You are a Fundraiser

Congratulations! For your compassion and hard work, you can expect the following:

1. You will be asked to raise more money than is reasonable.
2. You will be punished if your goal is not met.
3. When, against all odds, you succeed, you will be rewarded by having your goals increased.
4. You will be reviled by program colleagues who think you are misrepresenting their work.
5. You will be tasked with silly and unproductive distractions because a Board member saw something in the Wall Street Journal on the way to the Board meeting.
6. Your copy will be edited by lawyers, who remove every scintilla of emotion from your letter.
7. You will be blamed when one donor in 100,000 complains they didn’t get their tote bag.
8. You will be asked to raise more money, but keep your spending flat.

And yet, in spite of it all, you persevere.

Alia and I are exploring what makes life as a fundraiser survivable, and beyond that, rewarding. We’d love any thoughts or ideas you may have!

More to come…