

GiveForward Spam After Abandoning Donation Form - unclebucknasty

A few days ago, I was prepared to donate using GiveForward and had filled in a good bit of the form (including my email address), when something gave me pause. Who is GiveForward? How do they verify the authenticity of campaigns? Why are they a for-profit, but based solely on raising money for those in need and taking a cut?<p>I am completely familiar with social enterprise, but the combination of these questions prompted me to table the donation until I could do a little more research. I never submitted the form.<p>Today, I received an email from GiveForward with the subject &quot;Would you like to make a donation?&quot; and body as follows:<p>----------<p>&gt;<i>Hi there,<p>Thank you for visiting X&#x27;s fundraiser. [This fundraiser for X] is open and you can still make a donation. Any support you give would bring joy and make a world of difference for X.<p>Sincerely,<p>Adrienne &amp; the GiveForward Team</i><p>----------<p>So, they have captured my email address without my explicit consent (i.e. a form submission) and are now using it without my permission. I never opted in or transacted with this company in any way.<p>I am aware that other companies have done this, but I find it a bit slimy. It&#x27;s especially disheartening that these guys are supposed to be a social enterprise but resort to tactics like these, and it adds to the overall feeling that the model is a bit off. Most social enterprises are more &quot;sophisticated&quot; in finding ways to add social value or do something for the greater good. These guys are literally just taking donations for people in need and asking for a cut. It smacks of profiting from misery, and now...spam.
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lutusp
> I am aware that other companies have done this, but I find it a bit slimy.

Well, it's not written that charities must be above slimy behavior. It's also
not written that all organizations that call themselves charities are actually
charities. It's well-established that an organization that calls itself a
charity can social-engineer people into doing things they wouldn't otherwise
do.

Here is the Better Business Bureau's listing for GiveForward -- in a nutshell,
no serious problems:

[http://www.bbb.org/chicago/business-reviews/fund-raising-
cou...](http://www.bbb.org/chicago/business-reviews/fund-raising-counselors-
and-orgs/giveforward-in-chicago-il-88367699)

But I should warn you that some people adopt the name of a legitimate charity
to scam people.

~~~
unclebucknasty
Well, they're not a charity (in the strict non-profit sense) and don't claim
to be one. But, you know, when you claim to exist for social good, then you
should probably expect to be held to a higher standard.

But, FWIW, I don't think GiveForward is out to overtly scam people. I just
personally find their model distasteful.

The extortionate racket that is the BBB, on the other hand, is among the
slimiest out there.

