During a period of the time when I lived and worked in Baltimore, MD I was a member of the American Association of Fundraising Professionals. For various reasons I decided against renewing my membership in the AFP. A vital and appropriate part of the process of fundraising is building relationships with those who generously support the causes you work in and, always in my case I’m lucky to say, believe in. The telephone is one way to keep in touch. I expected someone from either the national or local branch (Maryland) of the AFP to call me.

I see you have not renewed your membership. Will you be doing so? Is there anything that the AFP can do to help you in your professional role as a fundraiser?

I received no such call. To this day, I find it unbelievable that the professional organization for fundraisers doesn’t contact lapsed members to ask them why they don’t renew. Or, at least, they didn’t call me. As I prepared my return to the US I emailed several times the Maryland AFP to ask them to remove me from their email list as I no longer wanted or needed to be contacted by them.

Why is it, then, that I still receive emails from them? But not one phone call. Ever.