DEAR MISS MANNERS: My brother and I are the financial gatekeepers for our elderly, quite wealthy mother. Mom refers all requests for donations to us.

How do we politely get some of these requesters to just go away? One in particular keeps pestering me for a meeting with my mother. She’s looking for, I believe, either a major gift or to be included in the will.

We have to continue to live in this relatively small town, so I can’t be as rude as I would like to be.

GENTLE READER: Why would you wish to be rude? Fundraisers may be persistent, but they are, in Miss Manners’ experience, no more interested than anyone else in wasting their time.

Explain that you and your brother make these decisions for your mother, and that you are not interested in donating to this cause. If you feel these r

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