Network for Good ... or Bad?

ho-ho-ho, merry donations

Back in 2009, when I did my Christmas Charity donations, I paid directly to the charities on their own online websites. For my 2010 donation bonanza, I decided to try something different, in the form of
Network for Good.

Network for Good is a 'one-stop-shop' donation website, connected to over a million charities. The idea is simple: instead of going to a bunch of sites and filling out a bunch of forms, go to one site and do it all there. It works like a store for donations. Pick your charity, set the donation amount, and add it to your cart. Just like Amazon. Sort of.

I decided that this was worth a try.

On December 22, 2010, I browsed to the Network for Good website. A Giant Banner informed me that THERE IS STILL TIME TO DONATE FOR THE 2010 TAX YEAR, so I had no fear that I was too late to use the service. I created a profile, logged on, and used Network for Good to donate to 10 Organizations. I also added an 11th "donation" to Network for Good so that 100% of my money would be passed to the charities (as opposed to some of it being used to handle processing fees).

I got my receipt on screen and via e-mail. All was good.

Then, in late January 2011, I started to receive confirmations of my donations from my various charities with statements like "Thank you for your donation made on January 20, 2011 via Network for Good"  Excuse me? I made these donations back in December 2010. What was going on?

I immediately wrote to Network for Good:

I tried you for the first time back on December 22, 2010 (see receipt below),
but now I am not so happy about it.I am starting to receive confirmation emails from my various charities and I am not liking what I am seeing.


1) Why is there such a lag between my donation and its delivery to at least some of the various charities? I haven't received letters from some of them, so I am wondering if some haven't even received it yet???? I'm feeling the need to start contacting some of them to find and, and I'm not happy about this. Your tax page clearly says that I could donate up to Dec 31 for that tax year, but now I have conflicting documentation. This puts me in an awkward tax situation. I have your receipt and I have theirs, and they do not match.


2) Why was money taken away from my donations???
I paid the extra money to Network for Good so that 100% of my donations would go to my charities. But that is not what happened. Network for Good STILL took money.  e.g., I donated $25 to Rails-to-Trails, BUT my receipt from them says that I only donated $24.79. What happened? So now, not only do the dates not match, the numbers don't match either.


Could you please explain these discrepancies, as soon as possible?

I got a response pretty quickly:

Thank you for your inquiry.


1.) Let me explain how it works. For tax purposes, it goes by the date that you MADE the donation, not the date that the nonprofit received it. When you made your donation, you received a receipt via email with the date of the donation, amount, etc & that is what you use for tax purposes. What the nonprofit sends you is just an acknowledgement-you do not use that for your taxes. We pay the nonprofits on the 15th of the following month for all donations made in the entire previous month. The only reasons a nonprofit would not have received the check from us is if they moved and did not change their address with us or it got lost in the mail. I can tell you that out of all the donations you made on December 22, only one is not showing as having cashed the check Either they didn't receive it or they are holding on to it. It is up to them as to when they send out their thank you acknowledgements to the donors.

2.) Rails-to-Trails gave you the incorrect amount as they received 100% of your donation so their email should have said $25, not $24.79. They may not realize that the donors cover the fee for them as we changed that policy back in the summer of 2010. Once again, do not go by their email, go by the receipt that we sent you.

What am I supposed to think, now? I'm still not happy with this math ...

• I've got 10 organizations that I've donated to.
• Of these, I've only heard from 5 of them so far. Did the others really get the money, like Network for Good says? Or did they not? I guess I need to manually followup with all of them? GAD.
• Of these 5, they report receiving the money on various dates between Jan 14 and Feb 17. This does not jive AT ALL with Network for Good's assertion that all money was transferred the 15th of the next month ... i.e., on Jan 15, 2011. How could one group receive the money BEFORE the official transfer date, while another received it over a month later? [This 15th of the month revelation is in fact on the NfG site, but it is only available 3 levels down in the online FAQs, which are available from the Network for Good Help link, which is in small print in the footer. I don't think I'm alone in assuming that my donation was going to be transferred in a few days.]
• What about the one that says they received less than I sent to them?  She is saying to not believe Rails-to-Trails, that they really got $25. But they are saying that they only got $24.79. Who do I believe? I've written to R-to-T twice, but haven't heard back. I don't know if they are researching it, or if their responses are disappearing into my massive SPAM folder. Eventually, I'll figure this out, but this is a massive pain. 
• And, what about the one that NfG says didn't cash the money?  This was Animal Welfare League of Alexandria. I followed up with them, asking why they hadn't cashed the check, and they were baffled by my question. They assured me that they had cashed the check within two days of getting it and it was in their bank account. So who do I believe? Do they really have the money ... or not?

So, bottomline, I have no decisive conclusions. Only doubt. Enough doubt that this coming December 2011, I'll be going back to my site by site approach from 2009. As Ripley so memorably said in Aliens, "It's the Only Way to be Sure."

Has anyone else donated through Network for Good? I'd be interested in hearing your experience.

Time to trade in the Robot ... if only I could figure out how

When I'm not pondering consumerism, I work in the WWW (Wonderful World of Web) Industry. When you're in the Internet Biz, you subscribe to hundreds of lists. It's just what you do.

One I subscribe to is a list sponsored by Anne Holland, called Which Test Won? It's all about comparing web sites or HTML emails to figure out which is the more compelling message in creating 'conversions' of customers.

A few weeks ago, an A/B test popped up comparing two versions of the iRobot website. As an industry professional, I was supposed to be gaining knowledge about the user perception of a popup modal window (is it good data to be read, or close it as fast as possible because it is a junky ad) but what I took away from this one was, "WOW! You can trade in an old Roomba for a discount on a new one? HOT!"  (Hopefully, trading up to a new iRobot won't have the same dire consequences as trading up a robot in I, Robot, did. Heh.)

The problem with my Roomba is that my son loves it. He has loved it since he could crawl, and as a toddler he still loves it. And as any parent knows, it is never good for any electronic product to be loved by a child. That typically means being loved TO DEATH. If only my son hadn't ripped off the top sensor, at least it would be able to limp back to its station to charge itself, but the poor thing can't even do that.  In short, my Roomba has seen much better days.

So, I went to the iRobot site, looking for info on this grand deal. Nothing. So I linked to the consumer site.Nothing. I linked to parts, service, deals, promotions. Nothing. I could NOT find any mention of this program, and I even knew I was looking for it!

So, I figured I'd contact them. I linked to email customer care. But the form required I put in my serial number of my current one. (i.e., You can't contact their customer care if you are a potential customer; you must already be a customer.) Too much effort.   So I linked to the 'Call us' section: the only hours they are open are the prime hours I am at work. Sigh.

So, if this grand deal still exists, I doubt that many folks are going to take advantage of it. Hopefully, they'll realize this and start to promote it all the time with the same modal popup as they used in their test. Otherwise, I don't see this program succeeding.

I don't suppose anyone out there has successfully done this and has a tale to tell?

A Tale of Three Sippy Cups

Happy St. Patrick's Day! My theme today is cups. Not cups that hold Beer, but cups that hold juice and milk.

A few years ago, I lamented about not being able to buy just the part I want for certain products. Now, I am further lamenting that even when it is possible, buying just the part I want is often difficult and expensive.

My Goal: Revive 3 Sippy/Straw Cups that have had just one part wear out on each of them. I don't want to toss them and get new ones. I just want to replace the broken parts.

The slightly worn Frog Cup

Nuby Flip-It Insulated Cup

My son chewed through the straw on this in a few weeks.  Tracking down this product was actually a bit difficult, as I bought it under the brand 'Cottontails.' But eventually the Internet led me to 'Nuby' and photos proved it was the same cup.

That tip then led me to Nuby's incomprehensible site. I just had no idea at all where to go after reading this wackiness, so I went to Amazon and found the Nuby Replacement Straw Kit for cups. The photo shows 3 lids, but it actually only includes one. The reviews are deservedly scathing: twice the price of a whole new cup just for a replacement straw, plus shipping??? It's one thing to reuse and replace, but it's another to get totally screwed while doing it.  After hunting around on Amazon a little more, I found another replacement straw kit that is a better deal, but still very close to the cost of a whole new cup. I thought about writing Nuby to complain, but the incomprehensible website (see above) had no way to Contact them that I could find. That's a little scary if I had actually had a serious issue with the cup.

The Dino Cup

Playtex Insulated Twist 'n Click Straw Cup 

My darling son chewed through the straw of this one in 2 days. So, I'm barely motivated to get a new one only to see it munched through again. You need to read essays of text to figure out which type of replacement straw you need, but they do have some pretty good photos and lots of big red warnings that warn you of common mistakes.  Same basic pricing issue as the Nuby cup: I can get a 2-pack of new cups for the same cost as 3 replacement straws plus shipping. I'm not sure that is worth it.
Playtex actually had a 'contact us' section on their website, so I wrote them about my frustrations in trying to replace the straw at a reasonable price.

It's frustrating that the straw wears out so quickly on this cup (My son chewed through it after two uses) but it is difficult and expensive to buy replacement parts. (You can buy the new cups in stores, but need to pay shipping for the replacement parts.) Have you considered packaging extra straws in with the cup and charging $1-$2 more? I don't think I'll bother with a new straw, but I am wondering if the cup is recyclable or if I have to trash it. It has no recycling symbol on it, but isn't polypropylene recyclable? 

 They wrote back within 48 hours. 

Thank you for contacting us regarding the Playtex® Insulator® Straw Cups. To answer your question, these cups have a recycle code of 5. Please contact your local recycling facility to verify they recycle this type of plastic. In appreciation for your feedback we are sending you two coupons that we encourage you to use towards any Playtex Infant Feeding products.

Well, maybe I'll try getting those replacement straws, after all! (Then, if he chews through the first in two days. I'll pack up the cup and give it as a gift to someone else.) 



Take & Toss

So Simple. So colorful.

These cups have been our all-around favorite cups, with the sippy cup lids rather than the straw lids. (Note: They are our favorites after you make the holes larger with an ice pick. This is an important detail as so many reviews of these have parents saying "We can't get a drop of liquid out through these lids!")

But our son chomps on these lids, too, and eventually they need to be replaced. The CUPS last forever; all we need are LIDS. But the only place to get lids is online and they cost of the lids is just about the same as the lid + cup, plus I need to pay shipping. Why is it so much more expensive to just get the lids? I pay it as a contribution to the environment (why buy more cups I don't need), but it is frustrating. I wrote to them about this ...

We like your sippy cups very much. For something supposedly designed to be tossed away, they are nearly indestructible. The lids, however, are more destructible. It is great that you sell replacement lids, but you only do it on your main site. Have you ever considered making these replacement parts more widely available? Have you ever considered packaging the cups with an extra lid and then just charging an extra dollar? Either of these would be helpful.

They wrote me back almost immediately, saying that they'd definitely pass along my ideas to their product department. Whether that actually happens or not, it was nice to get a response.

But one thing I'll say about Take & Toss... once the lids wear out you can definitely toss them in the recycling bin. There are just simple plastic, #5 recycling. (At least where we live, we can recycle these). That's nice. The other cups are too complex and I'm not sure they are really recyclable. I just made an order for more lids and more bowls. These things are great.

***

Are other folks having the same experience? That just one or two parts of these cups wear out and then you're stuck? 

The All-Powerful Grippy Pad

My father bought a little rubber 'grippy pad' to put under his cutting board. I thought this was pretty clever. A wet washcloth will work for stopping board slippage, but then you're left with a wet washcloth to hang somewhere and/or someone else in the kitchen can't do other things that require the washcloth ... like washing dishes.

So I went to hunt one down for myself. I couldn't find a single pad like he bought, but I did find a roll of grippy material made by Con-Tact. I paused, wondering "What am I going to DO with all this stuff?" but what I should have asked myself was "What am I NOT going to do with this stuff?!?"

This stuff is the BEST. I don't know how I ever lived without it. It fills in so many gaps. 

It holds the toddler's potty in place,
so it doesn't slip when he sits on it.

It holds my cell phone in place 

on my car's dashboard.

It stops my bookends
from slipping.

It stops my flatware trays 

from sliding back into the drawer.

It stops my toddler's plate from sliding. It lets me grip tight jar lids better to pry them off.

It's absolutely awesome,
and I still have half a roll left.

Anyone else have any good ideas for it?

Hunting for a Tea Leaf in a hay stack

I adore Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla Red Tea, and I just ran out of it.

I went to my local Giant grocery store, where I had bought it before. Not there. I tried Whole Foods Market. No luck. Sigh.

So I tried their website. Celestial Seasonings has one of the most amazing product pages ever.

Not only is the design attractive, with a big photo of the product, it has a search that tells me exactly where to find the product AND links to use to tell Celestial if the product isn't there. Wow! Great Website design!

And if you aren't near any of those stores, you can buy online from Celestial Seasonings (or from our friends at Amazon, of course.)