Thanks for your comment. The person from a large corporation did not pay for the table, the corporation paid. In all my years of running events, it’s never happened that a person at a corporate table paid for the table personally.

I do think that more training would be helpful.

I don’t think it’s about us versus them though i see how it could come across that way. We must face the facts that donors are not always aligned with our best interests as nonprofit workers. If you are at a typical nonprofit, no one trains us to enforce our boundaries with donors.

I do think that development people are encouraged to put on a persona that they want to curry favor with donors, and at the same time they are encouraged to ask as much as possible. So naturally, friction occurs.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts,

Sincerely,

Mazarine

You’re right, no one HAS to pay for a table. And no one likes to be told what to do. No one HAS to spend money at a fundraising event.

But if you’re attending an event, then doesn’t it stand to reason that you’ll be asked to give? Shouldn’t they EXPECT to be asked?

Just a thought, and thank you for sharing yours,

Mazarine

PS. Thank you for your advice about rude donors! I appreciate it!

But I also wonder why this nonprofit person thought it was okay to tell a guest at an event that they should still have money, because they hadn’t paid for a table. This is a GUEST, right? Nobody HAS to pay for a table. “They didn’t like being told what to do by a nonprofit worker who should be kissing their feet.” And nobody likes being told what to do, as your friend did? I’m a little confused by this.

Rude donors? Just ignore them. It’s not about you. That kind of person is rude to everyone. You don’t have to compromise your own values.

Alexandra