A friend of mine replied to an email recently and added a few comments on how he was feeling about a charity he supports. He didn't expect me to post it up on our website so he didn't shy away from some fairly choice language! So choice that I'm adding it here as an attachment in case you're easily offended by bad language. Only open it if you're over 18 and able to deal with a bit of swearing. OK. A lot of swearing.

I'm over 18 and can deal with a lot of swearing

Read it yet?

The charity that my friend is referring to here is a genuine sector leader in donor care.

Giving to charity should be a rewarding and inspiring experience. Isn't it shocking how we can get it so wrong? We're so desperate to squeeze more cash out of people that we end up alienating and upsetting them. We spend so much time asking and so little time saying thanks. As a sector, we haven't even begun to understand what relationship fundraising/donor care/donor stewardship (choose your favourite) means.

But watch this space for one seriously exciting new Whitewater initiative that will start to redefine what caring for donors actually means. Or give me a call and I'll talk to you about it.

Steve Andrews