NRA telemarketing
07-14-2004, 05:32 PM
#21
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: N.E. Arkansas
Posts: 156
RE: NRA telemarketing
There are numerous ways to raise money for a cause. In my area DU has banquets, raffles, B-B-Q's, promotions, and other fund raising events. I have never seen a NRA fund raiser here of any kind. Maybe a little restructuring and having local chapters (like DU) to host local events would be a friendlier way, and get to meet the local people and hear their thoughts and ideas. I'm not bashing the NRA as a whole, just they way go about soliciting funds. Even a parent gets tired of their teenager asking for money constantly. Which is what allowances are for. I'll give you X number of dollars for X amount of time. Don't ask for any more money until that time. The NRA just keep badgering.
07-14-2004, 06:18 PM
#22
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Raleigh NC USA
Posts: 352
RE: NRA telemarketing
Deerslayer and rwilson have raised some good points. Some here are equating our frustration with the NRA's fundraising methods with a lack of support of the NRA's mission. I think that's mis-stating our message. To state it more clearly, while I support gun-owner's rights, its unfortunate that the our primary advocate (the NRA) has chosen methods of fund-raising that serve to turn us off to the many good things that the organization accomplishes.
A sensitive topic like the 2nd amendment sometimes generates passionate responses that while well intentioned, stretch credibility. No one is equating telemarketing with torture. But I think we can be free to express disgust with both.
Think of it this way: NRA - wrong of right. When right, to be kept right. When wrong, to be put right. And to be put right the NRA needs to clearly hear the message that their fundraising methods are driving members away. Organizations that grow to the NRA's size sometimes become "monsters" that need more and more money to sustain themselves. Sometimes the core mission suffers because they're spending so much time and effort "feeding the organization".
--All but the really bored should stop here. The rest is my tirade about fundraising calls in general, not just the NRA's calls--
Fundraising efforts, telemarketing, direct mail, etc. are often referred to as "campaigns" and measured by their success rates. The people who work these things are professionals and know before going into it that their success rate will be X percent. They know that they're going to have to call or mail X number of people to get Y amount of dollars. And from that donation amount, they pay the telemarketers, printers, post office, etc.
Its not uncommon for an organization to get less than half of the money donated in a campaign. Donate a car worth $4,000 and the charity might only get $500. Better for you to sell the car and donate all the proceeds yourself. The clearance rates are worse for telemarketing because the expenses are high, but the success rates can justify it. People find it hard to say no "in person". Its much easier to throw away the mailer. They stretch for reasons not to contribute, and the telemarketers have scripts to answer some of those excuses. That's why they can be so difficult when you move the discussion away from their script. Doubtless there are some who don't give a rats a$$ about the cause they're calling for. Its their job, that's all, and they aren't in a position to do any more than parrot back their scripts.
My message to all solicitations is a firm no. No mailer ever gets returned. No phone call is ever successful. In no way do I want to encourage that infrastructure. I earmark my charitable donations and send them unsolicited as the year progresses. This way they get all of the money, instead of just part. You can't support every cause, even the truely noble ones.
A sensitive topic like the 2nd amendment sometimes generates passionate responses that while well intentioned, stretch credibility. No one is equating telemarketing with torture. But I think we can be free to express disgust with both.
Think of it this way: NRA - wrong of right. When right, to be kept right. When wrong, to be put right. And to be put right the NRA needs to clearly hear the message that their fundraising methods are driving members away. Organizations that grow to the NRA's size sometimes become "monsters" that need more and more money to sustain themselves. Sometimes the core mission suffers because they're spending so much time and effort "feeding the organization".
--All but the really bored should stop here. The rest is my tirade about fundraising calls in general, not just the NRA's calls--
Fundraising efforts, telemarketing, direct mail, etc. are often referred to as "campaigns" and measured by their success rates. The people who work these things are professionals and know before going into it that their success rate will be X percent. They know that they're going to have to call or mail X number of people to get Y amount of dollars. And from that donation amount, they pay the telemarketers, printers, post office, etc.
Its not uncommon for an organization to get less than half of the money donated in a campaign. Donate a car worth $4,000 and the charity might only get $500. Better for you to sell the car and donate all the proceeds yourself. The clearance rates are worse for telemarketing because the expenses are high, but the success rates can justify it. People find it hard to say no "in person". Its much easier to throw away the mailer. They stretch for reasons not to contribute, and the telemarketers have scripts to answer some of those excuses. That's why they can be so difficult when you move the discussion away from their script. Doubtless there are some who don't give a rats a$$ about the cause they're calling for. Its their job, that's all, and they aren't in a position to do any more than parrot back their scripts.
My message to all solicitations is a firm no. No mailer ever gets returned. No phone call is ever successful. In no way do I want to encourage that infrastructure. I earmark my charitable donations and send them unsolicited as the year progresses. This way they get all of the money, instead of just part. You can't support every cause, even the truely noble ones.
07-15-2004, 08:27 AM
#23
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 55
RE: NRA telemarketing
In response to Calnewbie: very well put...there has to be a better way.
In response to Howler: you must have gotten into the wrong thread here..
Who said anything about torturing prisoners in Iraq?
People like you only provide ammunition to the anti's because you
make us all come across as wild-eyed fools.
Crawl back under your rock.
In response to Howler: you must have gotten into the wrong thread here..
Who said anything about torturing prisoners in Iraq?
People like you only provide ammunition to the anti's because you
make us all come across as wild-eyed fools.
Crawl back under your rock.
07-15-2004, 01:41 PM
#24
Typical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 590
RE: NRA telemarketing
Good points on your several posts, rwilson. Great post there, calnewbie.
I support the NRA mission, but I detest their tactics. Rwilson, you have inspired me to write a long letter to the NRA, expressing my sentiments on this topic.
I support the NRA mission, but I detest their tactics. Rwilson, you have inspired me to write a long letter to the NRA, expressing my sentiments on this topic.
07-15-2004, 02:28 PM
#25
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 3,236
RE: NRA telemarketing
Everyone who hunts should belong to the NRA. Just do what I do; I pay my yearly dues, send them an extra $25 at election time, and tear up everything else they send me. We need them, they need us. Just because they send a solicitation does not mean you have to feel obligated. I give what I can, everything else goes in the "round file".
07-15-2004, 05:31 PM
#26
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Elizabeth Colo. USA
Posts: 4,413
RE: NRA telemarketing
Well, I just got dug out from under my "rock" and here's something for you guys to chew on. And tell me, after reading it, that you can't find a way to put up with a few phone calls asking for support for "our" cause!
"Senator John Kerry co-sponsors-along with the likes of Ted Kennedy, Dianne Feinstein, and Charles Schumer--S.1431, a bill that would: 1) ban all semi-auto shotguns; 2) ban all centerfire and rimfire semi-auto rifles that use detachable magazines; and 3) ban a lot of other guns newly determined to be "assualt weapons." Also, "Similar bans on all semi-auto shotguns, and/or pump action and semi-auto action rifles that use detachable magazines, such as the Rem. models 7600 and 7400, were introduced during the 2003-2004 legislative sessions in GA, LA, OH, and Penn. and were proposed for other states on the model "assault weapon" ban legislation put together by the Calif.-based anit-gun Legal Community Against Violence"
Now, does that hit home to any of ya? Can you see that this is an election year and the anti-gun crowd isn't going to stop at simply taking away, what they call, assualt weapons! It's a wake-up call. It is now time, despite a few "frustrating, ill timed, phone calls", to join in and back the NRA! Or will ya just sit back until your gun is on the list to be taken away?
"Senator John Kerry co-sponsors-along with the likes of Ted Kennedy, Dianne Feinstein, and Charles Schumer--S.1431, a bill that would: 1) ban all semi-auto shotguns; 2) ban all centerfire and rimfire semi-auto rifles that use detachable magazines; and 3) ban a lot of other guns newly determined to be "assualt weapons." Also, "Similar bans on all semi-auto shotguns, and/or pump action and semi-auto action rifles that use detachable magazines, such as the Rem. models 7600 and 7400, were introduced during the 2003-2004 legislative sessions in GA, LA, OH, and Penn. and were proposed for other states on the model "assault weapon" ban legislation put together by the Calif.-based anit-gun Legal Community Against Violence"
Now, does that hit home to any of ya? Can you see that this is an election year and the anti-gun crowd isn't going to stop at simply taking away, what they call, assualt weapons! It's a wake-up call. It is now time, despite a few "frustrating, ill timed, phone calls", to join in and back the NRA! Or will ya just sit back until your gun is on the list to be taken away?
07-18-2004, 07:38 AM
#29
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Virginia / West Virginia
Posts: 4,906
RE: NRA telemarketing
ORIGINAL: livbucks
Everyone who hunts should belong to the NRA. Just do what I do; I pay my yearly dues, send them an extra $25 at election time, and tear up everything else they send me. We need them, they need us. Just because they send a solicitation does not mean you have to feel obligated. I give what I can, everything else goes in the "round file".
Everyone who hunts should belong to the NRA. Just do what I do; I pay my yearly dues, send them an extra $25 at election time, and tear up everything else they send me. We need them, they need us. Just because they send a solicitation does not mean you have to feel obligated. I give what I can, everything else goes in the "round file".
Join, pay what you can or nothing if you can't...and quit bellyaching. The NRA is the only thing we have going for us...and I believe anyone that hunts should support them. You don't have to agree with everything they do, or be happy about their tactics...just make sure that you are a member. If not, don't complain when we lose our rights, and don't be so naive to say "it can't happen".
