NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT/FUNDRAISING- Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary – REFLECTION PAPER #1

This week we will have the first of seven interviews with fundraising professionals. You will find in this assignment module a video of an interview that I conducted with Dr. David Heetland. Dr. Heetland is a senior vice president in the development office at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.

Link to the website to review the interview is: https://use.vg/5bC85L

Please view the interview, and then write a reflection paper (300–500 words) describing what you learned from Dr. Heetland. Did you learn something new about fundraising in his comments? Since this your reflection of the interview, you may focus on any topic addressed in the interview.

ANSWER

Nonprofit Management – Fundraising

Dr. Heetland reveals several things that I did not know about fundraising. He emphasizes the need for relying on an individual for support as the primary source of raising funds. Dr. Heetland reiterates that fundraisers need to connect with those who are connected to the mission and are willing to help in it. I learn that when fundraising one should seek people who share in the goals of the fund drive. From Dr. Heetland’s interview, I learned the importance of planning in fundraising. He says that it is important to plan your work and work your plan. When fundraising, there must be a planning retreat where reflections on the previous year are made and recommendations for the coming year are brought forth. Depending on the duration of the fundraising, fundraisers should keep, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly plans to lead their work.

Fundraisers should concentrate more on those that share commitment in the organization that they seek to fundraise for. A good fundraiser should be comfortable talking about money. Those who are not comfortable talking about money are not effective in fundraising. I also learn that in fundraising, challenges and opportunities are available every day. Not every pursuit for funds is expected to be successful. Fundraisers must take “no” answers as positives because not every person will accept an invitation to give funds. Asking many calls assists fundraisers to get gifts because the probability of people responding is always low. Seeking many people may lead to many disappointments but also presents the fundraiser with chances of getting many positive responses. Some donors can be reluctant initially but by sharing real-life stories about the work, there are possibilities that their minds will change. Fundraisers also face a major challenge meeting deadlines and goals. Nevertheless, I have learned that fundraising requires perseverance, passion, and patience