Dear Eric: I am a recently published children’s book author and pet advocate. After my book was published, I contacted a local shelter to inform them that I would donate a portion of the book sales to their shelter. In exchange, they would promote my book.

I thought it would be a win-win for both parties.

A month passed before a post appeared on social media. A month later, the same message appeared in their email newsletter. Nothing more was sent.

Later, I graciously offered to donate 10 of my books for a raffle. They were excited.

The next day I was told that due to the number of raffle baskets there was no room to hold flyers with my biography or QR codes for my book. I explained that since the event was sold out, it would be a great opportunity to offer the flyers to those who would like to purchase one of my books. Part of the profits would be donated to them. I never got a response.

I was upset because I felt like they weren’t supporting me the way I was supporting them. I have since broken off my relationship with them. As for the recipes, I sold all the books thanks to my marketing. They made no contribution. I am considering not donating these profits due to their lack of support.

– Author upset

Dear author: Congratulations on your book. I hope this experience will not dampen your enthusiasm.

A shelter is not a marketing agency. If you care about the real work the shelter does and want to see it continue, you should keep your promise to donate. If you were hoping to use the shelter to supplement your sales, you should still keep your promise, because it’s unfair to expect an animal shelter to promote your book with the same energy and consistency as YOU. Although they would benefit, it is by selling more books that you will benefit the most.

The way you wrote it – and forgive me if this is a bad read – you approached the shelter with a well-developed plan. Have you considered their promotional support capacity? I’m afraid your expectations are unrealistic and that’s what’s causing your resentment.

It would be different if this was structured as a partnership between you and the shelter, because both parties could then decide whether the work is worth the projected income. But you presented it as a gift. When you receive a tax receipt for a donation, most, if not all, nonprofits state that the donation was not given in exchange for goods or services. This will help you to view your gift as free and without stipulations and to structure any future arrangements differently.