Oh dear. Noname might just have it right. This might be some group trying to make the people they repeatedly call so annoyed that they never give money again to whatever NPO the caller claim to be calling for, if the called person actually gets anyone to answer.
I'll be calling Planned Parenthood of the Rockies tomorrow to find out if indeed this might be the case. Will let people know if this is the problem. If it is, I'll be calling the Colorado Attorney General's Office to report this problem.
I called the fundraising director, Richard West, at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains to ask if they are using Donor Services to raise money. Mr. West called me back yesterday and said, "Yes, we are using them."
According to Mr. West, Donor Services is a telemarketing company, based in Minnesota, that some non-profits (and other companies/organizations) contract with because it's more cost-effective than using volunteers.
How does it work?
Donor Services receives a fee from each call they actually net a donation from. They don't get paid based on the number of calls they make. The calls are done by a computer that runs down the same list until they actually reach someone, not when they leave a voicemail. The caller list is provided to them by the NPO or the company who hired Donor Services.
Why doesn't the telemarketer leave a voicemail message when they call but don't get a live person on the line?
First, because it's really a computer that's calling. Secondly, the telemarketers, have been instructed by PPRM NOT to leave a voicemail as it costs more to do that. The telemarketers have also been instructed, by PPRM, to state immediately whom they are calling for ONLY when they get a LIVE person on the line.
Why do we keep getting called so often?
Donor Services doesn't call back the phone number and person from the list ONLY when someone has actually been reached and has either given a donation, said, "No, I won't give or can't give now", or the person being called has called back the number on their CID and asked not to be called again.
So, every few days, those people that have yet to be reached in person, or removed from the list, will get another call. Unfortunately, when we do call back the number on our CIDs, we never know which organization is trying to reach us, because we don't speak to a live person, we just get a message saying something like this, "Thank you for your past support. If you'd like to be removed from the caller list, please leave your name and phone. Speak clearly and slowly so we get it right."
Why does it seem as though no one is there at first when you pick up and say "hello"?
Because it takes a few moments for the computer to switch a connected call from the computer system to the telemarketer's headset.
I let Mr. West, at PPRM, know that I, and many others, feel this type of robo calling is extremely dangerous for them. They will loose a lot of donors because people, such as myself, will never give money to anyone or any organization over the phone. Also, many people find this method for raising money very irritating and too generic, because the number comes up on Caller ID as Donor Services, not PPRM (or whatever NPO they are calling for). I stated, "This has put me off from ever giving money to PPRM again. You can now take me off the donor rolls forever, both their mailing and calling list. If I decide in the future to give money to Planned Parenthood again, it won't be to the Rocky Mt. chapter." He said he was very sorry to loose me as a donor. He also said it has been lucrative for them to use Donor Services, nonetheless. They reach a lot of people who do give this way. Well, that doesn't account for all the people, such as myself, who find this method intrusive and obnoxious.
So, in conclusion, Donor Services is a legitimate telemarketing service for a variety of organizations. They could be calling for a NPO or a political organization.
You can choose to answer the call to give money, answer and tell them directly what to do (that is, don't call again), or call back the number on your CID and have your name and number removed from donor's calling list.