Rav Dovid Grossman
Answer: There is a Torah prohibition to refuse to give a donation to a poor person who asks you for money, as well as a positive commandment to give him something.
This prohibition has a few caveats. First of all, it only applies to a poor person who is raising money for his own needs. If someone is collecting money for a yeshiva, shul, mikveh, etc., one does not transgress this prohibition if he does not donate. Even if someone is collecting as a representative of an organization that helps poor people, there would be no prohibition to refrain from giving him, as long as the poor man himself is not personally asking you for a donation.
The Poskim discuss if a person has to respond to every solicitation from a poor person that he receives in the mail. I believe that the determining factor would be if the poor person is personally asking you for a donation or not. If he sent out a mass mailing, text or email to hundreds of people, and you just happen to be on his list, it cannot be considered a personal request for help; therefore, there would be no prohibition to not respond.
On the other hand, if he sends you a personal letter, text, or email asking for your help, this certainly would be considered a personal request, and one would be prohibited to ignore it.
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