Why you don't want a "one time gift"
Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:39 pm
Many people use the phrase “one time gift.” I think that phrase should be eliminated from our vocabulary. Here’s why.
The main reason is that we don’t really want a “one time gift.”
Do you really want a donor to give, just one time? Most of us don’t. Most of us hope that that donor who isn’t perhaps ready or able to commit to regular support will actually give another gift beyond this “one time gift.”
That’s why I think we should say “special gift.” Not “one time gift.”
If I ask a donor for a “one time gift,” I am, in effect, promising not to ask them for another gift. By this contribution, I am saying they are done. However, if I ask them for a “special gift,” then I may ask them again another time for another “special gift.”
So, although I know that some organizations use that phrase to refer to those special gifts used for a project or a “launch” fund (or whatever you call that special cash need upfront to get you on the field), I prefer and recommend the phrase “Special Gift.”
Just my opinion! Feel free to disagree. My wife disagrees with me regularly, and I still love her!
The main reason is that we don’t really want a “one time gift.”
Do you really want a donor to give, just one time? Most of us don’t. Most of us hope that that donor who isn’t perhaps ready or able to commit to regular support will actually give another gift beyond this “one time gift.”
That’s why I think we should say “special gift.” Not “one time gift.”
If I ask a donor for a “one time gift,” I am, in effect, promising not to ask them for another gift. By this contribution, I am saying they are done. However, if I ask them for a “special gift,” then I may ask them again another time for another “special gift.”
So, although I know that some organizations use that phrase to refer to those special gifts used for a project or a “launch” fund (or whatever you call that special cash need upfront to get you on the field), I prefer and recommend the phrase “Special Gift.”
Just my opinion! Feel free to disagree. My wife disagrees with me regularly, and I still love her!