Letters from the week of May 3

Martin: "Spoils of War," April 19War Chest
Keep it up, David Martin. Your Liberty Memorial reporting of patronage and nepotism, while soooo Kansas City, is important journalism.

Bruce Rodgers, Prairie VillageFundamentals of Fundraising
This letter is to raise Carl DiCapo's awareness — and hopefully to increase general public awareness as well — about a phenomenal cadre of professional fundraisers in Kansas City. Cumulatively, they raise hundreds of millions of dollars in a single year. They also give generously of their own time and talents through volunteer service.

Nearly one-third of these people have proved their professionalism by acquiring the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential, which reflects years of professional experience, a written examination, and ongoing education and volunteer service. There are only 4,113 CFRE-credentialed individuals in the United States. And 62 of them reside and work here in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Further, each member of this group I am speaking of, as an individual member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, signs a contract to uphold a Code of Ethical Principles and Standards of Professional Practice. (This document can be found online at www.afpnet.org.) This group is composed of 210 ethical, highly competent and respected professionals who are the members of AFP Mid America Chapter. And on our collective behalf, I invite Mr. DiCapo — and others interested in raising dollars, collaborative partnerships and awareness for their nonprofit organization — to contact us whenever we may be of assistance. Diane Marty, CFRE President, AFP Mid America Chapter, Kansas City, MissouriMartin: "Collection Bait," April 12Call Centers
On behalf of the numerous domestic violence agencies in the Kansas City metro, we commend David Martin's attention to the issue of street-corner donation solicitation to support the "domestic violence women's shelter" at Kansas City Restoration Church.

We would like to educate the public about established domestic violence agencies in our community. The Metropolitan Family Violence Coalition is composed of six area domestic violence programs that provide a seamless safety net of services to address the complex needs of domestic violence survivors and their children. Our agencies work together to provide shelter, counseling, advocacy, transitional living and other related resources. Our metro hotline for domestic abuse services is 816-HOTLINE. This number provides access to more than 350 shelter beds, dozens of counselors and numerous other services. Thousands of women and children reach out to us each year to find safety and support.

To raise funds for these programs, we write grants and conduct a variety of fundraising events. We all go through rigorous reviews from our funders, as well as internal agency audits. You can be assured that we never solicit funds directly on street corners and we never require our clients to perform fundraising efforts on our behalf.

If you are approached by these solicitors, we encourage you to hand them a piece of paper with our 24-hour hotline number. The best way you can support a victim is to help them find us. Sharon Katz, SAFEHOME; Susan Miller, Rose Brooks Center; Mary Anne Metheny, Hope House; LaDora Lattimore, Joyce H. Williams Center; Robin Winner, Synergy Services; Leslie Caplan, NewhouseFeature: "Smoke Over Water," April 19Water Torture
Regarding Peter Rugg's story about the Kickapoo tribe's efforts to build a reservoir near Horton, Kansas: In 1832, following the cession of lands in southwest Missouri, the ancestors of this Kickapoo tribe were assigned by treaty all of the land just north of Leavenworth, between the Missouri River and U.S. Highway 75. The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act brought in squatters. The 1862 Atchison and Pike's Peak Railroad treaty with the Kickapoo tribe opened the land in question to white settlement. A Kickapoo agent got a kickback, as did politicians like Samuel Pomeroy.

Part of the Kickapoo tribe escaped to Texas and Mexico in this period of white corruption in the mid-1860s. The Winter's Doctrine guarantees Kickapoo water rights because they existed before the State of Kansas or any of the indigent squatters in 1861 when Kansas became a state. Now, with a fraction of that reservation left, racism is alive and well in 2007 as it was in 1866 for this tribe.

Mike Ford, Bonner SpringsBuckle Bunny, April 19Station Identification
Crystal K. Wiebe's article on Kansas City Internet radio was interesting but lacked variety. It also failed to mention the interesting solid talk/comedy programs that exist in Kansas City. These shows are Internet-based but are syndicated internationally on other Internet stations as well as AM and FM ones.

My favorite is The Wild Wild Westmar Show on The KCHost Radio Network, located at kchost.net or wildwildwestmar.com. You'd never know this show was being broadcast in someone's basement — it sounds that good. There are also other shows out there in Kansas City. Some good, some not so good. But they're out there, and I think they're all worth exploring at some point in your publication.

You also need to explore the Copyright Royalty Board's latest decision to try and kill music on Internet radio by raising royalty rates to astronomical amounts. Unfortunately, Internet radio is about to change — most likely forever. Herbert Arthur, Kansas City, Missouri