I’ve taken to taking a nap, usually for 30-60 minutes, and
usually, somewhere between 2:00 and 4:00 PM.
There are a couple interesting points.
First, I am blessed to be able to set an internal clock for 30, 60, or
120 minutes and wake, almost to the minute after sleeping deeply. Second, almost every other day my sleep is
interrupted by a solicitation call. So
often, that I have taken to napping with both of my phones: landline and cell,
within easy reach.
I am sure that, like many of you, I have seen an increase in
the number of solicitation calls. I saw
a recent statistic that said the cost of such “Robo-calls” is less than 1/10th
of one cent, which explains why many are to a dead line, and return calls from
caller ID are seldom able to be completed.
I have one particular nuisance call, a heavily-accented Indian or
Pakistani male who, mostly identifies himself as representing a pharmacy
service. On one occasion, I engaged him,
since he was explaining how I could get a Federal Grant, a scam I recently had
seen on Snopes. Even when confronted, he
was unapologetic and persistent. I have
blocked more than four dozen numbers, but still receive calls from all parts of
the United States and the Americas.
I was at a conference where an FBI Agent was discussing
fraud and asked the agent how I could report this company. He confessed they are virtually powerless to
stop them unless someone has given them serious money and federal laws have
been broken. But, I was also having
problems with legitimate charities.
Raising money for charities is Big Business and a specialist
in the field can command a mid-six-figure salary. I discovered a website that tracks how much a
charity pays in overhead, the biggest part of which goes to raising money. If you haven’t checked out your favorites, do
so at www.charitynavigator.com Having that knowledge gave me an idea: my
biggest problem was continual solicitations from charities to which I contribute. I was receiving letters from some on almost a
weekly basis. So, I sent them all a
response in their own envelope: 19 in all.
The letter I included was one of two, depending on their Charity
Navigator rating, but both were identical in the message that said, “If I
receive a request for money and have contributed within the last 12 months, I
will NEVER send you money again.” The difference in the letters referred to their
rating on Charity Navigator. I received
two responses, one confessing they didn’t know about Charity Navigator and
would comply with disclosing their financials to receive a rating. A second said they would comply and only
request money annually.
Apparently, there was some positive effect as I receive
fewer requests than I used to, but Mary still supports at least two charities
who regularly remember her birthday, acknowledge her gift, or other nuisance requests,
which I would have stopped paying. My
alumni requests are pretty good now, as are some of my charities.
As I write this, we are seeing appeals for the Texas and
Louisiana victims of Hurricane Harvey with Irma in the wings. The American Red Cross is being criticized
for the donations that reach the victims, a problem they still confront in
Haiti. The Wounded Warrior Project got
rid of some of its highly-paid administrators and greatly improved its
Navigator rating. I had stopped contributing,
but am making an annual contribution now.
My next Post will feature what has happened and is happening
to craft breweries and how the change has affected our drinking habits. I hope you will join me.
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