I have on my desk a direct mail fundraising appeal from a hospital that I once supported with a donation. I gave them a gift of $20 as an experiment, to see how, and how often, they would write back.

Across the front of this envelope are these words: “Your 2007 Annual Renewal.”

A phrase like that wouldn’t normally surprise me, or disappoint me, but it did when this package dropped through my mailbox back in February because that was the first time I’d heard from this hospital since I made my donation. And I made my donation last year. In 2006. June 12th, to be exact.

So do the math. I did.

I made my donation on June 12, 2006. I didn’t hear from the hospital again until February 20, 2007. Which means I was obviously off their radar screen for seven and a half months. Although they were not off mine. I was watching for the mailman every day to see how they would respond to my gift.

I can’t say I was disappointed with their response to my gift because they didn’t respond to my gift. They ignored me. For seven and a half months. No letters. No newsletters. No phone calls. No emails.

Which is why the headline on their February appeal startled me.

“Your 2007 Annual Renewal.”

That headline tells me that the hospital thinks I should renew my support, automatically. Regardless of how they treat me. But that’s where we disagree. This hospital needs to give me a reason to renew my support, and not just in their annual renewal letter.

Like most donors, I won’t support an organization for long that cares more about my money than it does about me. I won’t renew my support of a charity that expects me to be uninformed and generous at the same time. I won’t support what I don’t believe in. And I can’t believe in something that I don’t understand. And I’m not likely to understand the needs of an organization that writes to me only once every seven months.

I pay my mortgage automatically. I renew my insurance automatically. I pay my taxes automatically. I have many incentives for doing so. But I don’t renew my charitable support automatically. If you want me to give again, give me a reason. A good one. And give me that reason long before you ask me to renew my gift.