How do you feel about office "collections"?

**The Muse** · 07-25-2008, 09:33 AM

I'm so annoyed right now. Someone in my dept. got married last fall and everyone contributed to a wedding gift. Fine. Now they've bought a house and they're taking up another $10 collection. I'm sure a baby and another collection aren't that far off.

I'm feeling pressured to contribute, but I don't even particularly care for this person (not very friendly) and even if I did, I just contributed for a wedding gift last fall.

Should I just suck it up and contribute? How do you feel about office collections?

**ktsmama** · 07-25-2008, 09:35 AM

I think that office "collections" are one of the worst things that people do in an office.

**mhope** · 07-25-2008, 09:39 AM

I just do not have anything to with any kind collections at work.

**Texasgirl** · 07-25-2008, 09:42 AM

I would just tell them sorry not this time.
With the price of everything I am really surprised that someone is going around asking for donations.

**Izzy0906** · 07-25-2008, 09:50 AM

I just say no. There have been collections in my office at least once a month. I only contributed to one and that was someone in the office had triplets (and I happen to be pretty close to her) so I put in $10 towards a triple stroller. That was it. Everyone here passes out christmas & valentines cards & gifts, I can't so I don't. I give my boss some homemade jam and call it a day.

**suki** · 07-25-2008, 09:50 AM

I hate them. As an employer, I only allowed them in very special circumstances... the girl whose husband needed a kidney transplant and she was to be his donor, yeah we took up a collection for them. The girl whose house burned down, we took up a collection for her. The guy whose sister was killed in a car wreck two states away, we took up a collection to get him to the funeral.

You get the picture. Otherwise, I think they are very inappropriate.

**GM97** · 07-25-2008, 10:37 AM

i would say no because if you contribute for one co-worker you have to do it to everyone or they'll say you like her but not me, bla bla bla. plus i don't include those things in my budget.

**savvymom** · 07-25-2008, 10:37 AM

My office doesn't do them, but my mil has this problem. Her simple response is "I've already done something myself". They don't ask her to contribute, and she will do what she feels is appropriate. (card, small gift) Typically depending on the event in question and how close she is to the recipient.

**Twinkle** · 07-25-2008, 10:44 AM

I don't like them either especially when it's a specific amount of $. I definitely would not contribute to someone I didn't like. When they were collecting for my manager in my last job (who I couldn't stand) I just said "I can't contribute at this time."

**yankeegal** · 07-25-2008, 11:42 AM

I don't like them either...I don't like people that bring their kid's fundraising stuff in either.

**champagnium** · 07-25-2008, 11:51 AM

hmm...I'm in the minority I guess. I always participate. I love celebrating momentous occasioions with the people I spend 5 days a week with personally. I guess it depends on how mnay are in your office, or how often it goes on.
I just enjoy it, it comes from the gifts/occasions section of my spending budget, which is usually $30/month or so. This is a cut waaaaay back for me, since I used to spend $50 on shower gifts and $20 when child arrived, or $50 on shower and $100 on wedding gift. When I had been to 4 weddings in one summer, and average one baby shower a month, that changed

**IamBlessed** · 07-25-2008, 11:55 AM

I don't particularly care for them, especially since we have a fund established at the beginning of the year to take care of hospital stays, funerals, etc.. However, we get asked to contribute all the time! I give something if I want to and if I have it in my pocket. Since I don't carry my purse into my school, it's easier for me. I just tell them that my purse is locked in my trunk and I can't contribute right now.

**FrugalMomof3** · 07-25-2008, 12:00 PM

My office had them and personally I didn't contribute.... I dont feel I should have to, so I wont... I have other things better to spend my money on. JMHO.

**shoiji** · 07-25-2008, 12:01 PM

I always found it a pain. One year I was trying to pay-off all my credit cards and kept being hit with oh so and so is having this. Grant it one person I was able to not contribute to.

**suebeehoney** · 07-25-2008, 12:10 PM

I work in a very large company, where in just the main office, there are over 100 of us, and 85 of them are on the same floor that I work on.

It seems to go in streaks where there are deaths in the family, injuries or losses that induce SOMEONE to pass a card with an envelope asking for money. At those times, it seems we get a card with a money envelope every few days. I would say on average, we see at least one or two a month the rest of the time. It's always a wedding gift, baby gift, illness/death of family member, or illness/injury of the worker.

Then there's the birthdays. Our office has a "birthday potluck" every month for the birthdays that occur in that month. Then the close co-workers of the birthday person will have a smaller potluck the day of the birthday itself. Not to mention the Christmas gifts & Boss' Day gifts, etc. One supervisor has Boss' Day, birthday and then Christmas all within 3 months - so those who work for that supervisor are hit hard.

I get VERY tired of being the one that always says "sorry, can't afford it right now". But the amount of "stuff" we do at work that requires money is just ridiculous.