I wrote the note below to Catholic Relief Services. Unfortunately it applies almost equally validly to many Catholic groups, though.
Dear Sir or Madam,Some time ago I gave all I could spare ($75) to CRS in order to aid in the Typhoon Haiyan rescue efforts.I have now received so many mailings from CRS asking me for more money (which I cannot afford), that the entirety of my $75 donation (if not more than that) must have, by now, gone to funding these mailings.Besides merely removing me from the list, I beg of you to rethink this approach. It is a very worldly approach – unworthy of a Catholic apostolate, as it smacks of blindly following the directives of the marketing experts – and it reminds me to look elsewhere next time I seek to donate to relief efforts. The ends do not justify the means. Even if it is true that statistics show that pouring money into fundraising efforts like mailings raises more money than it costs, this is far insufficient to justify such flagrant wastefulness. As a Catholic organization, you have a moral duty to use all funds in a way that corresponds to the intentions of the donors, and even more importantly, in a way that truly responds to Matthew 25 and builds up treasures in Heaven.In Christ, through Mary,Daniel O’Connor
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