Q: Is there some sort of rationale why all of these military wounded veterans charitable organizations all have the same $19 a month request for funds? Is there a tax reason or is $19 just catchy?
—Robert Radics, Cumming
A: The philosophy is called "charm pricing" or "psychological pricing." "Apparently, we've been culturally conditioned to associate 9-ending prices with discounts and better deals," William Poundstone, the author of "Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value and How to Take Advantage of It," told CBSNews.com in 2011.
Also, people read numbers left to right, so the first number — in this case 1 – registers before the second number, which is called the “left-digit effect.” “We encode it in our minds before we read all the digits,” Vicki Morwitz, a marketing professor at New York University, said in the article.
Q: Is there any reliable source that shows the salaries of charitable organizations’ officers and the actual amount spent on the needy?
—C. Tann Lightsey, Smyrna
A: CharityWatch.org, CharityNavigator.org, GuideStar.org, the Better Business Bureau's Give.org and the Tampa Bay Times are among the organizations that track charitable organizations, including executive compensation. They rate organizations and compile lists according to how those charitable organizations meet certain criteria. The Tampa Bay Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting collaborate to compile "America's Worst Charities" at tampabay.com/americas-worst-charities.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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