Dear HCN, This past September, I
was contacted by one of your reporters who was doing a story on the
Stock Farm, a gated community in Hamilton, Mont. (HCN, 11/11/02:
Behind the gate). The reporter contacted me because I am the
director of a local nonprofit organization and she wanted to know
if, in my perception, the Stock Farm supported local nonprofits. I
worked very hard to make the following three points:
1.
Yes, our organization receives support from the Stock Farm and its
members. While not all members of the Stock Farm support our
organization or any community organization, this is true for the
community at large as well.
2. The Stock Farm is not a
panacea. Simply because there is a segment of the community that is
more affluent than other parts of the community does not mean that
financial support is a given.
3. The onus of raising
funds for any organization lies with that organization. Approaching
major donors is a skill that many of us in the local nonprofit
community are still developing and approaching major donors
(whether they live in a gated community or not) is challenging for
many of us.
Imagine my surprise when I read your article
and saw that my comments painted an entirely different picture. I
find this extremely unfortunate, as I worked very hard in my
conversation with your reporter to be as objective as possible.
Perhaps High Country News isn’t concerned with the effects of
your reporting, but I can certainly tell you that you have most
likely harmed the ability of nonprofit organizations to secure
donations from gated communities in the future.
Stacey
Umhey Hamilton, Montana
Stacey Umhey is executive
director of S.A.F.E. (Supporters of Abuse Free
Environments).
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Stock Farm does help nonprofits.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
