Good intentions, no matter how pure, can sometimes backfire in this imperfect world of ours. And for an act as wholesome as donating to a charity, one Spanish-speaking man was shocked to discover that the organization had sold his personal information. The charity in question is Georgia-based Habitat for Humanity, an organization focused on providing adequate housing for the less fortunate across the country and globe. Habitat has a worthwhile endeavor, for sure, but taking advantage of a generous donor by selling them out is shameless behavior.
“I donated some money to Habitat for Humanity,” the man explained on r/mildlyinfuriating. “[Then] the [expletive] sold my information and now I get about a dozen letters a week asking for money.” While claiming to be a Spanish speaker, the man is fluent in English and doesn’t detail whether he had trouble understanding any of Habitat’s ‘fine print’ during the donation. But regardless, the fact that the charity sold his information in the first place is most certainly mildly infuriating. Unfortunately, Habitat isn’t the first of its kind to do this.
Reddit Argues that Plenty of Charities Will Sell Their Donors’ Information to Third Parties
“Many charities do this. Makes you not want to donate anymore,” remarks a Reddit user. “Not least because it makes you wonder if they’re spending the money on charity, or on making more money,” added another. Several gave their horror stories of dealing with these ‘charities,’ with one person saying his mother still receives mail begging for her to donate, except she had passed away 13 years ago. It’s as one commenter says, “Once they got you on the hook they know you’re good for more.”
On top of Habitat selling the donor’s private information to ad partners in its network, some criticize how many charities will often use “emotionally manipulative messages with graphic pictures.” These images will often have animal abuse, children suffering from physical defects or starvation, among other graphically disturbing material. One commenter remarks how it’s “truly disgusting,” considering how the organizations are trying to guilt-trip donors who already have a soft heart for people or animals in need.
One Redditor reminds everyone in the post’s comment section: “Welcome to the club, everyone sells your information. My banks got me.” In a world where the average person is preyed upon by tech giants, mega corporations, and even charities, it’s hard to trust any for-profit or even non-profit these days. Not all hope is lost, though; one person claims that “Not every charity is a scumbag,” as they donated to Toys for Tots for years but never received a solicitation from another charity. Truly, it would be nice if all charities treated their donors with respect like that.
