Alannah and Madeline Foundation

Ldlf73 on 16/09/2016 - 11:03

Hi All,

I recently made a donation to the Alannah and Madeline Foundation at a pop-up donation desk on a street when walking past to do some shopping.

Whilst I am proud and happy I did so, there where some things I did not find out about until several days later when I began looking at the booklet they give you after completing the donation process.(The booklet is a gift given to you after completing the donation process and has vouchers you can use to get some small freebies/discounts).

At no time was I informed that:

  1. This is not a Tax Deductible donation
  2. They were not volunteers
  3. Not all of my donation is going to the charity
  4. 60% of my donation goes to a another company, only 40% finds it way to the charity
    (exact details not listed until page 9 of booklet, in usual, small print)

I have emailed amf.org.au via there website contact us page, so I am awaiting their response to whether the above information is supposed to be revealed before making a donation?

PLEASE NOTE: I am in no way wanting to put people off donating to this charity, or any other for that matter. I just want people to know something that I did not.

All I want to know is should these people on the street be more up front in advising potential donors of my points above? (again awaiting amf.org.au to confirm if such info is required to be pass onto donors prior to actual donation)

And I must say, I was being pressured into making a large donation, with such comments as "we have not had anyone for a while make a larger donation", and "the small donations do not do much for the people in need". Whilst looking back on such comments they were totally unacceptable, but at the time I took them as a sales technique and did not read much into it.

If I had known the above, I would have gone to the website and made my donation there. I hate the idea of $150 of a $250 donation going to some other company, not the charity to whom I am donating to.

For the record, it is controlled by a group called Appco Group (appcogroup.com.au), which upon visiting the website says it's headquarters are in China. Does that mean the majority of my donation is going off shore?

General Discussion

Comments

  • MeesusEff on 16/09/2016 - 11:42

    Wow, if a charity person said that to me I would just walk away or tell them to shove it!

  • tomsco on 16/09/2016 - 12:04

    This is why I am so skeptical about Charity. If there is every a cause I would like to donate to, I'll look into it myself to find one that does not seem like a rip off.

  • robbyjones on 16/09/2016 - 12:41
    +1

    That's a real shame and seems to me almost damaging to the Alannah and Madeline Foundation are they even aware that donations are being collected using their name is this way? Anyway thanks for the info, I am impulsive and it is quite likely I would be caught like this.

  • altomic on 16/09/2016 - 13:37

    Yep, most of those young friendly smiling charity people you see around the place are there because it's their job.

  • Dacs on 16/09/2016 - 14:44
    +1

    From their FAQ:

    Little Star have a 100% satisfaction policy. If you are not entirely satisfied, please email [email protected] and they will contact you in one business day.
    You can also contact our third party distributor, APPCO Group on (02) 8219 7900 or www.appcogroup.com.au

    I would do that

  • StewBalls on 16/09/2016 - 14:48
    +2

    This is precisely why I refuse to engage with popup stands in shopping centres…frankly, it disgusts me that centre management allows shoppers to be harassed by these asshats.

  • dlf73 on 16/09/2016 - 17:05
    +3

    Update time.

    I have emailed both APPCO.com.au and AMF.org.au, and both have been prompt and courteous, and both offered refunds.

    I have since replied to both and advised that I only wish to have APPCO perform the refund, because of the lack of transparency. It is not AMF.org.au's fault what transpired, and I have no intention of not honoring my original donation.

    Once they have confirmed this is done, I will be making the donation direct to AMF.org.au via their website.

    Whilst the customer service has been of a level I would expect, the lack of transparency at the time of donating is what this is all about.

    Therefore, all I can say is please make sure your willingness to donate is not affected by this in any way, simply ask those requesting a donation what percentage reaches the charity. Ask for printed proof of this in any of their literature. If you are satisfied, donate there and then, if not, donate direct to charity.

    I have no issue with these people doing what they do, anywhere, as it helps promote the charity, and gives awareness of it to those that may not know about it. I mean lets be honest, how many of us sit on the web looking up charities to donate to?
    However, a 60% fee of the donation is not what I consider acceptable. I mean is this an offshoot of the Shane Warne Foundation?
    I dont think many people at all would consider a 60% fee acceptable. 5-10% yes, not 60%.

    • Katie2014 on 17/09/2016 - 08:44

      Thanks for posting this.

      I made a small donation a few months ago and got the little booklet with the offers, but I didn't realise that only 40% went to the AMF.

      From memory, you could also enter to win free fuel, but I didn't enter because I was wary of being added to their charity phone call list.

      • dlf73 on 17/09/2016 - 18:37
        +1

        Hi Katie,

        Your welcome. I simply wanted to inform people of this so they are better informed. I would hate to think this would put people off donating, they still should, but just confirm how much reaches the charity before signing up and getting a shock later!

        My big problem is I was not made aware by the people on the street and I can only assume you were not either?

        It is the deception that gets stuck in your throat!

  • JJJ on 22/05/2019 - 21:25

    I had the sales guys from AMF turned up at my door step and my wide did a $50 donation using card however specifically mentioned that it was a one off donation. However they keep taking $50 out of our card for the next two months until i called their north Melbourne office who was apologetic and refunded the full money.

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