Post on 07-Aug-2015
Hello fundraiser,
Welcome to the beautiful,
crazy, amazing, maddening,
inspiring career of being a
fundraiser.
I wish you success with all of
my heart.
<3 Fundraiser Grrl
"Always be excellent at what you are doing, no
matter what it is: from writing a thank you
letter, to updating the database, to asking
for a major gift – do the best job you can of
every task you are given,
Always be helpful: find ways to improve the
lives of the people you work with: your
donors, your bosses, your program staff, the
front desk assistant.
Always be planning your next vacation: take
care of yourself. Have something fun to look
forward to on the horizon."
-Rory Green
Create relationships with your donors. Be very
present with them... they can tell when you are
authentic and are truly listening to them. If you
are, you will learn so much more about them!
After a meeting, make a verbal (recorded) note to
recall all they shared - lots of subtle but
important info is shared during a conversation.
Back at the office, site and write a TY (email,
notecard) for taking the meeting and recap
anything you said you would do for the donor.
THEN enter your notes. Whether the meeting was
with a donor, volunteer, alumni or champion.
-Beth Ann Locke
Be gracious with your
colleagues - you need to build
relationships there too and
fundraisers should always be
setting the bar for
collegiality.
Go the extra mile - or
kilometer - every time.
-Beth Ann Locke
"Building relationships
with donors is the
NUMBER ONE thing that
will guarantee success."
-Sara Krynitzki
"Get a mentor and take
advantage of all the
opportunities available
for professional
development"
-Kelly Olsen Hutchinson
"Nothing is more
important than a thank
you. And there's no such
thing as 'Over Thanking' "
-Alex Morgan
"Read blogs regularly that share
what other fundraisers are doing
& if it's successful. Then network
in person at Young Nonprofit
Professionals Network and/or
Association of Fundraising
Professionals events in your
area."
-Danielle Kempe
"The right cause, the
right fundraising
channel can come
later...
find the right boss!"
-Fraser Green
"Read blogs regularly that share
what other fundraisers are doing
& if it's successful. Then network
in person at Young Nonprofit
Professionals Network and/or
Association of Fundraising
Professionals events in your
area."
-Danielle Kempe
"Do not take a "no" personally. Know
that, if you're doing your job right
and you are passionate about your
cause, there could be a hundred
different reasons why that donor is
saying "no" at this point, none of
which are a negative reflection of
you as a person or you as a
Development professional."
-Melanie Lambert
"Challenge assumptions and
don't ever settle for "we've
always done it that way"
and also good donor
relations will get you
further than anything!."
-Lynne Wester
"Try and read at least one
good fundraising blog or
article each day - use Twitter
to find them! Too many
fundraisers have no
knowledge hinterland and so
it'll put you streets ahead!."
-Adrian Salmon
"Never bookmark a funder's
website - guidelines and
deadlines may be updated
while you are viewing a
cached page, missing the
new info!"
-Sarah Vanessa
" Join the Association of
Fundraising
Professionals and follow
all of the #AFPeeps on
Twitter."
-Josh Hirsch
"Don't let the fear of the "no" hold you
back and don't let the rush of the "yes"
be the reason you go into the office.
Get your meaning from the front line
work (whether it's that student being
the first person in her family to
attend university, or that single mom
who now has housing) , let it guide
you and your donors every day."
-Keels Marie
" Double tripple check the
spelling of the person's
name you are communicating
with! There's no easier way
to alienate someone right
off the bat."
-Sarah Vanessa
"Ask questions. "why do we do ot like
this?" or "why is that?" will provide
you with untold amounts of info about
your team. Get on the phone to donors
and supporters - offer to do the thank
you calls one week. Find out WHY your
supporters love your cause and it'll
help you tell them the right stories
back."
-Sarah Goddard
"Team up with a really good
communications
consultant.
Communications is the
"easy button" for raising
money from donors."
-Dennis Fischman
"What you like and what
feels right isn't
necessarily good. A lot
of fundraising is
counter-intuitive."
-Simon Scriver
"What you like and what
feels right isn't
necessarily good. A lot
of fundraising is
counter-intuitive."
-Simon Scriver