How NOT to Solicit Charitable Contributions - Debunked!

[midlifeflyer]

5 minutes ago, EricJ said:

You don't even send letters like that from a business to customers or clients that haven't paid their bills for a long time

OMG! You brought back a memory.

When I was in law school I worked as a volunteer with the consumer protection division of a state Attorney General's office. One of the investigations was of a collection agency. The dunning letters were all very polite. They even included a nice photo of  who was sending it - a little of the personal touch. Only thing was, the photo in the first letter looked like Mr. Rogers. Eventually the letter writer looked like Bill Romanowski in a bad mood. 

[MooneyMitch]

On a lighter note....................perhaps a donation beyond $1 might be a better consideration in the future......................

[Ned Gravel]

I enjoyed both of the PPPs I attended.  Does this mean that they will stop delivering it?

[Browncbr1]

Mail them a check for $0.02 and attach a print out of this thread. 

[Parker_Woodruff]

He signed it "Very respectfully" so I don't know why you're complaining. 

[Unit74]

9 hours ago, Parker_Woodruff said:

He signed it "Very respectfully" so I don't know why you're complaining. 

It shoulda started .......

 

With all due respect, SIR!
 

 

 

[kortopates]

This can't be real, I just can't imagine any of the directors having written something like this; especially when it says to "mail the check to me". 

I sent a copy of the letter Jeff posted to a couple of them to get a response. One of them should post something soon on this.

Also, as Mike was pointing out above, MAPA Safety Foundation (MAPASF) is an non-profit and entirely different organization from MAPA. MAPA SF really does need donations from generous pilots to keep the Safety Foundations work going. I get their letters every year too and have never seen anything like the one posted here.

[Ned Gravel]

I just got a "Christmas Greeting" letter (e-mail) from Ralph with an apology for not being able to hold the PPP in January at Lakeland, FL.  I hadn't signed up for it, although I did hope to attend another next Fall.  

The point is that this e-mail (which did not ask for any funds) was very nice and very unlike the one received by the OP.  Gives me hope that MAPASF hasn't gone completely off the rails.

 

[kortopates]

Here is a copy of the letter  I received, nothing like what Jeff got:

[KLRDMD]

This morning I got the same letter as Paul and Ned.

[BlueDun]

I received the same as well.

[Raymond J1]

Jeff, that'S because MAPA hired a former French tax official to make a friendly request for donations... You'll get used to it !

[Hank]

I also received Ralph's greetings and cancellation notice for the January MAPA PPP. As a past participant, I receive periodic communication from them. This notice probably went to everyone on their lost. It's still a nice gesture. 

 

[Jerry Proctor]

My name is Jerry Proctor.  I am one of seven MAPA Safety Foundation Directors.  The President, Mr Jerry Johnson has talked to all seven of us and no one has sent such a letter as described by Jeff.  Jeff was indeed at the Lakeland event in early Feb, 2020.  It was the last event we have conducted to date.  All the rest of the 2020 schedule was postponed until 2021 due to safety concerns of the Virus.  We just met virtually last week and have again postponed the now end of Jan 2021 event but are very much looking forward to the April event in Santa Fe and the remaining three events.   We have no idea who would send such a note, but it was NOT, nor every could have come from the Safety Foundation.  Yes, while MAPA is the pilots Association and there is a close relationship ,but the Safety Foundation is a separate organization.  We conduct (on normal years) Five, 3 day seminars across the nation.  It consists of approx a day and a 1/3 of excellent ground school and each pilot then gets a two hour Flight Review and a two hour IPC.  All conducted by a Mooney specific, highly experienced CFII.  

As I typed this note, Mr Johnson just sent the below note to Jeff.

 

Jeff one of our directors sent me the Mooney Space posting of the donation letter.

This donation letter did not come from any of the Directors at the MAPA Safety Foundation.

We need to know who sent it and who all it was sent to. Can you please provide me with that information?

There are many comments on the space that is misunderstood about the MAPA Safety Foundation.

I sure would like the have this fake donation letter retracted and have the Mooney Space members know that

it did not come from the Safety Foundation. I would very much apricate you helping clear up this matter.

Jerry W. Johnson, President MAPA Safety Foundation  

[Hank]

Thanks, Jerry.

Pres. Jerry was my first PPP instructor, I hit 100 hours Total Time enroute to Hopkinsville. He was great, we flew to my then-current "beginner" level and I learned A LOT!!

Everyone was polite and respectful, and I've since gone back. Time to go again, once ya'll get up and running safely!

P.S.--I think not many people know the relationship between MAPA and the Safety Foundation; we assume it's close because the full name is MAPA Safety Foundation. 

Edited December 21, 2020 by Hank

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard Jerry!

Something has surely gone afoul...

You may want to contact the OP using a DM...   original poster/direct message...

A private conversation may be best...

I can invite @Jeff_S back to the conversation to let him know you are following up on this wacky piece of mail...

Of course, the MAPA SF probably has his contact info on file... Jeff is a highly respected member within the Mooney community and has been for years...

+1 for joining the MS family... a place where PPP is discussed often... where MAPA CFII are well respected, admired and often found or recommended for transition training...

Oddly, the fuzziness of who is Mapa... and is it separate from MAPA SF... comes up often around here.

For the record... my favorite MAPA SF CFIIs can’t be here tonight... (Thom Callahan, and Cris Gleason)

Best regards,

-a-

[Jerry Proctor]

Thank you, the second part of the note is a note sent directly to Jeff from Jerry Johnson.  I can understand how he would have reacted negatively to the seemingly real note.  But it definitely was fake.  I am actually not a newbie, but I couldn't find my password so I just joined using one of my other email addresses.  I am on Mooney #3.  First a K, then a Bravo and now a TN. Shout out to my great friend Paul K, who highlighted the to me this morning.  I sincerely hope this leaves no negative stain on the MAPA SF.  We are all unpaid volunteers and we devote a lot of time and effort to conducting these seminars, all intended for the safety of Mooney pilots.  Jerry Johnson is a plank holder now having done this for 30 years.  Please check MAPA for future events and places.  Very sincerely,

JP

[carusoam]

17 minutes ago, Jerry Proctor said:

I am on Mooney #3.  First a K, then a Bravo and now a TN.
 

Shout out to my great friend Paul K, who highlighted the to me this morning.

 

..... on the MAPA SF.  We are all unpaid volunteers and we devote a lot of time and effort to conducting these seminars, all intended for the safety of Mooney pilots.  
 

 

Stuff happens...

It is how we handle it that matters...

First, I can help you with finding your lost credentials for MS... I’ll send a note to our webmaster to get you started... (done!) 

 

we have many new Mooney pilots start here each year... it would be great to get them up to speed with the Safety Foundation...  who they are, what they do, and how / when to get involved...

What I learned from my visit to a PPP... I should have started years ago... the knowledge being taught in three days, took me a decade to learn for the most part... and there were many things I wasn’t familiar enough with... plus like MS, you get to speak with many pilots with similar planes...

Best regards,

-a-

[Jeff_S]

I have sent the un-redacted letter to the Safety Foundation for their investigation, which includes the full name and address of the sender.  If it is a hoax, then a very good one, and while I may feel like an idiot for getting punked (jury's still out there) hopefully this will help track down the truth.  In fairness, I do have a fellow MSpace friend with whom I share the odd practical joke, but this one had none of his earmarks and the level of information was so specific as to be very believable.  We shall see!

[Jerry Proctor]

One more follow up Jeff and we regret you got caught up in this fraud.  Thank you for sending the full letter to Mr Johnson.  Thus, we can see that the address on the letter is wrong.  The PO Box on the fake letter said send the check to PO Box 23 Ewing MA.  Ralph's address which can be seen on the letters he sends out to many of you, is PO Box 99.  This is not something you could have caught as it appears authentic otherwise.  Important here is, we can investigate what is going on, at the Ewing end.  

We hope all have a Merry Christmas and we are glad this was brought to our attention.  The other Jerry at MAPA SF.

[mike_elliott]

Jerry,

We have a couple of people here on Mooneyspace capable of forensic investigation of the email to determine its' source if that would help the MAPA SF clear themselves if you are interested. Im glad to hear the board was unaware of the solicitation.

 

 

[DXB]

What a bizarre (apparently) fraudulent solicitation.  Tailoring a scam just for MAPA Safety Foundation workshop attendees is a rather niche endeavor - like the OP, my suspicion for fraud would have been low.  It would have to be done by someone pretty familiar with the community, and I hope the perpetrator comes to light.

[KB4]

How did the sender get his personal info to even send the letter. 

[MooneyMitch]

On 12/16/2020 at 8:45 AM, MooneyMitch said:

My opinion..... should the letter be created by an impostor, what positive value would it bring to the person named as the letter creator? 

Investigation of the letters authenticity is imperative.

Congratulations on the investigation and hopefully the eventual discovery.

Fraud comes in many forms. Depending on the type of fraud and to what degree, it can be extremely damaging emotionally and financially to defend from, and to recover from. 

This example appears to be minor, yet it is taking precious time and effort to reveal. Such a waste! 

Hopefully we’ll all learn the truth soon.  

[KLRDMD]

12 hours ago, Jerry Proctor said:

I am on Mooney #3.  First a K, then a Bravo and now a TN.

I bought Jerry's 231 from Jimmy, there was one owner between us. I sold it to a good friend of mine that still has it so it is still Arizona based.