Cheapskate

   I donate to charities on a regular basis, and I have the receipts to prove it, so I resent it when I feel like a cheapskate by not accepting a plea for a donation; there are some requests that I just don't feel comfortable complying with:
    1) I believe it should be illegal for anyone, worthy cause or not, to block highway traffic and ask you to deposit money in a canister.  It seems dangerous to all concerned.  I've even seen young children crossing back and forth in the roadway asking for contributions so their dance group can attend a function somewhere.  They should seek other avenues for fundraising. Or maybe it would be more constructive to teach the kids the work ethic as an alternative to begging.
  2)  Any solicitation by telephone is suspect.  At best, only a small percentage of the funds collected is received by the charity.  Those calls for the benefit of law enforcement are especially reprehensible because there is the implicit threat of increased criminal activity if money is not raised.  And in the tragic event of the death or disability of police officers, are there not generous insurance policies in effect to offset losses.  There should be. 
3) Requests for contributions by clerks in grocery or department stores seem to be on the rise.   You've clipped grocery coupons, sought out bargain prices, and purchased generic brands to save a few dollars, only to be  asked if you want to contribute to some good cause or other. It's awkward for both the asker and the asked.  Stop the practice; people go to the grocery store to buy groceries, not to give to charity. 
4)  This one is a little different; it concerns raffles, with more recent impact.  You attend a function, say at a school, sometimes by paid admission and sometimes free.  Raffle tickets are being sold, usually for a dollar apiece or ten for five dollars or so, on the 50:50 basis, with half the proceeds going to the cause and the other half to the lucky winner.  Past practice I've observed has the winner donating the prize money back to the charity.  And usually with a public acknowledgment.  I understand that's what is expected, though not mandated. How many different forms of intimidation exist?  I would rather pay a set admission price than go through the travesty of the pseudo-raffle where you gamble, you win, renounce your win, and then accept your due by bathing  in the glow of self righteousness.  It's either a win-win situation or a lose-lose situation; you figure it out.