GiG Performance Space's Non-Appeal For Donations

This email from GiG Performance Space made me look twice.

The subject line was "From GiG - Please Stop the Donations!"

It's either a creative donation pitch ... or a cry for help. You be the judge.

Friends,

We are so grateful for the tremendous outpouring of support for GiG Performance Space this Holiday Season. It has been really been nice to be on the receiving end of all this Holiday cheer. And you have our sincere gratitude for supporting the many hundreds of great performances at GiG over the past 8 years!

However...

We really must ask you to refrain from any more donations at this time. On average, we have been seeing two-dozen large, black mailbags per day filled with checks. The post office has been working long hours already and now this happens! We are being forced out of our space by the sheer volume of checks that are climbing to the ceiling, and we have crashed the gigsantafe.com servers several times -- evidently people are banging the donation button so hard that repetitive stress injuries (giginitus) are becoming all to common among GiG supporters. We have hired a technical support team in India to help field all the inquiries. (Just dial 1-800-OUT-SORC.)

It is the same every day. At 7AM when we begin to inform potential donors that we can no longer accept their checks and online donations, they begin to  stutter and say things like, "Well what about the new BiG GiG that you are wanting to move into? Won't you need new chairs? Or what about more recording and video equipment for the new production facility, at least let us buy you the new espresso/chai bar for the new front room. What about new staff members? Don't you need to grow your organization? But I absolutely must help you with your endowment fund dear. Please! You must let us help!" (And not to mention the irate reindeer that have been tap dancing on our roof at all hours!) 

As you can see it's been hell over here. I need to appeal to you all in this time of crisis to kindly refrain from any tax-deductible, 501(c)(3) check writing to:

The Open Arts Foundation
1808 Second Street, Suite H
Santa Fe, NM  87505

And if you have any shred of decency left this Holiday season you will refrain from any simple, secure online donating at GiG Performance Space - Home.

With your help, we are confident we can work through these growth pains together.

Many thanks and happy holidays,

Bruce Dunlap
Executive Director
Open Arts Foundation