Fundraising Confessions

The older I get, the more I realize that if anything I do comes naturally and easily, then it was meant to be. Yet we spend so many years of our precious time, effort, and energy on things that just weren’t meant for us. Think about relationships, friendships, and even careers, that you almost had to force. Deep down, nothing felt right about it. For some reason, you thought you were on the right path, so you pushed forward. It didn’t work out well. Did it? We’ve all been the

You’re in the midst of event season and the annual gala is just two weeks away. You are up to your eyeballs in guest lists, all things auction (live and silent), finalizing the run of show, entertainment, and solidifying the final details. At the same time, during this “organized chaos” you are also receiving calls, texts, and emails from EVERYONE. What is the attire? One of my guests is a vegetarian. Is there a meal option for them? Can I add one more guest to my table?   No

It seems like nowadays every nonprofit wants to start a capital campaign. Why, you might ask?   A nonprofit needs to expand its services to meet the growing needs of the community. A donor has blessed the organization with a generous six- or seven-figure gift. An aging building requires renovations.   All of these reasons could be true. And let’s be honest, there’s nothing more exciting than a capital campaign. Am I right? Everyone, and I mean everyone, loves to talk about ra

It’s your first day back to the office after a long weekend, feeling refreshed and reenergized, you start going through your inbox. Suddenly, you see an email title that captures your attention, “Resignation”, it’s from your Development Officer. YIKES! You open the email, and start to read, “Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from my position as…”. Panic sets in. How did we get here? (Let’s save that topic for another day) It’s too late. Your Development Offic

Ahhhh, you just took that first sip of leftover gala wine. Nothing tastes better. You wanna know why? It’s because the big event that you and perhaps an entire committee have taken anywhere from 12-9 months to plan is... OVER! Gal-a, Gay-la, Guallla, however you want to pronounce it, is a fundraising event. It is most likely your largest (and fanciest) event-related revenue generator of the year. No pressure. From a board member’s perspective this is a glamorous party (weddin

Guess what? I’m going to let you in on a little secret, fundraising is a profession. Let me repeat that for the people in the back, fundraising is an real profession and career. For some reason, as professional fundraisers, we have unknowingly created the perception that being a fundraiser is not an actual career path. Do folks just not understand what we do? Most likely. Or perhaps, we just make it look too easy. You just ask people for money, that’s so simple OR my favorite

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