Before and during a political election we get tons - hundreds?- of urgent requests for donations. "We need $79,000 by midnight- can you help?" "So and So is falling behind in funds- money is pouring in for the opponent. Help!" "Deadline is tomorrow night! Please contribute as much as you can!"
And on and on.
My question is: Why don't they specify what they need the money for? Why not say, "If you can help us, we will be able to purchase more airtime for So and So. Studies show that exposure on television helps convince people that our guy is the real thing- please help us reach our goal." Or "Most of our election workers are volunteers and we couldn't do without them, but there are other workers who need to be paid - we can't ask them to put in 14 hour days seven days a week without money to live on."
And so on. I know that I would contribute more often and to more causes if they would tell me what they will use it for.