ProFile: Christine Carroll

FS: What are the biggest challenges you face today as a fundraiser? How do you overcome them?

CC: The biggest challenge that I face — and a lot of nonprofits face — is something that's been said for a long time, which is the need to diversify your funding base. We've all seen a number of nonprofits that have really struggled or even had to dissolve as a result of only having one or two major funders or they got the bulk of their support from one type of funder and that sector has suffered and either pulled back, scaled back or eliminated funding for an organization, really causing some major problems. So balancing that need for diversifying the funding base with going after the opportunities that are at hand can be a challenge.