The Similkameen News Leader
Editorial
July 08, 2008
RATIONING THE DONATIONS
One of the things I've noticed most of us business owners have in common in Princeton is the flood of requests we get for donations.
It slows down every now and then, but on the average week we get asked for some sort of contribution to a worthy cause probably once every other day. The requests come in e-mail, over the phone through the fax machine, through personal contact on the street and through the front door. As much as I'd like to help each and every cause, it's impossible so I've had to ration my donations.
I'm also aware of the fact I'm not the only business owner in town doing this.
Don't get me wrong, we do what we can in many different ways, but sometimes it feels as if all we are doing is giving and not receiving.
Typically we give ALL non-profit groups a cut in the advertising, which, in many cases, we can tell is appreciated greatly. Other times we aren't so sure.
For example, one group once appealed to us for free advertising for an event they were hosting that they were charging a healthy fee for tickets. We understand the concept of fundraising, but after we gave the group our standard advertising discount (25% off, if you really must know) they expected us to purchase tickets at full price.
I think I was more insulted than anything else, but I got over it.
By contrast, another group invites us to two of their annual events, feeds us, makes sure we have a wonderful social experience with their group and includes us as much as they can in the other events they host. They know we're going to talk about them in the paper, so it's probably worth it to them to do what they do, which we also appreciate.
And they are a fun bunch of volunteers to be around, which takes the 'work' part out of the equation.
Overall I don't mind the flood of requests. What gets me is the ones that don't remember our name, forget to thank us, get upset when we say no or assume we are just going to fall over ourselves to help because they happen to represent Group X.
Helpful Hint: Someone else was already here an hour ago telling me the same thing about Group Y and someone else will be here tomorrow to tell me the same thing about Group Z.
I should clarify, some of these are groups from out of town trying to take a chunk out of an already small piece of the pie and take it out of the Valley. The majority of local groups have a better handle on the community and understand all business owners are getting hit up for something on a regular basis.
Some have actually figured out some business owners talk to each other about these things. And sometimes their timing is just off.
The other side of the coin is that if it wasn't for the generosity of local businesses, many of these groups could not continue to function nor could they afford to host their annual events.
Something to consider the next time someone says in a meeting it's time to canvass businesses for more donations.
