It's Mildred not Millie!!

Face it… you are not her friend.  You don’t want to be her friend.  And she doesn’t want you to be her friend.

Yes, you work for an organization that she may love because it empowers her. Your organization can do what she cannot do on her own.  You can feed the poor for her.  You can deliver clean drinking water to impoverished nations for her.  Or you can cure a disease for her.

You help her to help others.  She believes in your ability to do that.  And that’s why she gives.

But she deserves your respect.  Her name is Mildred.  Not Millie!!  Her friends call her Millie.  And, although you work together to help others, you are not her friend.

She cares about several causes.  And, if you annoy her, she’ll give to another organization.  Perhaps even a competitor.  Ah yes! Let’s not forget… there is competition in fundraising.

So, when you write to Mildred asking for money, you better get her name right.  Because getting it wrong is downright disrespectful.  But even worse, getting it wrong shows incompetence— which breeds distrust.  And distrust is the beginning of the end of your relationship together.