It’s a staple of the commuters week; walking to work and desperately trying to avoid the eyes of the skinny-jean clad, windbreaker wearing charity worker.
Earphones in, sunnies on, you look more unapproachable than a crim on his way to the slammer right? WRONG!
The worker has you in their sites, and although you keep your head down and quicken your pace, there’s now no escaping the kind-hearted soul demanding you donate to the cancer research clinic from which they are hoping for a commission.
Charity muggers, otherwise known as ‘chuggers’, are both infuriating and guilt-tripping reminders to the everyday worker that their money that went into their latte could be just as effectively used elsewhere.
Figures revealed by ABC today however may put that guilty conscience at ease when you step around them on your lunch break today.
In 2018 alone the work of chuggers, officially known as street fundraisers, raised more than $120 million and signed over 320,000 doners.
The aim of most charities is to convince people to sign up for monthly donations
Research also showed that charities received an average return of $2.30 for every $1 invested into face-to-face fundraising last year.
“Compared to other investment options, face-to-face fundraising remains a very attractive avenue for charities,” said Peter Hills-Jones, chief of the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA).
Questions about the integrity of the practice remain though.
The conversation around the ethics of street fundraising was re-ignited last year when actor Samuel Johnson, who lost his sister to breast cancer, described chuggers as “dogs”.
“If you’re not prudent about how you give, if you don’t know about the organisation you’re giving to, then I’d be pretty cynical about how much is ending up at the cause,” he said at the time.
A site that many so desperately want to avoid
Regardless of how much a student might bother you for some change when disembarking at Central of Flinders St Station next week, it is comforting to think that these enigmas of the street are raising millions for the likes of Amnesty International and the Cancer Council.
Many that sign up may not even be doing so just to look good in front of their mates.
Just try not to think about the fact that 50% of people that sign up cancel their payments within the first year…
