Monday, October 27, 2008

In Defense of Raising Money: a Manifesto for NonProfit CEOs

Sasha Dichter isn't a blogger I'd ever come across until today. Among other things, he's the Director of Business Development at Acumen Fund, a global non-profit venture capital fund that invests in enterprises that fight poverty in the developing world. He's written a four-page piece on the value of being a fundraising person. For the many ministers around the country who feel as though they spend a good deal of their time raising money for one purpose or another, be encouraged: Sasha says you're doing a good work.

The piece starts off like this...

I work at a great nonprofit organization1 that is doing great things in the world, one
that’s attacking daunting problems in a powerful new way. I believe in what we do, and
think that we may be catalyzing a shift in how the world fights poverty.
So why did one of my mentors – someone with a lot of experience in the non‐profit and
public sector – tell me not to take this job? “Be careful,” he said, “You’ll get pigeonholed.
Once a fundraiser, always a fundraiser.”
He misunderstood what job I was taking.

No comments: