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Daniel Schiff lobos T
of your cause, the great mitzvah of tzedakah, and the fact that your " target" has the capacity to give at this level, such that he or she would be playing an important role in a critical communal endeavor in a fashion that is commensurate with his or her capacity. Impressed both by the nature of the fund- raising cause, as well as the ethical argument that a person should contribute to communal causes to the extent that funds allow, your prospect with a measure of selfsatisfaction- writes a one thousand dollar check.
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The next day you visit somebody from whom you are
This time the expecting a twenty- five thousand dollar gift. conversation is altogether different:" Why should I give twenty- five thousand dollars to your institution?" this fund- raising target asks. Again, you utter some worthy words about the importance of the cause and the mitzvah of tzedakah, but these items by no means form the focal point of your presentation. Instead, this time you talk extensively about the opportunity to name a classroom in honor of the giver's family, about the special" wall of merit" that is planned for big giver's names, and about the unique one- on- one opportunities on offer to meet with the special personality who will be attending the dedication.
The salient difference between the two presentations is obvious. To the less wealthy individual, the reasons you provide for giving amount to: it is a good cause, you should participate in communal projects of this type because it is the right thing to do, and you have the capacity to give at this level. To the wealthy individual, the major reasons for giving amount to: this is a great deal for you because we are putting forward distinguished honors, gifts and access in return for your donation.
hellob While the contrast depicted between these two events is a stark one, the picture is close enough to reality to represent a reasonable approximation of real- life events. The implicit assumption revealed by these vignettes is telling. With the less wealthy, when there are no incentives to offer, the prevailing assumption is that the