Make TriBeCa Great Again?! Major classic Trump-onian A–holes! What about it, Kirsten?!!!!!