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A canvasser for Dialogue Direct working downtown Portland.PHOTO BY MARTIN GEE
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Canvassers hustling for charitable donations in Portland say they had a tougher sell this summer, but you won’t see it in the numbers. Nonprofits say they recruited as many donors as usual from street fund-raising campaigns this year, which means the not-exactly-popular “chuggers” — short for “charity muggers” — will likely be back in full force next year.
There are three main canvassing organizations working in Oregon: the civic not-for-profit Fund for the Public Interest and its associated nonprofits such as OSPIRG and Environment Oregon, and the for-profit Dialogue Direct and Grassroots Campaigns (GCI) (none would say how many Portland employees they have). The three organizations canvassed in Portland for seven clients altogether in the past year, including the League of Conservation Voters, the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International.
Third-party canvassing campaigns are often criticized by activists and prospective donors because they’re costly and don’t pay off immediately. Critics say too much of the contribution pays canvassers instead of funding the cause, which is hard to swallow when the canvassers are mercenary solicitors. The ACLU, for example, pays GCI $180 for every 4.5-hour canvasser shift, in which canvassers raise between $130 and $150 on average. The contract GCI is required to file with the Oregon Department of Justice says GCI estimates it will receive 100%, and the ACLU zero percent, of gross revenue raised.
Steve Abrahamson, an associate director at the ACLU, says a canvassing campaign is a safe long-term investment that yields a steady monthly income. “It may not be valuable in the first year but the value over even 24 months is seven times what it initially cost us to bring somebody on,” he says.
But incentives are strong to sign up donors by whatever means possible, and paid canvassers sometimes obscure the fact that they are hired hands. Canvassers must meet quotas or lose their jobs, and are often paid a bonus or commission when they exceed quotas. Washington’s attorney general filed a complaint in July against the for-profit canvasser Dialogue Direct for canvassing without registering with the state and giving donors the impression that paid canvassers were actually volunteers or employees of a registered charity working to benefit children.
But Oregon’s Department of Justice has gotten just a handful of citizen complaints about canvassers in Portland in the last two years, and has not found violations other than a few late registrations.
Probably the most serious charge against canvassers is that they’re annoying. The Portland canvassers are so numerous and persistent that this spring the Pearl District Philanthropic Society printed a business card-sized response to solicitors that starts with, “I know you’re just doing your job,” and concludes, “I’m not going to talk to you.”
Comments
Canvassing organizations operate the way they do because it works, and charities that hire them choose to because it is the most cost effective way to raise funds, many non-profits have used canvassing as their main source of funding for years/decades, it's what enables them to do the good work that they do.
All non-profits/cha rities have a fundraising/dev elopment budget, it's an investment which enables them to aquire the rest of their funds. For example, if a charity may spend 20% of it's total funds raised on fundraising (this includes paying canvassers) but it is only because of this 20% that they are able to raise the other 80%. Fundraising, whether it's through advertising, canvassing, or other means costs money - "you have to spend money to make money".
@Mary 1) Comparing CI to the Salvation Army is to compare apples to moralizations. Also, monthly giving programs are an extremely cost effective way for charities to establish a consistent cashflow, that's why it's a major part of the fundrasing for Greenpeace, the American Red Cross, MSF (Doctors Without Borders), the ASPCA, the ACLU among many others. Also, CI's fundrasing budget is about of their total budget, so almost 80% goes to the children. (The salvation army, because it is considered a church and not a charity is not required by law to disclose it's fundraising budget, but I'm sure it's far from 0%... all fundraising costs money, whether is billboards or canvassers or TV spots.)
@Robert Muller - It's not that they don't know how to respond, it's just that they don't need to waste their time on someone who is obviously not going to listen to them or get involved. When I was canvassing I heard more than one person tell me that line (maybe it was you?) I was just too busy trying to DO MY JOB and to respond to your cleverness, perhaps you should put all that wit do good use, a comedy show fundraising event? Also... canvassers, like pop-up ads, may be annoying, but they persist because they are effective, but unlike (most) op-up ads, canvassers are trying to get you to involved with a good cause, maybe help someone less fortunate, you should take 10 minutes and find out why they're annoying you so much.
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