Dear fellow Rotarians,
At our board meeting the first Monday in October, Susan Schmitz, our fund drive leader this year, made her presentation about her plan for this year. Directors and officers received at our places the donation card as an informational item.
We talked about the campaign, I made mention it would be good if we all donated at 100 percent as a board, and we moved on to other business.
Now Susan is a dynamic chair and your president is a passionate fundraiser but. . ..
I worked out a letter to the board and ok I’ve been sick and it took me a while but less than 10 days maybe and when Pat got it she said “don’t be surprised if you don’t see letters for some people.”
BECAUSE AS IT TURNS OUT 7/19 (or 36 some percent returned their donation as a result of a HAND OUT at a board meeting). I was stunned. Thank you.
I would like to think that I am an enlightened donor but I am not in that number.
Leadership is giving without being asked. Service is giving without being asked.
I can assure you the club needs you. I can assure myself if you are reading this you are already giving in some way. My question to us all is what can/should/we would enjoy doing without being asked specifically.
Take it personally and see what you come up with. It comes from the heart. Seek that a bit.
Ok, yes and send your check :). I will send mine.
Yours in giving, Juli
Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin 
Juli,
I expect that the 36% who gave after Susan’s presentation did so because they made their decision to give long before that meeting; they were simply waiting to be alerted to the start of the campaign.
For those whose instinct it is to give and to serve and to engage, the decision to do so is instinctive; only the task and the timing need to be revealed in order for them to act on that instinctive decision.
I’m surprised, and a little disappointed, that only 36% acted, when investing financially is a basic tenant of board service.
Jacqui
Jacqui, the percentage isn’t final — that’s the percentage who did it more or less on the spot. I mean, I write checks every two weeks or so, obviously know I’m going to contribute, and I’m not included in that percentage. It was the immediacy of the response I was reacting to in my post which I still think is pretty phenomenal. Juli
Juli, nice work. How about a special appeal to all the former board members and especially the ex-preses to crank it up a notch this year, being the leadership types they/we are/have been. Not that we are truly has beens…
Bob