From Cognitive Daily:
If I get a phone call from a solicitor asking me to support my local fire department or the search for the cure for cancer, I refuse to give. If a live person shows up at my door asking me to donate to a worthy cause, I nearly always give something.
Dave goes on to suggest that it’s the pressure of being seen by neighbors which makes him give when the interaction is face-to-face – but I’m not sure that’s true. I’m also more likely to give to the door-to-door folks than to the folks who call, and since I generally invite the door-to-door folks in and offer them coffee, what my neighbors see isn’t an issue. (And it really wouldn’t be an issue regardless, in my neighborhood).
Neil The Ethical Werewolf (guest-blogging at Ezra Klein’s blog) cites a study of “get out the vote” efforts, suggesting that we just don’t respond well to phone appeals, compared to face-to-face interactions:
The big study on this issue comes from Donald Green at Yale. From the abstract: “We find that personal canvassing increased voter turnout substantially; direct mail, slightly; and phone calls, not at all.” Green’s hypothesis is that a decline in the amount of face-to-face contact between people and campaigns is responsible for the historical decline in voter turnout.
Just a datapoint from an antisocial crankypants: I despise it when people come to my door and ask for donations, and I never give money to such people. I also despise phone calls and never give money in response to them. I also vote in every election.
I have to respond to this article, being that I was one of those people that came door to door at one point in my life working for Citizens Campaign for the Environment in NY. It was back when I was in college and for a few months every summer I would hit the streets educating and collecting donations for almost any environmental campaign you could think of.
I want to just say thanks to Ampersand..you have no idea what it means to canvassers to be actually invited in and spoken to as “real” people when you are out on the streets.
Um, isn’t inviting door-to-door donation solicitors (which I think is amazingly tacky, BTW) more than a little bit dangerous? Nobody gets in my door whom I don’t already know.
It depends who you’re calling. Cold calls dont work. “hot lists” of your known supporters do, if you can make a compelling argument..
When I worked as a door-to-door salesman (second worst job ever, after telemarketing), I was told to NEVER enter a client’s home.
Rachelle, thank you for doing the canvassing!
Curiousgyrl, maybe we’re overly trusting. But there are seven adults living in my house, so it’s pretty rare for me to be the only one home.
Dave, the folks from OSPirg — who are usually the ones doing door-to-door fundraising, in this area — don’t seem to mind coming in. I have to admit, I might hesitate to let in a salesman, as opposed to a political canvasser or fundraiser.
Just from personal experience I found that on average more people would let me in when I was alone canvassing. From talking to many of them they would come right out and say that if I had been male they definetly would not have let me in.
And who can resist a young budding environmentalist that just wants to make sure that your drinking water is safe!
We were always told to use our own judgement when it came to entering someones home. I know there were times that you could not have paid me to enter some homes, and other times I would walk right it, just soley based on my gut feelings.
I have to admit one perk from the volunteering that i did was to get a chance to just talk to people. It would amaze you the amount of time I spent sitting down with the 80 year old women just chatting about how much things have changed since she was my age.
Oddly, I love door to door people and miss them terribly now that I live in a lockout apartment.