Advice for New Fundraisers From the Fundraiser Grrl Community

1. Welcome to
Fundraising!
Advice for New Fundraisers From the
Fundraiser Grrl Community

2. 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

3. "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

4. 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

5. 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

6. "Building relationships
with donors is the
NUMBER ONE thing that
will guarantee success."
-Sara Krynitzki

7. "Get a mentor and take
advantage of all the
opportunities available
for professional
development"
-Kelly Olsen Hutchinson

8. "Nothing is more
important than a thank
you. And there's no such
thing as 'Over Thanking' "
-Alex Morgan

9. "Do not be afraid to be
different,, to do what no
one else has done
before. "
-John Steckley

10. "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

11. "The right cause, the
right fundraising
channel can come
later...
find the right boss!"
-Fraser Green

12. "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

13. "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

14. "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

15. "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

16. "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

17. " Join the Association of
Fundraising
Professionals and follow
all of the #AFPeeps on
Twitter."
-Josh Hirsch

18. "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

19. " 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

20. "Buy The Zen of
Fundraising by
Ken Burnett."
-Laua Croudace

21. "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

22. "Team up with a really good
communications
consultant.
Communications is the
"easy button" for raising
money from donors."
-Dennis Fischman

23. "What you like and what
feels right isn't
necessarily good. A lot
of fundraising is
counter-intuitive."
-Simon Scriver

24. "What you like and what
feels right isn't
necessarily good. A lot
of fundraising is
counter-intuitive."
-Simon Scriver

25. "Be prepared to do
everything and
anything."
-Genny
Alexander

26. " Know that you WILL make a
mistake at some point. You will
make an ask at a wrong time. You
may even (gasp!) miss a grant
deadline. But you will learn from
those mistakes and move forward
to be bigger and better! Don't let
fear hold you back."
-Alison Eby Gerardot