Ready for the Holidays?  

A telemarketer claiming to call on behalf of a law-enforcement charity unfortunately got me on the phone one evening last week.  He was cheerful when he began, but I do not know what he was when we finished.    

I do not believe in hanging up the telephone on a person unless he be obnoxious.  His job is stressful:  who likes calling people uninvited and asking them to donate?  I usually chat a bit or offer a pearl of wisdom, which is hard for me to do, as I place no value in pearls.  

I told the telemarketer that, before committing, I would have to  

·        check the Web site of the California Secretary of State;  at the site you learn whether the charity would be a corporation and whether its status would be active;

·        check the Web site of the California Attorney General;  at the site you learn whether the charity had posted its annual 990 tax return.  

It is important to know how much a charity would be spending on itself—administrative and fundraising costs—instead of on its program;  I would not donate to an unfamiliar charity which spent only half of its income on its program;  I would think highly of a charity which spent at least ninety percent of its income on its program;  as for anything in between, that would depend.  (I do make an exception when solicitors come to the office, be they youth or adults.  Asking a question or two, perhaps lecturing about obesity and chocolate, I am willing to part with a dollar.)  

My answer to the telemarketer was not typical.  He had nothing useful to say, so we ended the conversation there.  

If you answer the multiple-choice questions below and e-mail to lessonanswers@mymontebello.com with “Lesson answers” in the subject field, you will be credited toward a “certificate of recognition in community affairs” to be awarded in 2007 by a local nonprofit organization.  

1. Why be nice to a telemarketer?

(a) He is trying to earn a living.  He would be somewhere else if he had a choice.

(b) She might be related to you.  

2. What are good answers to a telemarketer claiming to fundraise on behalf of a charity?

(a) You have to research about the charity at the Web sites of the California Secretary of State and the California Attorney General.

(b) You ask for written material via mail before making a decision.

(c) There is a mountain lion chasing your dog, so you cannot talk at the moment.  

3. What should you never give a telemarketer?

(a) Your social-security number.

(b) A history of your love life.

(c) Any information which would let him access your funds or personal statistics.