Final advice from one of fundraising’s greats

As you may have heard, the great fundraiser Jerold Panas passed a few weeks ago.

But before he left us, he prepared a post for the GuideStar blog: Nurturing Your Potential as a Fundraiser.

It’s a fitting and wonderful final piece of foundational advice for all of us from someone who really knew what he was talking about. Here’s what he had to say about being a fundraiser:

• You are a communicator
  
• Success is always coupled with perseverance
  
• You are high-touch, low tech
  
• You have an unwavering commitment to your organization and a near-militant belief in its mission
  
• You know it has to benefit the donor
  
• You practice the principle of ready, fire, aim (i.e. you don’t over-think things)
  
• You have a great job in what you’re doing, a love affair
  
• You pull up the roots to see if the flower is still growing (you’re impatient!)
  
• Nothing is more important than integrity