A reader writes:
I’ve found myself in an odd situation and would love some thoughts on what to do. I work in fundraising at a nonprofit and today, following a donor event, I got back to my desk and saw that I had five missed calls from the same number. The first four had no messages, but the fifth one had a message from a (supposed) elderly woman I didn’t know stating that she and her husband wanted to make a gift of $7 million. Immediately my spidey-senses pinged, as people don’t just make six-figure donations out of nowhere (in all my years in this line of work, the only surprise million dollar gift I ever saw was an estate bequest).
I played the voicemail back for my team, essentially saying “This is someone trolling us, right?” We couldn’t quite make out the name given and a search of the phone number didn’t do much. Finally I decided to call back to see if I could figure out what was going on. I spoke with the woman, who reiterated their interest in a multi-million dollar gift to name a theater. I told her that if she wanted to talk about naming opportunities, I’d have to forward her to my boss. She got quiet, then said “Never mind.” When I confirmed she no longer wanted to make a gift, she said she had been told I could handle this for her. I confirmed that while I process gifts, anything involving naming rights had to go through my boss. She said she would call my boss later as now wasn’t a good time. I asked if she wanted my boss’s phone number. She said no and hung up.
As my team and I were discussing what was, at this point, obviously a prank, my phone rang and the screen showed the name of a high school intern who just started with our team this week. However, when I picked up there was a man on the other end claiming I had been speaking with his wife and apologized for her, saying, “She’s a bit tipsy this afternoon.” He then said he did want to speak to my boss about a gift, so I transferred the call. Our intern’s name also appeared on my boss’s phone screen, and when she answered he had hung up.
At this point, we were all thoroughly flummoxed. We confirmed that the number for the original call (and the one I called when returning the voicemail) is the one given to us by the intern (he had already gone for the day when this happened). Obviously we’re going to talk to him about this and figure out what’s going on, but I’m not sure what the best course of action is.
On the one hand, we don’t know if this is something he was in on. I could easily see this being a friend or sibling stealing his phone to make a prank call (and while I haven’t interacted with him much, he struck me as a pretty shy and sweet guy). On the other hand, even if he had nothing to do with this, I’m not sure what we can say to him other than letting him know it happened. Don’t let someone take your phone? Be careful who you’re friends with? Watch how much info you’re giving out about us? And if he admits this was a prank by him, does it warrant cutting his internship early? I get high schoolers aren’t known for their maturity, but it does feel annoying if he’s squandering an opportunity he’s being given here.
In my youth, I was an expert prank caller — and not to brag, but I was once awarded a trophy made of clay for Top Prank Caller by my nieces after passing along my skills to them — but even I knew that you don’t prank call your job with false promises about money, particularly when you are a high school intern.
That said, “she’s a bit tipsy this afternoon” did make me laugh out loud, so kudos to this young group of hooligans. I can vividly imagine the mirth this must have produced on their side after they hung up.
Anyway. Your intern. The chances he wasn’t involved in this are low. Not non-existent, but low. Lots of high schoolers who appear shy and sweet at their jobs are quite different when they’re with their friends. (I was another example of that; my high school jobs all thought I was an angel. I was not.)
But the first step is to talk to him. Tell him you got a prank call from his phone number and ask if there’s anything he wants to tell you. He’s likely to be embarrassed (which is good; this is how we learn things), and there’s a good chance he’ll confess. Whether he admits his involvement or blames it on his friends, explain that you know it was meant as a joke but organizations take fundraising really seriously — it’s the only way your work can happen — and that wasting people’s time chasing donations that don’t actually exist is really disrespectful to his colleagues and to the work you’re all there to do.
He probably hasn’t thought of it like that, because he’s in high school and they don’t know much about the world. This is a good way for him to start learning.
I wouldn’t blame you if you decided to fire him over it (although you should hear him out and see how he responds first). It’s reasonable to decide he showed a level of immaturity that’s not compatible with the work you need done. But I also think internships — especially at that young of an age — are about learning, and there’s a big opportunity for growth here if you do keep him on. Sometimes mortification at being called on one’s behavior is a perfectly suitable consequence, and you don’t need to mete out anything more than that.
