The Community of Friends
I recently visited a CPA in Indianapolis. He was a donor to The Salvation Army who had given for many years at a modest level. All of a sudden, he made a very large gift. When I found out about it, I was fortunate enough to secure an appointment with him. I was curious to see if I could engage him and build a relationship with him over time.
As I met with him in his office, he was warm and engaging. He was thankful that the tax season was finally winding down. He was looking forward to improving his golf game. I asked him what caused him to make such a wonderful, increased gift in 2012. He said he sold an asset and gave the proceeds to four charities in equal shares, including The Salvation Army.
I then really began to get curious. I asked him if he enjoyed my visit. He said he enjoyed it very much. I asked him if the other three charities contacted him in the same manner. He noted that not only did they contact him, but he and his wife went out to dinner with the president of one organization, visited another organization and met other representatives at the third organization. Instead of feeling very competitive and jealous with my juices flowing, I felt a sense of pride for my profession. I personally knew my other peers who visited him, and I was glad all were engaging him. I do not usually have the opportunity to discover this type of information from a donor.
The moral of this story is obvious. In Indianapolis, like other places across the United States, the competition for the charitable dollar is very keen. The good news from this experience is that fundraising professionals are making their involvement positive to the prospect and donor. In this case, the donor laughed and said he was happy to be so popular. He loved the attention from the four charities. If we truly care about those we serve, we realize quickly it is not about us individually but about our profession as a whole. We need to promote philanthropy and understand prospects have a wide range of choices, and many donors contribute to several charities at the same time. You have to share and be happy with your piece of the pie. It is all about promoting philanthropy!
- Companies:
- Salvation Army
Duke Haddad, Ed.D., CFRE, is currently associate director of development, director of capital campaigns and director of corporate development for The Salvation Army Indiana Division in Indianapolis. He also serves as president of Duke Haddad and Associates LLC and is a freelance instructor for Nonprofit Web Advisor.
He has been a contributing author to NonProfit PRO since 2008.
He received his doctorate degree from West Virginia University with an emphasis on education administration plus a dissertation on donor characteristics. He received a master’s degree from Marshall University with an emphasis on public administration plus a thesis on annual fund analysis. He secured a bachelor’s degree (cum laude) with an emphasis on marketing/management. He has done post graduate work at the University of Louisville.
Duke has received the Fundraising Executive of the Year Award, from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Indiana Chapter. He also was given the Outstanding West Virginian Award, Kentucky Colonel Award and Sagamore of the Wabash Award from the governors of West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana, respectively, for his many career contributions in the field of philanthropy. He has maintained a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation for three decades.
