Thursday, June 11, 2015

Why I Won't Donate Any Funds to Marine Conservation Organizations in the Future


Here's a typical interaction with a marine conservation organization. 

I have a great company that has sponsored my work for many years now. They agreed to donate $500 to a marine environmental organization that I suggest. I contact this organization, S* (not the real name), since I have heard from friends and colleagues that they are doing good work. Stopping the shark finning trade is one of the few marine conservation issues that can actually be accomplished within our lifetimes. I also ask: “My hope is that you already have a process in place to recognize and publicize contributions to your organization.”

The director is pleased to hear from me, and he states:
Hello, Norb. Thank you very much for this. It's very much appreciated and will be put to good use. We do have a page on our website where we can put a mention and a description of you and P* (not the real name). “

He also states:
“As I mentioned to Norbert, we'll be adding an acknowledgement to our supporters page on our website for this gift. Also, please expect a more official 'thank you' in the mail, shortly.”

In the end, however, NONE of what S* promised ever happened. They took my sponsor's $500 donation, but said essentially "sorry, but no mention for you since your donation is such a pittance." No one ever received a “thank you” in the mail either. As far as I know, no mention of my sponsor's donation was ever made -- as was originally promised. 

Here's what the director of S* wrote -- after initially stating that they have a website page for mentions!:
“We haven't before acknowledged donations publicly on our website, but we do so for large corporate sponsorships, currently in the several thousands of dollars or more, and for foundation grants. Corporate sponsorships are not pure donations in that for a large sum of donation, they usually do expect something back in return in the form of recognition. The level of that benefit is negotiated. What you have seen on our sponsorship page is one way that we have agreed to acknowledge these large sponsorships. “

My sponsor graciously accepted all the above with no rancor. But this situation has bothered me enough that today, three years later, I have decided to post it with all names anonymous.

So, as I've found often happens with marine conservation organizations – they are happy to accept donations, but then they renege on their promises.


Here are the email communications.  S* is the marine conservation organization.  P* is my sponsor.  P* donated $500 to S* at my behest.  


On Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 10:50 AM, Norbert Wu Productions Office wrote:
Dear S*:

I am a friend of D...., who suggested that I contact you. He
says good things about you!

I am an underwater photographer. One of my sponsors is the company
P* (not the real name).

I am donating the use of my images and testimonials about P*'s products
for their PR efforts, and in exchange, P* has agreed to contribute the
amount of $500 to S* or other worthy nonprofit organization.

I suggested S* since I know you guys are doing good work, and
because I know some of the folks involved. Stopping the shark finning
trade is one of the few marine conservation issues that can actually be
accomplished within our lifetimes.

I'd like to ask if S* would be willing and able to issue a
press release and other PR material that publicizes this contribution
and the names of the contributors, who would be P*,
Inc. and myself. My hope is that you already have a process in place to
recognize and publicize contributions to your organization.

Thanks and I look forward to your reply.

--
Best,
Norb
------------------------------
Norbert Wu Productions
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
USA



From:S* director
Date: Wed, May 23, 2012 at 8:03 AM
Subject: Re: contribution to Shark Savers
To:
Cc: D..

Hello, Norb. Thank you very much for this. It's very much appreciated and will be put to good use. We do have a page on our website where we can put a mention and a description of you and PSI. It would be difficult to create a press release for this, but I think the public acknowledgement that we can create will be appropriate. 

Thank you again for causing this donation.

Executive Director, S*


From: Executive Director, S*
Date: Fri, May 25, 2012 at 7:20 AM
Subject: Re: Lowepro profile of Norb Wu
To: ...
Thank you, very much, David and Norbert. This donation is greatly appreciated. As I mentioned to Norbert, we'll be adding an acknowledgement to our supporters page on our website for this gift. Also, please expect a more official 'thank you' in the mail, shortly.

With best regards,

Executive Director, S*


On Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 5:55 PM, P* wrote:

Hi, Executive Director, S*,

The link below will get you to the logo artwork
for use with the Norbert photo/text or however you wish to present it.


Here is a short blurb for you if
appropriate .....

P* provides exceptionally high-purity cleaning
products
for cleaning digital camera sensors, lenses, filters and more. The
only products
for sensor cleaning recommended by camera manufacturers and trusted world-
wide by real pros, like Norbert Wu.

P*


On 5/31/12 3:41 PM, S* wrote:
Thanks. I hope you all understand that I'm going to need to find a way
to present this in a way that is fair to our major sponsors. That
existing page only has sponsors in the $5,000 to $100,000 range, with
almost all of them above $25,000, So, I don't want to get anybody's
expectations raised. I will, however, try to do justice to your support.
We really do appreciate it.

Thanks for understanding.

Executive Director, S*




On Friday, June 1, 2012 at 10:54 AM, Norbert Wu Productions Office wrote:
Dear Executive Director, S*:

Can you please explain what is going on here?

First you state:

Thank you, very much, P* and Norbert. This donation is greatly
appreciated. As I mentioned to Norbert, we'll be adding an
acknowledgement to our supporters page on our website for this gift.
Also, please expect a more official 'thank you' in the mail,
shortly.

Now, out of the blue, you are saying:

> Thanks. I hope you all understand that I'm going to need to find a way
> to present this in a way that is fair to our major sponsors. That
> existing page only has sponsors in the $5,000 to $100,000 range, with
> almost all of them above $25,000, So, I don't want to get anybody's
> expectations raised. I will, however, try to do justice to your support.
>

I'd appreciate clarification. Are you saying that you can no longer put
P*'s name on your website as a donor, contrary to your original
statement?

All I see is that P* has sent you a logo and a possible blurb for you
to use, and that you are now saying, "sorry, but no mention for you
since your donation is such a pittance."

If that's the case, then my feeling is that you should refund P*
donation immediately, and I'll work with them to find an organization
that might find the funds more useful.

I hope that I am misinterpreting the emails here. Perhaps you could
provide a link to your "supporters" page as I do not see it on your
website.

Sincerely,
Norb
------------------------------
Norbert Wu Productions
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
USA




---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:S*
Date: Fri, Jun 1, 2012 at 2:24 PM
Subject: Re: P* LOGOS and web changes
To: …

Hello, everyone. I know that Friday afternoons are not the best time for email discussions. As you have both corresponded with me separately, I thought I would send this email to both of you in order to make sure we are all having the same conversation.

Here is what I sent to Norbert in response to his email earlier today:
First of all, I want to repeat that we do sincerely appreciate this donation--we are equally appreciative of a donation at any level. We recognize that some donations of $25 represent a bigger sacrifice to someone than a $25,000 donation might be to another person.

This misunderstanding concerns how we acknowledge donations and which ones we publicly acknowledge.  Basic donations are considered a gift to us to support our programs. The only tangible benefit to a donor for most donations is the tax write off (in the US). We are required by law to send a letter of acknowledgement acting as a receipt for donations over $250, but we choose to send either letters or emails for all donations, even if they are just $1 because they do mean so much to us.

We haven't before acknowledged donations publicly on our website, but we do so for large corporate sponsorships, currently in the several thousands of dollars or more, and for foundation grants. Corporate sponsorships are not pure donations in that for a large sum of donation, they usually do expect something back in return in the form of recognition. The level of that benefit is negotiated. What you have seen on our sponsorship page is one way that we have agreed to acknowledge these large sponsorships. 

When I agreed to publicly acknowledge your and P* gift, I only readily agreed to do that because you asked for it and I sensed in your email that you had already said something about that to P*. I planned to find a new way to do that short of what we do for major sponsorships. In fact, what I thought of doing was to begin to provide a list of names for donors who wanted to be listed. 

It was only when I received a logo and an ad-like blurb for P*, something that I had not intended to provide, that I realized there was a misunderstanding that needed further explanation. In retrospect, I recognize that this misunderstanding arose because I didn't explain all of this when you sent your first email. I wish I had. While I hadn't promised a sponsorship-level recognition, I also didn't specify what we could actually do. Because of this, I will redesign the page so as to accommodate your request. I'll be delineating donors from high to lower in some fashion, and the degree of recognition will be more pronounced for the larger donors. We will include the P* logo within this new tier with a link back to their site. I can do the same for you.

Will this be satisfactory?
After receiving the above, Norbert has suggested that it may be better to return the P* donation. I do not feel that I have misrepresented anything to you, and am trying to accommodate you--and that  includes willingness to return the donation if that is what you wish, P*.  Alternatively, I can have the page modified with your acknowledgement sometime next week. The acknowledgement will be smaller than and will follow the major sponsors, but can include your logo, link, and the blurb and it can remain up through the end of the year. I'm sure it will do justice to you and the donation. Please just let me know if that will work for you or if you'd prefer the donation returned.

I am sure you are as surprised as I am that that there can be so much miscommunication over something seemingly so simple. But communication by email is not always a smooth ride.

I hope you both have a great weekend.

Michael



On 6/1/12 2:43 PM, P* wrote:
Dear S*,

I am not sure where the misunderstanding occurred, but no matter. I, for
some reason,
thought to send you the logo and blurb, most likely because that was
what I saw on your site, and I do not recall
(did not go back and check) seeing any donation size, category of
gifting, etc. to help clue me in as to what got posted
for a company "sponsor".

I have no issue therefore in S* simply keeping the money and using it
for their good works, IF that is okay with you,
Norbert. Our original purpose was to support Norbert in a way he desired
in return for his continued support of P*
and its products.

Regardless, let's keep it simple - I am happy leaving the donation as
is, and listing Norbert's quote and a photo on our site, as was, I
believe, the original agreement. I hate to think too much time and
anguish has been spent on this. I totally appreciate Norbert's
concern and his willingness to speak up on our behalf - THANK-YOU !
S*, no need to re-arrange your site over this.

I hope everyone is okay with this. If not, we can continue the
discussion next week. I am returning from the Turks & Caicos
(EXCELLENT shark diving, by the way) on Tuesday so will be
mostly/offline and or going crazy for a day or two afterwards.

Have a great weekend everyone, and thanx for all your efforts !

P*





No comments: