people

This is in response to a blog post over at Barbara Talisman’s blog, where she makes various disparaging remarks (and, at times, low blows) about the 12for12k Challenge. I’m posting here since Barbara has comment moderation switched on at hers.

Hi there Barbara,

I thought I recognized the name and company – you contacted me earlier this year through email (and then phone call) suggesting that donations raised go to your company instead of the charities. You would then use this money to “consult” these charities.

I mentioned at the time that I wanted all funds to go to the charities themselves, and not to a company that may or may not help.

If you think the 12for12k project is merely a “profile raiser” for myself, you discredit the great work of everyone involved, as well as those we’re trying to help. I also take great offense at your claim and can’t help but feel this is sour grapes because I never handed the 12for12k coffers over to you. Except there was nothing to hand over, because all the money goes directly to the charity for that month.

Also, your figures are wrong. WarChild didn’t come to us with a Paypal option until the end of the campaign – the actual total for them is closer to $6,000. Stop the Silence benefited by over $5.5k – the ChipIn widget did not take into account a corporate sponsor donating $1,000.

You’re also missing charities from your information. We helped Yehu.org raise more than $15,000 through a combined effort with Mom It Forward and multiple channels. And this month, Doctors Without Borders has benefited by $5k (so far).

But here’s the thing, Barbara – it’s never been about the money. Our goal is to raise a certain amount, and while we’ve fallen short of that, we’ve still raised almost $50,000.

Our real goal is to raise awareness and long-term change and effect. Donations are great, but it’s the real changes that we can put in place via awareness that will help those that need our help.

Here’s a question – why rant on something that’s meant for good? Why not say what you would have done differently, had I caved in to your badgering on the phone to hand over donations to your company? Criticizing is easy; constructive criticism is better.

Regards,

Danny.

PS – WarChild Canada, our first charity, has a fantastic social media presence, which can be found on their website.

• Update September 27 – It looks like Barbara has removed the original post about 12for12k, follow-up and apology from her blog. You can see the original post as a PDF – open or download it here.
• Update September 28 – Barbara sent me an email today on top of her apology. I responded, accepting her apology and thanking her for her approach in this way, and that hopefully we can move forward from here.