If you're a fundraiser in the UK, you certainly remember the tragic story of Olive Cooke, the 93-year-old lady who took her own life, reportedly because she was "hounded to death" by fundraisers.
That's not what happened. She struggled with depression and declining health. She was a generous donor, but there was no indication that she was being "hounded" by charities, or that she took her life to get away from all the appeals she was getting.
It was a terrible lie. A slander against fundraisers. And against Olive Cooke.
But the UK press ran with the killed-by-fundraisers story. So did politicians, and this led to changes in the law that have, in some cases, throttled fundraising in the UK. (I originally blogged about this story here.)
Here's an update. A BBC Radio 4 program called The Corrections: Olive the Poppy Seller.
The program is about how journalists and politicians use standard narratives in sometimes dishonest ways to "improve" their stories -- or further their political goals.
The most chilling moment is when one of the politicians responsible for the attack on fundraising casually admits that he knew the story he was telling about Olive Cooke was not true, but that he went with it as a way of accomplishing his political goals.
This type of lie should be a career-ending scandal for the politicians and journalists who did it. But it isn't.
It could happen anywhere.
The best defense may be a good offense. We should be telling our own (true) stories about what charitable giving does for donors -- how it enriches their lives and empowers them. How fundraising, even though some may find it annoying, is a force for good in the world and in the lives of the wonderful donors who make it all work.
from Future Fundraising Now https://ift.tt/2l3Rchc
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