Editor's Note: Listen Up!

But one e-mail excoriated me for my sometimes willy-nilly approach to giving. The writer said I made a mockery of the donation process and did a disservice both to donors and to the people who dedicate their lives' work to fundraising. She also called for my immediate dismissal.

My apologies to anyone who might have taken offense to that column. I have the utmost respect for donors, fundraisers and the philanthropic sector in general — and I'm fairly certain that most of our readers know that.