Jamie, thanks for the feedback. You actually bring up an interesting scenario, which I never thought about before.
With the situation you just described (client only having enough for half the donation), from a Client perspective, to me that is actually more risky than recieving a check which is for the full donation because from my perspective when I write a check, its good 100% no doubt about it. I would never set up an appointment with a provider if I didn't have the cash flow at that exact moment in time. And yes, I agree with you, you could have been burned on the other half owed to you. So you must really trust that client, which is awesome.
However, from a Providers perspective, receiving half the donation up front is better than being potentially burned on the entire amount of the check. And when i give the check to my ATF, its always at the very end of our extended appointment when I'm saying good bye and about to head to the airport and then she usually can't deposit it until the following Monday due to her schedule and the limited bank hours on Saturdays and Sundays. So there is obviously a lot of risk for her.
The bottom line here is trust is paramount.
I'm just trying to get a feel for how many clients providers actually have which they trust to the extent I described above, in which they are willing to accept a check at the end of an appointment, which is for a sizable amount, and then wait 1-2 days to deposit it.
Interesting topic, not sure if it has ever been discussed before