My doorbell rang yesterday afternoon and when I opened the door I was confronted with a gang of four young moppets seeking donations for a walk-a-thon to benefit something-or-other to do with the local schools.  My first thought was that they obviously aren’t teaching reading since these girls ignored the giant “NO SOLICITORS” sign.  Or perhaps they don’t see it as soliciting.  My next thought was that I’d already given at the (tax collector’s) office, and rather generously at that.  But I just couldn’t bring myself to crush these eager young students with such thoughts. 

At this point I learned that I could either pledge a certain amount for each lap they walked or give a fixed amount.  I decided it would be simpler to just give them the money up front and the figure of $10.00 popped out of my brain as a seemingly reasonable figure.  Unfortunately, as I scanned my wallet, I determined that I had a couple of $20’s and a few $1’s.  I asked the lead moppet if she had any change and she replied that she did not.  So as I handed over the $20 I couldn’t help but think that not carrying any change is an effective strategy for driving up collections.