On a walk down Nicollet Mall today I stopped for a canvasser since having done that job I was sympathetic. He was working for a group called Child Fund International, and explained it was a secular nonprofit dedicated to helping kids. The example he used was intriguing: with help from donors the organization was able to keep 500 Kenyan girls in school past puberty by paying off their dowries. The other thing that caught my ear us that they sponsor U.S. children (though he admitted "I don't have a U.S. kid on me right now, so I'll have to get one from one of the other guys").
As I'm flat broke right now, I asked if I could sign up for a later time, which he explained was possible because the organization calls to confirm prior to processing. Up to that point I was sold so I gave my name, address, and phone. But then he asked me for my credit card number.
Hear that record needle scratching across the vinyl signifying a screeching halt? I told the curly mop-headed 20-something with overgrown toenails in thong sandals, "don't take it personally, but I just met you." He pressed further that I can be assured of the security of the transaction based on the following: He doesn't need to see the card, and will not take down the security code from the back; before any charge is processed, a representative will call me to authorize it; and it's just as safe as doing it online, but with a lower donation cost.
He sincerely promised that he always brings his paperwork straight back to the office and shreds the form as soon as he puts the info into the system. He also showed me the photocopy of a letter from some municipal official, along with the icon of the BBB that was printed on his organization's full color info sheet. And he pointed out the police officer across the street, assuring me that if he was out on the sidewalk for nefarious purposes, surely the officer would have already removed him.
As he was searching my face for a sign he had convinced me, I explained to him that though he looks trustworthy, we are in the middle of downtown. We were surrounded by any number of people who, if they knew he was carrying around a bag full of credit card numbers, would gladly knock him over to take them. Interrupting his argument that he does not keep the 3 digit code from the card, I explained that I once did a stint as an independent consultant for a home party vendor where I ran peoples' credit cards without needing any code, and highlighted my vast experience paying bills and shopping online to convince him that a person rarely needs the 3 digit "security" code on the back of a credit card to charge a purchase against the number on the front.
Having refuted the hippie into submission, I had the think-space to wonder who this guy is representing. I promised him I would sign up online, but now I'm asking myself why I should support an organization that practices such an irresponsible fundraising strategy. What organization does not respect their donors' need to have their personal information kept secure? And charges an invisible premium to its online donors to pay the canvassers and who knows what else?
After further research I now know who. Child Fund International is merely a secular incarnation of the Christian Children's Fund. You know, the one with the weeping Sally Struthers and the dejected looking children with flies crawling on their eyeballs. Absolutely legit, but have since removed the church affiliation so they could have a bit more wiggle room around the whole bearing false witness thing. Oh, and all that stuff about coveting.
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