Looking back at my 12 years in fundraising I see a path that was far from linear, full of proud moments and tough days, each adventure leading me to the next. So, when Lisa MacDonald reached out and asked me to do an update on this article, I took it as a great opportunity to take stock of who I was and what I believed then, in relation to who I have become and what I believe now.
When I wrote the first article, I was fresh out of the now defunct Humber Fundraising program, having listened to Paul Nazareth speak about the importance of building your own personal campaign cabinet. At the time I thought I was too cool for Paul and ignored quite a bit of his sage advice but that one idea stuck with me. I went out to find those people—my campaign cabinet—starting with an AFP matched mentor.
I quickly realized that each human I added to the cabinet would inspire and teach me a different lesson along the way. When I finally started listening to Paul, I figured out the comfortable way for me to network.
• Meeting Sonya Swiridjuk reminded me that attention to detail is critical and its important to have patience; not every person is an “early” person.
• Samantha Barr showed me mentorship can look like collaboration and is not time bound nor age bound.
• Each of my bosses have also shown me what I do and don’t want to become as a leader and a mentor, because no one is perfect.
In 2013, I didn’t name my AFP mentor. I wasn’t sure it would last or what that relationship would look like even a year from then, let alone twelve. I now proudly say that Tannis Walker, Head of Development, Medical Sciences at the University of Oxford (yes, that Oxford) is my mentor because she is, and has been, since those first intimidating (for me) moments. Yet somehow, along the way, we also became friends and then sisters.
During our twelve-year relationship, I’ve lived in Toronto while Tannis has been all over the world and despite that, our commitment to one another hasn’t faltered. A thirteen-hour time difference? No problem. Tannis could be winding down while I was caffeinating. We were on Skype long before the pandemic made it cool. It wasn’t proximity that mattered, it was the focus on making me a better fundraiser, then helping me figure out who I was as a leader. And as she supported me in this, I got front row tickets to see a career many only can dream of. It’s something that inspires me to be better every day.
A win-win
Mentorship is so much more than how I first saw it. When it’s done right, it’s a safety net for the mentee and a diluter of imposter syndrome for the mentor. It’s a chance to celebrate with one another, be someone’s biggest cheerleader and also the person they can go to when things, seemingly, fall apart.
It’s truly wild to look at that 2013 article and see the concerns about millennials not listening, not adapting to the workforce and being “a different kind of employee.” Those same conversations have carried on but are now pointed at Gen Z and Gen Alpha, two amazing cohorts of humans I hope to have the pleasure of being ignored by, and then collaborating with.
Since the pandemic, there have been fewer reasons for us fundraisers to gather like we used to and I miss those opportunities to find new mentors and mentees. In its place I look for other chances to share my knowledge, my mistakes and my hopes with other fundraisers, some of which have turned into mentorships along the way.
Fundraising is hard and at times lonely. Having someone who you can turn to for advice or tough love or just a moment of togetherness makes it a little less hard. Find your people, your cabinet, whatever you want to call it, it’s not too late.
As Tannis and I remind one another, an ocean apart, on a regular basis—you got this.
Not sure where to start with mentorship? Let’s chat about it.
Laura Champion is the Senior Director, Fund Development at Lumenus Foundation. She is the Founder of the AFP Speaker Discovery Series, was Chair of AFP GTA Congress in 2020, and has spoken all over the globe. She has a deep love for fundraising, learning and her one-eyed wiener dog, Mortadella.
