A: Good afternoon, sir! Can I bother you for a donation?
B: I’m in a bit of a hurry. What’s it for?
A: We’re collecting on behalf of a sea rescue operation.
B: Do you work for them, then?
A: Oh no, we’re all volunteers. Happy to raise funds in our spare time.
B: And what kind of organisation are they?
A: They’re a charity, sir, an NGO. They mainly help refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. They do good work and save thousands of people every year.
B: That sounds admirable. What’s the usual donation?
A: You can give whatever you like or, better still, you can make regular payments via credit card or direct debit. It’s all explained in this leaflet.
B: Well, it sounds like a good cause. Here’s a fiver. I’ll read the leaflet when I get home.
A: Much appreciated, sir! Have a lovely day.
NOW LET’S REVIEW THE VOCABULARY!
Can I bother you? is a polite opening phrase when you approach someone without warning.
On behalf of means ‘in the interest of’ someone or something.
Collecting money for an organisation is called raising funds.
Spare time is the time you have free after fulfilling your obligations.
A non-governmental organisation, or NGO, is a not-for-profit organisation independent from the government, usually in support of a social, environmental or political issue.
A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country to escape war, persecution or natural disaster.
Better still is an idiom used to indicate that a particular option is preferable.
A direct debit is an authorisation to take money out of a bank account at regular intervals.
A good cause is an activity worth doing which is helpful, but not for profit.
A £5 note is colloquially called a fiver.
Much appreciated is a polite expression of gratitude.