How not to raise funds for your charity/network

I got an email this morning from an unfamiliar name asking me to please forgive the sender for so quickly sending a second email requesting funds for his charity.

In other words: two emails sent one after another by someone I don’t know asking me for money.

Have you ever noticed how people raising money think that their charity is the only one that matters (because it matters deeply to them) and that they are somehow doing you a favor by asking for your money (as if you don’t have any charitable causes of your own?).

Well, since I didn’t even know the guy, I asked politely how we were related. He responds: “I think you interviewed me for articles several times.” Well, that got me hot in the face. Was it true? If so, I’ve not interviewed him in at least two years (I checked my publication’s database). In the process, I remembered meeting him, at a hedge fund party back in May.

I’m pretty certain that it was the first time we’ve met. Even so, he got my business card, and so without even a “Hi, how are you” he just starts soliciting away.

This is no way to build relationships or ask for money. You’ve got to make people care about your causes, not simply bombard them with requests with no introduction. Relationships are built over time. When my friends in business ask for donations, I’m happy to do what I can.

Also note the pomposity of a highly compensated banker (in this case) asking a journalist to help him raise money. Just the same when these huge foundations boast of the millions their members donate. Don’t let them make you feel small. What little I can give each year is a larger percentage of my much smaller net worth.

When I find this guy’s card, it’s going in the circular file.

Don’t Lie! - A Follow-up

Following up on my post about the Evils of Social Networking and the importance of not lying on your resume (this post). I just got this email (edited for names, etc.):

Subject: John Smith is cheating you on applying to your school
–
Dear Sir /Madam,
My roommate, John Smith, enrolled in a Graduate School of Random University in 2006. But he failed several important courses, cheated during exams and then was then kicked out of the school. After that he got a job in another part of the school, I heard he was applying for your University for Fall 2007 and did not inform you that he had failed out. It is an outrage, but the message is true. Please contact the admin office of Random University or human resources there to check on his current status.

His last name is Smith, First name is John. He is from a Random Country.

Please contact the school to verify what I have said [Contact Information erased]
Sincerely ,
John Smith’s Roomate

So remember, watch your back and don’t lie, you never know who is going to rat you out.