I just received a letter from a Christian organization which told the sad story of the death of some members of a family and how a surviving member was dealing with the loss. The organization took some credit for preparing that individual for this trial and as I read along it struck me that this would be a crass way to appeal for funds. At the end of the letter, indeed the appeal was made. I don’t have a problem with telling the story, and the Christian organization is a good one that needs funds to operate. I also don’t doubt that the organization deserves some credit in the situation. But it strikes me as inappropriate to use a tragedy to raise money other than for the individuals directly affected. Am I wrong? Is this just the norm and I’m too separated from standard US fundraising technique to appreciate it? I don’t doubt that the technique was effective; the story was riveting and only a hard-hearted person would be unmoved. But should Christians use this technique even if it is effective?
I deleted the comments from this post because I wanted the focus to be on the principle and not any particular organization.
I think this is acceptable IF the organization has asked for permission first. I work for a major evangelical Christian organization. We ALWAYS ask for permission when using someone’s story for fundraising purposes.