78: To Do Good

Reflections on Generosity

"...that which is a hindrance is made a furtherance to an act; and that which is an obstacle on the road helps us on this road..."
This week, I am reading a quote from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, written around 171 AD.
Reflection questions:

• Is there a response from a donor that you need to stop giving too much weight to and instead put it in its proper place, thank the donor, and continue with your good work?

Reflection on quote:
One of my clients got the letter this week. You know the letter. You’ve sent out the year end appeal. You’ve started receiving donations in the mail. You feel very good about the generosity of the donors. Then you get the letter. It's the letter telling you that you should not wasted a stamp on an appeal letter, and that the donor wants you to remove them from the mailing list. Of course you check the database and you see that they've only given once as a very small donation. Despite all of the good work you’ve done, it's amazing how this one letter affects your day.
We don't know what is going on in the donor’s life who wrote us that letter or email. Perhaps they can only give a very small donation and they do truly feel as though you are wasting a portion of their small donation. Or perhaps they got bad news and our letter just came at the exact same time. No matter the reasoning, we have a choice in how we react. Will we give it more weight than needed, ruining our day? Will we see it as a distraction? Will we make major changes in response to a minor criticism? These are all possibilities. Or, we acknowledge the wisdom from the Meditations and we can put it in its proper place, thank the donor for their concern, and continue the work of giving opportunities for donors to give.
This work has entered the public domain.
What do you think?

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Music credit: Woeisuhmebop