5 responses to “Amy Ferrer asks for APA donations”

1. Amy Ferrer

   April 22, 2016 at 7:55 am

   Thanks for the constructive suggestions on our fundraising efforts. The APA's statements of mission and activities lay out our vision for the organization and its impact. You can find those here: http://www.apaonline.org/?mission

   What specific projects or initiatives we're able to pursue–whether in advocacy for the discipline and departments, media relations and media trainings, support for pre-college philosophy programs, or other areas–depends on how much money we raise. Our development committee, chaired by Robert Audi, was just established last year, and is continuing to seek input from members on our development efforts–both the development strategy and which initiatives we pursue and prioritize.

   This email was a follow-up to Robert Audi's email from last week–that email was the start of a fundraising campaign that will happen over a few weeks. There's a simple reason that this email came so soon after the last: though some people do respond to the first message they receive, many simply ignore it. By sending a few messages over a few weeks, we get through to more of those people who miss (or forget) the first message(s) and raise significantly more than if we stopped after one email. We keep these fundraising campaigns to a minimum, however–normally just one or two a year (including one at the end of the calendar year, when many people plan year-end charitable donations).

   Robert Audi and I invite anyone with constructive suggestions for the development committee to contact us directly. We're happy to have more detailed conversations over email and take feedback to the full committee. You can reach us at amyferrer@apaonline.org and raudi@nd.edu.

   I also encourage you to consider nominating yourself for one of our committees, such as the committee on the status and future of the profession. The committees advise the board on key issues as well as taking on important projects of their own accord. Participating on committees is one of the best ways to influence the work of the APA.

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2. Andrew

   April 22, 2016 at 8:15 am

   Can I just record a very small point, not major or specific to the case at hand but worth mentioning in case others feel similarly. I find it kind of annoying that APA emails are 'personalised' – i.e. they begin 'Dear first name last name'. This makes scanning over my inbox just that little be harder – I see my name and pause because I think it's from students or colleagues or people I actually know, or at least who actually know me. But then none of these things turn out to be true. Perhaps a more persuasive way to put it: the practice is kind of disingenuous and misleading, isn't it – even a bit cynical, no? I'm not necessarily advocating change – I just saw the opportunity to mention something publically that I myself would have liked to come across a public mention/discussion of.

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3. Jon

   April 22, 2016 at 9:13 am

   My 9-5 job is individual fundraising (i.e., sending letters and emails like this one). On the issue of whether the APA is emailing people too often, people should know that the AVERAGE cultural group is sending its subscribers 50 emails a year, 15 of which are fundraising emails. In addition, it's pretty common practice for non-profits to not specify where exactly your donation is going. That restricts the funding, and while everyone wants their money to support the big sexy programs, someone still has to pay the rent, the water bill, the IT department, etc.

   I don't say this to argue that the APA should be given a pass, but to give some context to their decision-making.

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4. Michael B

   April 23, 2016 at 4:56 am

   Real question: would you be more likely, less likely, or just as likely to donate if your email said: 'Your $20 donation will be used to buy toilet paper and a packet of yellow highlighters.'

   That's a real question, by the way. It would certainly put me off. Initially, at least.

   Not quite the same situation, but perhaps a relevantly-similar attitude – I used to work in publicly-funded clinical trials(NHS) and that attitude from taxpayers as to what their money should go on left us with a pretty Spartan work environment. We lost coffee privileges (of course) but also e.g. our staff room. Options for lunch were: your desk, sitting on the stairs of the fire escape, in the waiting room next to patients, sitting on the floor outside some toilets. The latter two remain the preferred management solution to providing a staff room.

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5. Christopher Pynes

   April 23, 2016 at 11:21 pm

   If your recent email was part of a larger strategy in conjunction with Professor Audi’s email, then I would suggest in the future that you mention that in the email. Something like: “Last week you received an email from the APA Development Committee Chair Robert Audi…this is a gentle reminder that the APA is engaged in fundraising…we need your help for X…” This would indicate that your email was part of a cohesive effort rather than just another email asking for donations.

   Also, I appreciate the suggestion to self nominate for APA service. It’s an option many don’t know they have. If someone were to nominate me for service on the status and future of the profession committee, I would seriously consider serving on the committee again. My recent service was both rewarding and informative, and I have great respect for Julia Driver, who was the chair during my years of service. I’ll write more about my service and my view of the status and future of the profession committee soon.

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