My air-conditioner has given up the ghost. Well, it still spurts forth cold air when I stand in front of it, but I can only cope with its blast for a minute before the ear-shattering roar of whatever’s rattling around inside the unit becomes too much to bear.
So here I sit, sweaty rivulets obeying gravity as I type, in the almost 100-degree (Fahrenheit; about 33 Celcius) heat. Today was the first day of my summer intensive Certificate in Fundraising and Philanthropy at New York University’s Heyman Centre for Philanthropy and Fundraising. There are almost 30 of us, several of whom have travelled from within the US to be here, and a few who have travelled from south-east Asia. When I told a classmate that I lived in Brooklyn, she looked at me as if I might as well have been from … well, Australia.
Did you know that even here, in the self-acknowledged home of sophisticated philanthropy, 70% percent of donations and gifts are made impulsively? Even if what I’m learning about philanthropic culture is depressing, at least my knowledge is gained in air-conditioned comfort.
