I love, love, LOVE this comment we received from a reader who responded to Kimberly Seville’s April installment of DM Diagnosis, where she talked about the importance of organizations sending out timely thank-yous to donors.
This is the message we got via fundraisingsuccessmag.com from Sharon Chinnery, director of development and public relations at the Quality Hill Playhouse in Kansas City, Mo.:
Dear Ms. Seville,
I work for a small nonprofit theatre, and we thank our donors promptly. If you send your next contribution to Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th St., Kansas City, MO 64105, you’ll soon be telling people how nicely you were thanked by this little — and very grateful — nonprofit theatre. We hire local professionals and students, and performances are top-notch. Check us out on the Web at www.qualityhillplayhouse.com
How cheeky and charmingly proactive is that? I think everyone who reads this should send QHP a little something — I know I’m going to — just because of Sharon’s chutzpah. She saw and seized an unexpected opportunity to welcome a new friend and some extra cash into her organization’s fold — and she did it cleverly and with a great deal of grace. Roger Craver and Tom Belford: If you Agitator guys are reading this, I think Sharon Chinnery deserves a raise!
But not all the news is good
Last week, the AOL welcome screen featured a story about Jim Dancy of Kalamazoo, Mich., who won $10,000 in the lottery and promptly donated it in full to the Greater Kalamazoo United Way. Personally, I was moved almost to tears by the man’s kind deed, but I was deeply saddened by the majority of comments left under the story from readers all over the country. At the time I read it, I had to scroll down through two full screens before I found a single comment that shared my joy over the story. Many questioned Dancy’s motives for the gift and his reasons for playing the lottery in the first place. But many others expressed disdain for the United Way and, even more disturbing, for nonprofit organizations in general.
I guess the pundits aren’t kidding when they say public trust in nonprofits is at an all-time low. Luckily, the readers of this magazine can help change that — through your professionalism, through your constant drive for accountability and transparency, and through the flawless stewardship of donor dollars. It might be slow-going; it might be frustrating. But it definitely will be worth it — for your individual organizations and for the philanthropic community as a whole. You’re up against it, folks, but you certainly have what it takes to break it down.
Margaret Battistelli
Editor-in-Chief
mbattistelli@napco.com
Editor's Note: Way to Go!
I love, love, LOVE this comment we received from a reader who responded to Kimberly Seville’s April installment of DM Diagnosis, where she talked about the importance of organizations sending out timely thank-yous to donors.
This is the message we got via fundraisingsuccessmag.com from Sharon Chinnery, director of development and public relations at the Quality Hill Playhouse in Kansas City, Mo.:
Dear Ms. Seville,
I work for a small nonprofit theatre, and we thank our donors promptly. If you send your next contribution to Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th St., Kansas City, MO 64105, you’ll soon be telling people how nicely you were thanked by this little — and very grateful — nonprofit theatre. We hire local professionals and students, and performances are top-notch. Check us out on the Web at www.qualityhillplayhouse.com
How cheeky and charmingly proactive is that? I think everyone who reads this should send QHP a little something — I know I’m going to — just because of Sharon’s chutzpah. She saw and seized an unexpected opportunity to welcome a new friend and some extra cash into her organization’s fold — and she did it cleverly and with a great deal of grace. Roger Craver and Tom Belford: If you Agitator guys are reading this, I think Sharon Chinnery deserves a raise!
But not all the news is good
Last week, the AOL welcome screen featured a story about Jim Dancy of Kalamazoo, Mich., who won $10,000 in the lottery and promptly donated it in full to the Greater Kalamazoo United Way. Personally, I was moved almost to tears by the man’s kind deed, but I was deeply saddened by the majority of comments left under the story from readers all over the country. At the time I read it, I had to scroll down through two full screens before I found a single comment that shared my joy over the story. Many questioned Dancy’s motives for the gift and his reasons for playing the lottery in the first place. But many others expressed disdain for the United Way and, even more disturbing, for nonprofit organizations in general.
I guess the pundits aren’t kidding when they say public trust in nonprofits is at an all-time low. Luckily, the readers of this magazine can help change that — through your professionalism, through your constant drive for accountability and transparency, and through the flawless stewardship of donor dollars. It might be slow-going; it might be frustrating. But it definitely will be worth it — for your individual organizations and for the philanthropic community as a whole. You’re up against it, folks, but you certainly have what it takes to break it down.
Margaret Battistelli
Editor-in-Chief
mbattistelli@napco.com