Blog Blast from the Past #8

Korrin B.

March 12, 2011 - 3:00 PM

This episode of Blog Blast from the Past comes from March 10, 2010 and was originally titled, "Mission Driven Fundraising." It was about a PPPM class I was taking at the time for my Nonprofit Administration minor. The class was called Nonprofit Resource Development - a.k.a. fundraising. I had mildly dreaded the topic since I had originally had very daunting images of the subject in my head. However, I ended up really enjoying it. I learned how fun fundraising can be and about what it takes to be an effective fundraiser. I explain one of my most profound realizations in this text from the original post:

"The main point for me that made fundraising not so bad was the fact that supposedly, you are doing it for a cause that you truly believe in. If you are honestly invested in the mission of your organization, then you are able to see why the fundraising is so important. It becomes less of a droning task and more of an exciting journey to advance the guiding principles and vision of your organization."

After my experience this summer interning for The Carter Center in the development department, I could not stand by this lesson more. Last summer, I was able to put some of what I had learned in this class to use in a real-world setting. Though it was exciting and a wonderful opportunity, I did become acutely aware of the fact that my interests and ideals didn't completely align with the mission of The Carter Center and that this made it hard for me to fully immerse myself in the organization. That being said, I greatly appreciate and respect the incredible work The Carter Center does around the world. I think they are an amazing organization with incredible, dedicated staff members. However, my interests are more domestically focused. In particular, I'm interested in ending homelessness within the United States. I have a hard time pouring my everything into work to help other countries when there is still so much within our own that we have been neglectful of and have not created solutions for. It was hard for me to truly get into fundraising for international programs with my internship at The Carter Center when everyday I walked to work, I would walk past homeless, mentally ill people trying to survive on the streets of Atlanta.

All this being said, I had the chance to meet over lunch with some of the staff members in the development department and elsewhere in the organization and talk to them about the work they do. I could tell that for them this work was perfect. They could fully immerse themselves in what they were fundraising for because their beliefs aligned with the organization's mission. They were honestly invested in the organization's work. It was a wonderful experience getting to see this and being able to solidify what I had learned about the importance of believing in the nonprofit you choose to work for.

I am excited to take these lessons with me after I graduate this June.