As gather my thoughts for today’s post I’m listening to John Prine’s Christmas in Prison..  Prine was just one of the great singer/songwriters we lost this year, along with so much else.

As tempting as it is to call out all the failures, losses, grief, stress and mendacity heaped upon us in 2020 I’ll save that “naughty” list for others.

Given what was truly an extraordinary year for fundraisers and fundraising I’m drawing up the “nice” list.  Not gonna mention names because there are just so many of ‘em…nor tag organizations because so many of them also rallied and came through in thoroughly wonderful ways.

Rather, my chosen list took life from a year-end Zoom party/gathering/session attended by some very senior consultants as well as a good-sized group of relatively inexperienced fundraisers representing small organizations.

The mixture was fantastic.  Not only because some of my favorites were present, but principally what was so heartening was the sharing. –of yarns, solid insights, and the most valuable gift of all in these times: encouragement.

And so, I’ve added an important partition to my “nice” list for 2020: “The Unappreciated.”

Teaching, mentoring and sharing are among the most important characteristics of our fundraising craft. At the same time these traits and those whose professional lives personify them are too unrecognized and unappreciated.

I’m thinking of the dozens and dozens of our colleagues who give up days, nights and weekends to prepare presentations and teach others…the bloggers who, no matter how bone tired, find the energy to get out some good advice in the next post…those who slave over books that are not read by nearly enough of their colleagues…those who share their research and their test results…and the missionaries of our trade who ride the circuits to present at AFP chapter after AFP chapter…the Twitter teams who share wisdom in 140 or 280 characters…and all those who read, listen, and sometime heed what we share with each other.

Sure, the cynical will be quick to say that all this energy is really expended in search of new consulting gigs…a fresh job… hustling a product…you name it. What I’m absolutely sure of that too much of the time our sector at large takes all of this too much for granted.

Our craft, unlike so many others, is blessed by an unspoken desire to help develop the young and/or less experienced.  A kind of parenting with Power Point and an appetite for rubber chicken. But ignoring the blemishes of Power Point and rubber chicken and breakfast bar buffets—every caring fundraiser I know tells me (in moments of weakness or candor) that this fundraising parenting joy and satisfaction at every turn.

I agree.  The fellowship and sharing are one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences and opportunities that have been gifted in this thing we call fundraising.

This year my “nice” list and its “unappreciated” sub-list is especially long. I’m grateful to have people in my life who care about my growth as if it’s part of their own.

Roger