I just wanted to say a few words on tact and diplomacy... kind words,
well spoken, go much, much further than being pushy and arrogant.
 
An example of this came recently when a pet store manager was approached
by another ferret shelter in our city who was apparently rude and pushy.
On top of it all, words were expressed that apparently bad mouthed our
shelter.  This person was absolutely outraged by the tactics used to get
an info table set up at their store.  The manager was angry enough to
pass on this incident on to one of our volunteers.  As I am sure you can
figure out, the chances of getting a table set up there in the future
will be next to never.
 
Now, I'm not here to judge what was said per say.  Since I wasn't there,
I cannot confirm or deny the actual words spoken.  But I must say this...
 
I can't express how much this situation saddened me.  It doesn't take
much to be kind, or to be nice and polite, regardless of the present
situation you find yourself in.  There simply is no need to use tactics
that not only undermine your own work, but they could end up hurting
other organizations with similar causes along the way.  I cannot
emphasize enough how important it is to remember one key thing... The
issues that each organization must deal with are theirs and theirs alone.
There is no need for neutral parties, especially those that we want to
make our business partners, and future sponsors, to be continually
dragged into issues that have nothing to do with them.  As many of you
are aware, fundraising can be a challenge for most of us, and the
challenge is quickly doubled or tripled when you have multiple
organizations with the same cause vying for the same dollar.  Tact
and diplomacy are key if you want to be successful.  Nothing hurts a
non-profit quicker than being known as rude and pushy.
 
But bear this in mind as well... you may not realize that the party you
are addressing may not have clearly understood who you are representing.
Luckily, in this instance, they did.  Confusion is a great possibility
and when you have a manner that may be deemed as offensive, you may well
have hurt not only your own chances at future deliberations, but those of
fellow charities.  Actions speak loudly as they are deemed as a direct
representation of the organization you volunteer for.  If you are rude,
then it looks bad for your organization, and could possibly hurt others.
If you are well spoken and understanding, then it looks good for your
organization.  But you also lay a foundation for future non-profits to
have a better chance of being successful as well.
 
We need to keep in mind that we are all here for a common cause... tact
and diplomacy are key.  Be the kind of representative that you would want
to give your own hard earned money to, and the rewards will come back
ten-fold, for we all know that what goes around, comes around.
 
Betty Janner
Interim Spokesperson
Alberta Ferret Society
Calgary Centre
Dedicated to helping ferrets since 1997!
We have a new toll free number!
1-877-FERRET-0
[Posted in FML issue 3860]