Confessions of a monthly donor
File under: When an NGO exceeds expectations
Confessions of a monthly donor
Felt seen. Felt thanked.
In 2018, Waypoint Adventure hired me to lead a "case development working session." Magic happened. I fell in love with Waypoint's mission and results and became a monthly donor. It's been seven years since and counting.
Waypoint helps people with all sorts of "disabilities" climb cliffs, canoe, hike, snowshoe and other "impossible" activities. Here's how the nonprofit describes itself:
At Waypoint Adventure, we recognize the willful spirit inside each of us, and we help unleash it. Free it. We see adventure as a teacher, one that breathes confidence into us all. Once you’ve taken on that challenge of adventure… you’ll begin to invite opportunities that can change the way you think and transform your life.
Challenge yourself! You can do more than you think. Waypoint will be there guiding your discovery, meeting you right where you are – ensuring that you have the necessary equipment, encouragement, and the experience of being supported by community.
Where “I can’t” becomes “Yes, I can”, Waypoint Adventure is here to help free what’s possible.
------
Why am I still a monthly donor to Waypoint after all these years? Shouldn't I be feeling !*!^! ~ "donor fatigue" ~ !*!^! about now?
There's a three-word answer to that: good donor communications. I feel seen. I feel thanked. Persistently. Consistently. I am asked ... but mildly and reasonably.
There's also a two-word answer to why I have remained a monthly donor: strong storytelling. With ADVENTURE front and center.
Here's a recent example. In this video, meet executive director, Dan Minnich, as two outdoors-women whose spinal-chord injuries prevent them from walking SUMMIT a deep-snow mountain in New Hampshire.
You have a three-word answer, a two-word answer, now here's my one-word reason for why I remain a monthly donor: inertia.
Inertia / my definition / The concept in physics and relationships that even if I do nothing, something positive gets done.
Who doesn't want more pleasurable inertia in their life?
I don't lift a finger (a credit card automatically debits my gift each month) ... yet I get all the savory rewards: I'm well thanked and informed, as is Waypoint's way. And now I have a connection. I'm not just a lonely widower of limited means with shrinking horizons.
I have my Waypoint family.
I adopted them. They adopted me.
—-
Want a little more Waypoint? Here's a 5-minute television news report that left me speechless and smiling.
Dear Reader: This is an excerpt from Tom Ahern’s e-newsletter. Did you miss crucial back issues of this how-to e-news? Immediately available! Just GO here. (And scroll down just a bit to sign up for Tom’s revenue-boosting tips and insights. In your inbox regularly. It’s free.)