Low? They are taking it all, if they are scammers! I don't even trust letterhead to be always legitimate orgn correspondence. You can print up anything on a computer. I don't even contribute to any charity, by mail, esp w a P.O. Box, until I ck address out w Better Business Bureau, or know it's from one I've been donating to for yrs!
Sorry, but I don't trust anyone solicitating now days, so I ck them out and BBB will tell u the % going to the cause & what they consider acceptable, which like u said is about 65%, which I think is really too low. 45% going into fund raising/overhead is a lot. In fact when I worked for the BBB doing Public Relations work, the acceptable was a tad higher!
What u are doing is smart & works!
Got a call from some woman for breast cancer survivor support of a pledge of $. When I asked her what organization she was with (twice) she said thank you for your time and hung up.
I always ask for them to send their official published stats on their letterhead reflecting the percentage of the contribution that actually goes to the cause. For a reputable charity this number is usually 65% or above. They are usually required to provide this info by law but varies by state. The scam charities will never provide this number because it is so low ... and they usually just hang up.
Just got the same call for the second time and was told the exact same splill. I blocked the first number but today's call came from a new number, same organization. Blocking it too! So frustrating..ugh!