Don’t Fear Street Canvassers

The beginning of the presidential primaries brings with them loads of annoying television commercials, ridiculous question and answer press conferences that are hilariously called “debates” and polling data that apparently isn’t very accurate. An election year also means that there is a ton of fundraising going on all over the nation. One way that a political party or a candidate raises money is through street canvassing.

If you live in a large city, chances are that you have already seen street canvassers. Thus far I’ve already run into canvassers from environmental groups, both the Republican and Democratic parties and a couple of different candidates. I myself was a canvasser back in 2004 and it was quite the experience. I met some very good friends, had the opportunity to walk around the streets of New York for hours at a time and work for a cause that I believed in.

Many people get nervous about handing a check or cash to a stranger that’s holding a clipboard. I’m here to ease your minds about street canvassers. Here is why you should give money to street canvasses.

First reason you should give money to a street canvasser: Grassroots campaigning is important.

To be truthful, my biggest problem with canvassing in general is that it doesn’t happen enough. Candidates and parties are more than willing to except fat checks from corporate interest groups or wealthy businessman that attend a black-tie affair because, well, it’s easy. Those candidates then have to give back to the wealthy after the election and they do so every time.

Grassroots campaigning, such as street canvassing, reaches out to the common man and woman that won’t be receiving an invite to any galas. I’m not suggesting that every person that donates to a canvasser is middle or lower class. More often than not that is the case, however.

Second reason you should give money to a street canvasser: You may forget to donate later.

You may encounter a street canvasser, decide that the organization and person are legit but still choose to donate online instead. Life can be hectic and there is a chance that you will simply forget to do so. Giving your donation to the street canvasser at that particular moment gets the job done. You won’t have to worry about doing something later on in the day or week.

Third reason you should give money to a street canvasser: You’re helping the canvasser out.

Almost every street canvasser makes money based upon how much money he or she raises during a particular day or week. You may not be too wild about that fact, but realize what these individuals have to put up with everyday. Street canvassers are constantly ridiculed, mocked and laughed at and often work during terrible weather for not very much pay. Is it really a shame that this person is making five bucks off of your donation? I don’t think so.

Fourth reason you should give money to a street canvasser: You can do so safely.

Many people feel that giving money to a street canvasser is dangerous. After all, there are countless scams out there. Instead, people choose to donate online. I guess the fear of hackers and credit card fraud doesn’t phase others as much as it does me. On the other hand, you could have just written a check and given that check to a street canvasser. What’s a person going to do with a check written out to the DNC? Somehow, I think they’d have a problem cashing that in at the bank.

Street canvassing is a very viable option for fundraising. Once you are sure that the organization you have just learned about it legit, you should have no fears about donating money to a street canvasser.