Opt-out monthly direct debits are a new one on me

It’s been well documented in this blog that I can be a sucker for a good cause, especially ones of the four-legged variety.

But this week I was tempted to sign up to another direct debit for a cause I’m not particularly moved by, because of an enticing new proposition I hadn’t come across before. 

While minding my own business watching television last night, I received a call from a charity to which I had donated a one-off amount by text last year. Interested readers can read more about that experience here.

I waited while they went through the usual sales spiel before I politely pleaded poverty and declined to donate again: but she stopped me in my tracks with the following words:

“Did you know you can opt out of particular months if you can’t afford to donate? We’ll text the word ‘Skip’ to you each month and you can reply ‘yes’ if you would prefer not to donate that time around.”

Well, this is a new one on me – and a very, very clever one at that. So much so that my steadfast refusal almost wavered, until I remembered that my purse was already lighter after I’d signed up to a different charity earlier this week.

To a potential donor, this new opt-out option is genius. It suddenly makes that monthly commitment seem far less daunting and far more appealing. But it does make me wonder what charities get out of it if a donor decides to skip 10 months out of 12? Doesn’t it mean they can’t actually count on donations from month to month? What will happen to their budgeting?

Admittedly, the new proposition wasn’t enough of a draw to make me commit, but that’s because it’s not a cause I’m passionate about. Had it have been another charity with an animal agenda the result may have been quite different…