📞😱 The Woman Who Hung Up on the Pope

There’s a story making the rounds about Pope Leo’s first weeks in office. He called his bank in south Chicago to update his account details, and the clerk walked him through the standard security questions.

And what fundraisers can learn from the story...

But when she told him he’d need to come to the bank in person, he explained that wouldn’t be possible.

After some back and forth, the Pope finally said: “Would it matter to you if I told you I am Pope Leo?”

She hung up on him.

Fr. Tom McCarthy, who shared this story, said: “Could you imagine being known as the woman who hung up on the Pope?”

The Pope eventually got through to the bank president via a priest friend, and the matter was resolved. But the clerk’s response wasn’t really her fault—she didn’t know her customer.

She only knew her system. And when the Pope didn’t fit the protocol, the relationship collapsed.

---

The Gift That Found Me From a War Zone

Recently, I was stuck in the war zone in the Middle East when a friend from Thomasville asked his local church to pray for me and our mission.

At the end of the service, something unexpected happened: one of his fellow parishioners—someone I’ve never met—handed my friend a check to support our work.

When I finally made it home, I knew I needed to call this generous stranger.

But before I picked up the phone, I did something that might seem mundane: I entered him into our CRM and recorded his gift.

And then, on his profile, I wrote everything—how he came to know about us, the connection through my friend, the church service, the prayers.

Then I called him.

I wanted to be gracious and say thank you. But I wanted to ask questions that would clue me in to his values.

Our conversation was warm, gracious, and full of stories. He told me about his heart for missions, his own faith journey, and why our work mattered to him.

And after we hung up, I went back to our system and wrote it all down—every detail, every connection, every word that mattered.

Especially his values.

Why? Because I assumed this would not be our last conversation.

And, he didn’t give to me… He gave to his values.

Someday, I or another staff member will call him.

Someday, we will interact with him again. And whoever interacts with him next should know him—not just as a database entry, but as a person with values, a story, a heart, and a reason for giving.

---

Systems Should Serve Relationships (Not the Other Way Around)

The bank clerk had a system, but no relationship.

You want to have a system and a relationship—and make sure your systems serve the relationship, not the other way around.

Here’s what we can learn from these stories:

Every donor has a story. They don’t just write checks—they make decisions rooted in their values, their experiences, and their hopes for the world.

Institutional memory matters. When we fail to capture and share what we know about our donors, we risk treating them like strangers in future interactions.

Gratitude requires knowledge. You can’t truly thank someone if you don’t know who they are or why they gave.

Values matter. Never forget: People don’t give to you, THEY GIVE TO THEIR VALUES! When you know and record their values, you can use them in future interactions.

The woman who hung up on the Pope didn’t mean to be dismissive. She just didn’t know who was on the other end of the line. In fundraising we can’t afford that kind of blindness.

So we take notes.

We listen well.

We remember.

We make sure that everyone who supports our mission is known, valued, and honored.

Because the people who give to us aren’t interruptions to our system.

They’re the reason the system exists at all.

---

What practices help you stay connected to the people who support your work? Hit reply—I’d love to hear your story.