The FOP called me for a donation, for the first time in my life, a couple of weeks ago. I was feeling all generous and full of holiday spirit, so I said sure, I’ll commit to a pledge. They said great, we’ll send you your donation packet. Be sure to pay up ASAP! And we hung up.
The packet arrived, apparently, about an hour after I’d left town for Thanksgiving. It was there when I got back, but sat on my coffee table for a couple of days while I worked up the moral courage to sit down and write a batch of checks. I finally put it in the mail last Thursday.
Last Friday I got a second packet from the FOP, reminding me that I owed them money and was a very naughty girl for not having sent it yet.
And just now–the following Tuesday–they actually CALLED ME to ask where the hell the money was. I told them the check was in the mail, and they let me hang up.
Grrrrr! Hello! Police extortion!
I know this isn’t really the case, I know that I freely pledge to give them money in exchange for the vague hope that having their sticker in the back window of my car might save me from speeding tickets.
But really. A reminder in the mail, okay. A Big Brother is watching you and you’re supposed to pay up so you’d better or we’re coming after you NOW phone call from the police? Ugh.
FOP: get a grip. The damn check’s in the mail, and meanwhile, I feel like I ought to watch my back. Securing the citizenry indeed.
The people you talked to were professional fundraisers, not cops. I don’t know how it is in your area, but in Indiana, the FOP’s fundraisers turned over less than 15% of the money donated to the FOP. The rest went to fundraiser fees.
If you want to support your police, call your city council person and ask for better benefits for the police.
Getting a follow-up phone call would probably cause me to change my mind about the donation.
The “get out of jail free” sticker for your rear window is interesting. It shows poor judgement from the police force. How could it not influence on officer (even to a small degree) as he is approaching your vehicle? The fact that you have contributed to his favourite charity is a brownie point in your favor. Do they sell these on the interent?
Oh, man I don’t know where you are, but the ones around here are ruthless! They always start out with a question about me, or my kids, or the new apartment we just moved into. How are we all doing? Do we feel safe in our neighborhood? Do we have any questions for the nice police officers?
And then they want money. And when I say no, I’m sorry, we’re really broke, they start getting all Mafiosoey on me! Seriously! “Well, you wouldn’t want to see the quality of your new neighborhood run down, would you? Who’s going to keep your little daughter safe from the criminals when she’s playing outside? There’s a lot of creeps out there who do awful things to little girls, you know!” :eek:
I have a standard reply to them and to anyone else who calls a’beggin’… “I don’t buy from or donate money to anyone who calls me on my phone to do business.” I don’t care if it’s the goddamn Queen of Sheba. It’s rude, and it ain’t happenin’ at Kasa Kalhoun.
I had one of these clowns hit me up a week or two ago. Here’s an approximate recreation of the conversation:
Him: Good morning, sir. I’m calling for the Fraternal Order of Police saince I’m sure you’re a concerned citizen and support your local police. The best way to do this is to have one of our stickers in the back window of your car so we can (heh heh) tell who the good guys are, ya know? We have several packages available. We’re not asking for any money today, just taking pledges. We’ll send the sticker and more information in the mail as soon as you let us know how much you appreciate the fine work our officers do. We have $50, $40, and $30 levels of support available. Which of these is best for you?
Me: None.
Him: Well, we’d hate to lose you totally. Should I put you down for $20 or $15?
Me: Well, I don’t have a car, so I have no need for a sticker. (I then hang up.)
I never let 'em get this far. As soon as they identify themselves, they hear: “I’m not interested.” <click> I, also, do not contribute to phone solicitors of any stripe. I do, however, support my VFD when they send me a request by mail, because I know the check goes directly to them.
It is a little unreal. I’ve talked to people that write the contracts for FOP’s and telemarketing companies. What they do is agree to raise X number of dollars for the FOP, let’s call it 2 million. Then they go out and get donations for X dollars, let’s call it 20 million. They send the FOP their 2 million and pocket the remaining 18 million; all perfectly legal by their contract but still rather scuzzy.
I was getting pestered by three different organizations claiming to be raising money for the local police department. I was like the shaken-down bar owner in the movie, “The Big Easy” - telling them sure, I’ll pay, I’ll pay, but just one guy!
So I started trying to get more identification information from them, and all three organizations stopped calling me.
When I was still in the trucking business I used to get calls claiming to be the Oregon S.P. I’d blow them off, but I sometimes wondered if it was legit. I never took the time to check them out though.
If they want to raise money they should get the word out through the local media and make certain that it’s above board. I don’t think public agencies should be using third parties to do fund raising. Some of the local F.D.'s do an annual fund drive. They stand at busy intersections, in uniform, and get people to put money into a fireman’s boot, which they hold in their hands (not on their feet). I think it’s for kids or something like that.
I never donate to, or buy from solicitors, in person, or on the phone. Actually I rarely give to charities anymore, because of the abuses and because they tend to bug the hell out of me when I did give, including sharing my address and phone number w/ other solicitors.
I’ve tried several of these approaches: telling the caller that I don’t do business over the phone, saying that I prefer to donate directly, etc. They always refuse to send me anything by mail, so they never see a penny from me.
I got a similar call last month for the Florida State troopers (or something to that effect). I asked the caller if he was a trooper. He said no. I asked how much of the donations he collected would go to the Florida Troopers. He said 100 percent. At that point I just hung up on him. Lesson number one: don’t lie to me when you’re asking for money.
The fundraisers used to start their calls with “do you believe the Florida Troopers provide a valuable service to the community?” I was tempted to answer, “hell no! I hate those jerks!” just to see how the caller would respond.
If the phone solicitor for the FOP is similar to those for the FOFF (firefighters), the police on the street do not favor the charity. They see it as little more than a legal scam.
They’ve called here, and when I say my husband donates time at work, since he is a firefighter, they hang up.
Here they sell tickets to the “Firemans’ Ball.” I have yet to meet a fireman who knew anything about a Ball.
Once, shortly after I met my husband, I thought about purchasing two tickets for us. When I asked when and where it was held, he told me the “tickets” were really just a donation, there wasn’t really an event. :dubious: When I said that sounded like mis-representation, he hung up.
The funny thing is that they never explicitly say that the window sticker will help with speeding tickets so sometimes I ask them point-blank if that’s the case, but they never commit to anything. And I always ask how much of the money goes to the actual police, sheriff or firefighters’ organization. A couple of times, the solicitor claims not to know, but it’s usually 15%, so I tell them I’ll drop a check off at the local police, sheriff or fire station.
Fortunately these companies haven’t called in months.
The FOP is a money grubbing whore. Most of the cops in New Jersey do not belong to the FOP, most belong to the PBA. And yet the FOP calls everyone in the state. The PBA has a long standing rule that they will never solicit by phone, only through mail or at an event that is easily verified as legit. Like it was said before, most of the money raised for the FOP does not go there. I would also bet that all of the money that is raised by these telemarketers goes to the national headquarters and your local department does not see a dime.