Capital campaigning

You know, the ways of non-profit fund raisers are just amazing.

I don’t know how my grad school tracked me down, but I get the alumni magazine now, along with various solicitations periodically. (I’ve managed to elude my undergrad crowd.)

And of course, there was that incident when Wake Tech Community College reached out after a couple of decades to invite me to contribute to their endowment, on the basis of a single programming class I took there.

But now it’s the culture vultures.

Back in the 90s, I was a member of the Phillips Collection’s Contemporaries supporters. I like their museum, the membership didn’t cost a whole lot, and it got you into many great events—openings, parties, Thursday evening nibbles and culture mingling. (One of the stand-outs was their 75^th anniversary celebration held at the French Ambassador’s residence. Honestly, I felt like Eliza Doolittle when I got back from that one.)

Well, it’s been almost 20 years since I was known to them, but blow me if a couple of weeks ago there didn’t appear in my queue this come-on from their development department, inviting me to give them boatloads of money.

It’s entirely conceivable—well, it’s obvious—that I used that email account at some point in communicating with them. But I assure you that, if so, it hasn’t been for a good eight years. So what’s just amazing is that all of a sudden they’ve done some harrowing of their once-and-future supporters and come up with moi and bunged this over to me.

Sadly, it’s going to have the same outcome as the billet-doux from Wake Tech, although for different reasons. But at least they’ve only expended a few electrons in the attempt.

Gallant effort, though.