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What A Philanthropy Officer At UNICEF USA Wishes They Had Known Before Entering The Philanthropy Industry
Bridget, a UNICEF USA Philanthropy Officer, wishes someone had emphasized the extended timeframe required for fundraising success; the initial experience involves significant uncertainty ("you don't know if any of these phone numbers are correct...if anyone's reading anything you're sending"), leading to feelings of isolation before eventually seeing results, as exemplified by a contact who responded after a year of outreach.
Fundraising, Patience, Persistence, Resilience, Time Management
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Bridget Maxim
Philanthropy Officer
UNICEF USA
University of Southern California, 2013
University of Missouri St. Louis (Secondary Education); University of Southern California (MBA)
Environmental & Related Sciences
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Sales and Client Management
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Fundraising takes time and persistence; initial results may be slow.
2. There can be a degree of isolation in the beginning, with limited immediate feedback.
3. It's important to remain persistent; connections may develop over time, even after a year of outreach.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would have told you before you entered the industry?
It would be incredibly helpful to have a full understanding that fundraising takes time. It doesn't happen overnight a lot of times. In the beginning, it can really feel like you don't know if any of these phone numbers are correct, or if any of these email addresses are actually making it to someone. You wonder if anyone is reading anything you're sending.
It takes time; not everyone answers right away. I've seen this over the couple of years I've been in this role at UNICEF. People I hadn't heard from, and had tried reaching for a year, finally got back to me.
I found out they had been seeing all the things I sent or paying attention. There's a lot of isolation in the beginning, and I didn't really know that going into it. I thought I would be meeting with people left and right once I got started.
That's just not necessarily the case. As you get started, it's going to be a lot of, "I don't know if this is making it to who it needs to be going to," but you keep your fingers crossed and keep trying.