What Are the Attributes of a Successful Fundraiser?

by: Jim Eskin

The capacity to believe and the capacity to persuade others to believe

It takes a combination of many special attributes to be a successful fundraiser. But if I was forced to single out one above all others, I would pick the capacity to believe and the capacity to persuade others to believe.

Fundraisers unconditionally believe in the following:

• The nobility of the missions of the nonprofits they serve.

• The cumulative power of their family of co-workers, board members, volunteers and donors to continually aim and reach higher.

• The generous nature of the American people to voluntarily share time, talent and treasure, especially in response to urgent crises.

• The efficacy of fundraising principles, strategies and best practices that, when consistently applied, will produce positive results over and over again.

• And finally, they believe in themselves to do the right thing for the right reasons.

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