The art of seeking ministry support

I received a ministry support letter 3 days ago that began:

Dear Joey and Jamie,

I know we have never met, but I recently spent and [sic] evening with (NAMES REDACTED) sharing our new ministry vision and your name came up. You must have made a deep impression on them. After sharing with them what the Lord has been doing in our lives they thought that you might also be excited to hear as well.

The letter went on to describe a ministry that this couple is starting. They said they'd like to meet us and "see how the Lord will draw us together for this journey."

A few things struck me about this letter.

First, as noted in the letter's first sentence, I've never met the person who sent it. In searching for support, they're relying on referrals from people they know, which is common in people looking for support, but leads me to...

Second, I barely know the people who referred me to this couple (the people whose names are redacted). Apparently I left a "deep impression" on them, and while I recall the husband as being a really nice guy, I don't remember the wife at all. In fact, when I forwarded the letter to my wife, she asked, "Who are (NAMES REDACTED)?"

Third, this letter was sent to an address that's over 3 years old. The referral apparently didn't know me well enough to know where I live. I actually didn't know them when I lived at that old address, so I'm not sure how they even found it.

I've never had to seek support for a ministry. I have friends who have and I'm guessing they're more sympathetic to this person. I'm trying to be sympathetic.

But it bothers me that someone I hardly know is handing out my personal (if outdated) information to someone I don't know at all without asking me first.

I don't support ministries simply because someone goes to my church or (in this case) goes to a church I used to go to. I support them because A.) I have a passion for the ministry, B.) Someone I know and respect recommends the ministry and/or C.) I have the funds with which to support the ministry.

The letter also felt like an awkward sales pitch. My wife made an interesting observation when she noted, "Ministry support gathering feels way too similar to a pyramid scheme."

I think there's a right way and a wrong way to seek ministry support. The right way is for someone you know and trust to approach you about a ministry they really believe in and refer you to that person. The wrong (or at least more ineffective) way is to send letters to people with no real connection to you other than your mutual interest in serving Christ, which is an interest that covers a lot of people.

Unfortunately, we found the approach in this letter to be decidedly ineffective. (I should add that I received a very gracious response from the guy to my email letting him know that we wouldn't be supporting him.)

What do you think? Am I being too harsh? Have you been faced with a similar situation before?