Let this be a message to anyone who thinks the fundraising effort for Haiti will cause “donor fatigue”. They are seriously underestimating the people of this community.
Donor fatigue is what happens when people discover how to say “no” when someone knocks on their door, receipt book in one hand and brochures in the other, explaining all the good work made possible by generous donations. The first time, the “no” is difficult, but it gets easier. In fact, the fear is that it can become a habit.
Every time there is a major one-time fundraising effort, some organization representative expresses fear it will cut into donations elsewhere, i.e., that person’s organization. Donor fatigue implies that donations are a resource in short supply, and donors must be handled very carefully to keep those dollars coming in. More to the point, they must be guarded against poachers. It feels for all the world like the fundraising folks are looking at donors as so many cash cows that might stop producing if milked too often – or if a neighbour starts annoying them.
Perhaps it is a coincidence, but the fears of donor fatigue never seem to come from the people doing a dozen different things to raise money for the people of Haiti, or the food bank volunteers who were astounded at the phenomenal response to the increased need this past Christmas. They did not come from the hundreds of people who raised funds for the community complex, and they do not come from the organizations that have supported literally every youth activity in the community for years.
These people trust the generosity of this community. They are sure that their friends and neighbours will come through for them and the people they are helping. And they are right.
Does the team need new uniforms? Does an individual need a wheelchair ramp constructed? Do the people of Haiti need their hospitals, schools and homes rebuilt? When the need arises, our local service clubs will step up to the plate the way they always have, and so will the businesses in town. There will be individual donations, some amounting to thousands of dollars, but others consisting of dimes, nickels, and even pennies. However much we customarily give to our church and favourite charities, we can always scrape together a little more for a special cause.
That said, from time to time we make adjustments to what we give and to which charity we give it. A catastrophic illness or life-changing event can lead an individual or group to channel charitable dollars in a certain direction. Jobs change, the economy changes, personal and family incomes change, interests change. We give to charities we find relevant. And we make an extra effort to reach deep into our pockets when we feel the need is especially great.
We are generous, but human nature being what it is, we want to feel appreciated, or at the very least, to think our donations are doing good work.
Human nature being what it is, we are also inclined to wonder about organizations that use terms like “donor fatigue”. That little soupçon of desperation gets us thinking about such things as the percentage of each donated dollar that goes to where we want it, and the percentage that goes to administration; if the work done by the charity is relevant to ourselves, our community and our nation; and if an organization’s quest for donations has taken precedence over the charitable work the money funds.