{"id":2053,"date":"2011-02-17T12:44:56","date_gmt":"2011-02-17T12:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paulgoodchild.net\/blog\/?p=2053"},"modified":"2011-11-23T00:47:33","modified_gmt":"2011-11-23T00:47:33","slug":"fundraising-how-not-to-ask-for-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paulgoodchild.me\/blog\/fundraising-how-not-to-ask-for-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Fundraising – How not to ask for money"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week I had an door-to-door salesman encounter that even today, still irks the shit out of me when I think of it.<\/p>\n

Picture the scene:\u00a0 I’m at home, minding my own business – likely being very productive on twitter no doubt – when the doorbell rings.<\/p>\n

Please, someone else will get it – I saw the guy come up the driveway and I’d decided already I didn’t want what he was selling.\u00a0 Nope, no answer.\u00a0 So he raps hard on the door this time.\u00a0 I’m soft and furry under this tough exterior and I gave him the benefit of the doubt.<\/p>\n

He greeted me with a raggedy old plastic ID card hanging off the end of outstretched arm.<\/p>\n

Do you remember that trick you did as a kid where you’d test your blind spot using a dot drawn on a piece of paper?\u00a0 Well he was clearly paying attention.\u00a0 Depending on what way I moved my head the card would disappear – it was too far away to read it, and too close to say “Here mate, not so fast, let me see that properly.”\u00a0 My eyesight was to be thrown into question, or my latent ability to trust strangers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I missed his verbal intro because I was still registering the ID card in my face moments earlier.<\/p>\n

Okay compose yourself.<\/p>\n

I looked down.<\/p>\n

Magically there had appeared in my hands a super-thin-A4-glossy-mag and a small novel-like book.<\/p>\n

I looked up.<\/p>\n

“…represent charity … blah blah … cancer.\u00a0 For \u00a34 … the book … blah blah … donate … blah blah.\u00a0 It’s a good cause.\u00a0 {pause}\u00a0 Thank you so much.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He had closed the deal, as far as he was concerned.<\/p>\n

By now I was composed a little better and while I’m not given to outbursts of anger, there was a faint hissing sound escaping from my ears.<\/p>\n

The easy option?\u00a0 Hand him \u00a34, donate to the charity and be done with it.<\/p>\n

The difficult option?\u00a0 Question.<\/p>\n

He was manipulating me, plain and simple.\u00a0 How?<\/p>\n