“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” – Albert Einstein
Let those words sink in for a minute, because the topic we are going to talk about in this blog is trust.
Over the years of service, we have heard some horrible stories with the volunteer Fire and EMS departments getting money stolen from them. The craziest part about these stories is that it is a fellow volunteer steeling from their very own department. WHAT! You think to yourself, how long has it been going on, why would anyone do such a horrible thing, why didn’t anyone catch it sooner? All common questions and concerns, but let me ask you, fellow Firefighter and/or EMT, would you ever think the people in your department would do such a thing? Don’t you all have a special bond, and trust with one another? Of course you do! You all risk your lives together when going on a call, and you would hope that the person next to you going into a dangerous situation has your back, and you have theirs! So it is in fact, hard to believe.
When it comes to your Direct Mail Fund Drive, we ask that you make sure that the person(s) you put in charge with this very important ongoing project, you trust them 100%. You know you can trust Choice Marketing to create and run your Direct Mail Fund Drive successfully, but when it comes to donations, that is all in your hands. That is why it is so important to make sure that the person(s) you put in charge of this are trustworthy. Keep track of your department’s donations records. At Choice we do keep track of the donation slips that are given to your department, so our clients are always able to check back to our records and make sure they match up.
Here are four helpful tips we would recommend doing:
- Keep your own record of donations that were only given through your Direct Mail Fund Drive.
- Make sure you back up your records, and have another person double check to make sure the information is correct.
- Keep your donation records file locked, so only the authorized people can access it.
- Follow up with your Direct Mail Fund Drive Company to make sure both records match up. (Create your own schedule to do this daily.)
We hate to see these kinds of things happen. So find away to prevent them from happening to your department, trust. Trust the person; know that they only have good intentions for your department. No Fire or EMS Department deserves this, not with all that you do to keep your community safe!
