Sob, Snob, and Slob

The Lord has blessed me in so many ways, and so I try to share those blessings, including the financial ones.  

Over the years, in addition to my church, I have donated to a number of charities - religious orders and organizations, shelters, food pantries, health clinics, pro-life groups and centers, cultural groups, and so on. 

As a result, I have gotten on some mailing lists. Each week I get multiple appeals for my money. Sometimes they come from organizations to which I have already donated. I also regularly see appeals on television. I've noticed that the appeals generally fall into three categories: The Sob Appeal, The Snob  Appeal, and The Slob Appeal.

The Sob Appeal 

The Sob Appeal is the most traditional. In words or images the appeal tries to appeal to the potential giver's emotions and sympathy. Those words and images include sad-eyed children, shivering dogs, sobbing elderly women, and so on. One emotion they seem to be manipulating is guilt: If you don't give you must be uncaring. 

The Snob Appeal

In this kind of appeal, there is a stated or implied message  that somehow you are one of the informed, intelligent, insightful individuals who would of course support the cause. One of the tactics this appeal uses is to send a fake survey/census for the giver to fill out, and to return it with a donation.

The Slob Appeal

This form of appeal includes some sort of a "gift" - notepads, greeting cards, a calendar, pens, and so on. They ask you to enjoy the gift, than ask if you could reciprocate by sending them a donation. If you don't give, they hope seems to be that you will feel like a slob.

When I receive these appeals, especially when I receive multiple such appeals from the same organization, I begin to wonder how much of my donation will be wasted on paying for such appeals. I have even told some organizations to stop sending me multiple appeals, Those who have not are no longer on my donation list.

Pax et bonum