Employer Charities 1

[Thadeus]

My employer has a relationship with a national charity by which a few million dollars is raised from the employee's every year. There are launch meetings where you are pitched on why you should pledge a weekly payroll deduction. Every employee is scheduled to attend and there is a sign-in sheet at the meeting. Directors and up have a separate meeting where the are told what donor level is expected of them. This year it was $1K. Additionally, they schedule a month's worth of games of chance, auctions, etc. to raise money beyond the pledged amounts from your pocket cash... like $1 for a raffle ticket, then $5 to wear jeans for the day. Small stuff that adds up.

I believe in keeping my charitable donations discreet and to places I feel my money will do the most direct good. I like bang for my buck and I like local needs. So I am not into this particular national charity. But the push to participate disturbs me. It's not compulsory, but the constant cheer of "GIVE" in every 7 - 8 emails can make it feel that way.

I've been working since 1985 and have never come across this type of corporate culture. It is also the largest company I've ever worked for with over 25K employees which may mean something... Are there others out there that encounter this? Does it feel strange to you? I know people at my office who think positively about it as well as those who feel negatively. So I'm just curious...

 

[SantaMufasa]

Thadeus,

If I were in your position, and if my company was putting that kind of (excessive) pressure on me, I would go to the "Grand Poobah Pressurer" and say:

"I believe it is wonderful that our organisation encourages charitable contributions. I know that the company particularly advocates contributions to 'Charity X', which I believe is a wonderful charity.

"Some time ago, I made a commitment to support 'Charity Y' and have done so, without fail, since that time. My contributions are significant. I don't want that fact that I am contributing to 'Charity Y' instead of our 'Charity X' to cause the company to consider me any less supportive of worthwhile charities if I am supporting 'Charity Y' to the greatest extent that our family budget allows, instead of 'Charity X'.

"Can I be confident that the company will not place me at a professional disadvantage for my pre-existing choice?"

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I can provide you with low-cost, remote Database Administration services: see our website and contact me via www.dasages.com]

 

[edfair]

Don't believe it would have to go any higher than your boss, who is the one who will need to defend you if you alienate the powers that be.
One sentence" Boss, I choose to give to other charities, not the one the corporate bosses are pushing".

Then stand your ground.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[ecobb]

Are there others out there that encounter this? Does it feel strange to you?

Yep, I've been there. My previous employer pretty much had an unwritten rule that it was mandantory for everyone to give to the owner's favorite charity. I saw the same thing, the rallies, $1 for a raffle ticket, $5 to wear jeans for the day, etc... But at this company, the owner was given a list of every person that contributed, how much they contributed, and likewise a list of those that didn't contribute. Those that didn't would soon find themselves in the unemployement line.

Of course, this was an unusual company. (I hope!) It was a decent sized business, about 800+ employees. The owner was born a millionaire, and took over the family business when he came of age. He's never been in touch with reality. He openly refers to his employees as "servants", and honestly does not understand that something is wrong with that. I could go on and on but the point of the story is that yes, I have been forced to pledge a weekly payroll deduction to a charity and I wasn't too thrilled about it.


Hope This Helps!

ECAR
ECAR Technologies

http://www.ecartech.com

"My work is a game, a very serious game." - M.C. Escher

 

[BJCooperIT]

Yes, this was exactly the atmosphere of a medium sized company I worked for in the suburbs of Philadelphia in the 70's. There was intense pressure to participate. It was understood that if you did not contribute your "fair share" there was no bonus/promotion in your future.

The problem was that charity's upper level management were paid a high salary. This meant they lived in the wealthy neighborhoods and were socially active with the management from my company. They played golf and drank in the clubhouse together. Their children attended the same schools and the adults attended the same social events. They were glued at the hip, so to speak.

The work environment was unbelievably tense if you stood firm to your convictions. Good luck with this Thadeus, I hope that today there are some employment laws that protect a worker from this kind of harrassment and retribution.


^{Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw}
Consultant Developer/Analyst Oracle, Forms, Reports & PL/SQL (Windows)
My website: Emu Products Plus

 

[edfair]

You might also look for a charity rating and see what percentage of the income of the charity goes to salaries and fund raising.

If those items are a significant part of the outgo that would be a good reason to direct your giving elsewhere.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[Kjonnnn]

You should check with EEOC in your area. You shouldn't be black mailed to keep your job. Find out if any lines are being crossed.

Keep your resume handy.

 

[baltman]

Think of it as a (negative) benefit. After tax credit, your salary is $X less than it would otherwise be. Is this compensation competitive or not? How is the (other than this issue) work environment?

Assume that without at least average donations you will not be on the fast-track.

Brian

 

[rosieb]

Most definitions of the word charity include the word "voluntary" - I'm not sure that being pressured to donate falls under that definition.

Personally, I agree with your approach and give to a carefully chosen selection of charities and I feel rather affronted at being expected to contribute to other peoples' pet charities. I'd probably decline and explain that, for very personal reasons, I have substantial commitments to other charities.

However, from a practical standpoint,that may not be advisable if it will damage your career with this company.

I think you have to ask yourself:
Will not contributing really damage my prospects?
If so, is this a company I really want to work for?

If both answers are yes, then as baltman says, you have to see it as a "cost" of employment.

Rosie
"Don't try to improve one thing by 100%, try to improve 100 things by 1%

 

[SantaMufasa]

The whole concept of The Business exerting undo influence over an employee in a non-work-related sector seems rather smarmy to me...Rather similar to the business dictating with whom you associate, how you believe (or don't believe) in a Diety, where you live, how you live (provided your behaviour is otherwise legal), et cetera.

There was a time, you may recall, when it was quasi-acceptable for a leader in a company to compel a subordinate to "give at the office" (in another way) as a condition of employment. Certainly that inappropriate circumstance is legally verboten. I'm amazed that someone has not taken on "compelled giving" as an equally distasteful behaviour.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I can provide you with low-cost, remote Database Administration services: see our website and contact me via www.dasages.com]

 

[chiph]

I think you need to sit down and consider and reflect if this unwritten requirement is enough to make you to change jobs.

If you do decide to leave because of this, don't say anything at the exit interview about it. However, as the HR person is walking you to the door, take them aside and say "I didn't want to say this on the record, but the reason I'm leaving is because the company's mandatory charitable giving policy was causing undue hardship for my family." You're not pointing fingers, casting blame, you're just saying (in a tactful manner) that this is why you're leaving.

Chip H.


____________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please read FAQ222-2244 first

 

[LadySlinger]

Unfortunately many businesses are still operating in this style: "If you don't do as we say, participate in what we offer then it will hurt your career". When you don't attend Holiday parties, picnics, fund raisers, team events then suddenly you're not on the "in" with the managers and they tend to "forget" about you when promotions come by or remember you when times are hard and they need to lay off employees.

Would it be better if you didn't receive as high of a raise at your review, but a certain percent goes towards this charity fund? Then you wouldn't have to directly be associated with it and since it was never in your pockets to begin with, you won't miss it. Bring that up with your boss and see what he says (and I'm talking maybe $50 out of your raise).

 

[BJCooperIT]

My manager's bonus was hinged on whether all his staff contributed 1-3% of their gross annual salary. He would call you into his office for a closed door conversation if you:

A. Did not sign the contribution form
B. Failed to donate enough

They even set up payroll deductions across the year to "make it painless" to "do the right thing". I stood my ground and refused because I knew two things to be true:

1. Less than 30 cents of every dollar made to the groups you designated
2. I was not going to stick around very long

 

[lionelhill]

This one has been rattling around in my head. Employers behaving this way are on a pretty futile exercise:

(1) Giving away someone else's money is not generosity. If the chap in charge thinks that Saint Peter (or whoever holds the keys to a Better Place in his set of beliefs) is going to be terribly impressed, he may be barking up the wrong tree.

(2) Usually, corporate charity gives the corporation good publicity. This one sounds like the ideal set-up for a really embarrassing leak.

(3) And pressurising cleaners on the minimum wage to give up a percentage of what little they earn would be utterly unethical and quite possibly both harrassment and payment of less than the minimum wage.

But don't confuse this behaviour with payroll giving in general. Payroll giving, at least in the UK, is a way to allow any employee to give money to a charity of their own choice, with minimum inconvenience, and in such a way that the charity recovers the income tax. It is not necessary for the employer to know what charity is involved.

 

[zeitghost]

It doesn't sound like payroll giving to me, Lionelhill, it sounds more like extortion.

Anyone who suggested this to me would be greeted with two words, one of which would be "off".

 

[lespaul]

oooh, oooh.....can we play 'guess the other word'?


Leslie

Anything worth doing is a lot more difficult than it's worth - Unknown Induhvidual

Essential reading for anyone working with databases:
The Fundamentals of Relational Database Design
Understanding SQL Joi

 

[zeitghost]

It's a word that appears in every conversation in the HBO creation "Deadwood"... )

 

[attrofy]

State (to your boss, whomever) that it is against your relgious beliefs to donate to the company's chosen organization, as your current church/temple/cave/shrine/etc demands "pure of heart donations" to ensure your place in heaven/sheol/hades/nirvanha/etc and that donations to other causes are a waste of spirit. And if it comes down to offending one extortionist over the other, you choose not to offend the one that holds the key to your eternal soul.

Lastly, as for the exit interview suggestion by chiph I would definately make those comments ON the record. I might even prepare a statement ahead of time to be included in your file. Is a current employer going to mention that to a future employer?

"Well, I wouldn't hire this person, (s)he doesn't give to charities...." Besides, chances are pretty good that you will have already lined up a new job before leaving the current one, so how much impact is that conversation really going to make when you are looking for employment a few years down the road? Besides, this way it is letting the high up muckity ducks know that not every one of their "servants" agrees with the company line - even if they are forced to toe it...

 

[ecobb]

Take it step further, write a press release to the local newspaper. I can see the headline now:

"Local Employer Forces Employees To Donate To Charities Against Religious Beliefs"

(just kidding)


Hope This Helps!

ECAR
ECAR Technologies

http://www.ecartech.com

"My work is a game, a very serious game." - M.C. Escher

 

[philhege]

At one time, the charitable organization collecting largesse in our area had a space on the deduction form where one could stipulate the benefiting entity. So I could donate to the charity of my choice and not have to worry about who was in the grab-bag of general recipients.

Last year, a little blurb was added to the space: "We will deduct a 13% processing fee to direct your donation to this charity."

You can't win.

Phil Hegedusich
Senior Programmer/Analyst
IIMAK

http://www.iimak.com

-----------
I'll have the roast duck with the mango salsa.