Editor, the News-Herald:

To very briefly address your letter of March 17, 2005, in the News-Herald titled, &uot;Shelter Funding,&uot; donors cannot, to quote you, &uot;make sure that agencies that seek funding from it comply with whatever strings come attached to that funding.&uot;

They can ask, investigate, cajole, threaten to pull funding, and any number of actions-positive and negative; but they cannot &uot;make sure.&uot;

Donees, also, has several options as well.

They can ignore, comply, or be honest and express their reasons for not doing so.

In this case, two agencies -a donor and a donee — simply, maturely, and professionally agreed to disagree, and both moved on.

The Shelter’s United Way money comes from wonderful and thoughtful individuals who designate their dollars to us.

It does not come from any extra United Way funds.

Those who wish to donate to us may do so directly or may write our name on any United Way literature.

Donations will still come to us if an individual writes the Suffolk Shelter’s name on yearly contribution forms.

If, on the other hand, money is donated directly to us, the United Way will not take their administrative fee from it.

That said, let’s see if I can give you some examples of donors trying to &uot;make sure agencies that seek funding from it comply . . . &uot;.

* What if the Suffolk News-Herald’s advertisers and subscribers tell you, Mr. Editor, that you must deliver their newspapers on time and without typographical errors?

Based on your business and strategic plans, is that a reasonable request?

* What if they tell you that you must increase the text pages by 500 percent within ten days?

Based on your business and strategic plans, is that a reasonable request?

* What if they tell you that you must have your paper delivered to their door by 4:00 a.m. each day so they can get it before their morning run?

Based on your business and strategic plans, is that a reasonable request?

* What if they tell you that you must pay your staff the same amount of money that, say, The Virginian-Pilot, the Wall Street Journal, or the New York Times pays their staff?

Based on your business and strategic plans, wouldn’t that be wonderful for you and your staff, but horrible for the company’s bottom line?

Hmmmmm . . . . don’t all organizations base their decisions on their business and strategic plans?

The Suffolk Shelter for the Homeless does.

Terry Miller

Executive Director

Suffolk Shelter For The Homeless