I Am Awesome. You Are Awesome.

On one occasion at a major-donor cultivation event, I somehow ended up on the receiving end of a lecture about how fundraisers don't need to get paid. In fact they "shouldn't" get paid. I set my immediate defensive instincts aside and tried to patiently justify my paycheck by explaining that I have specific training. I pointed out that since hiring me, my organization had started raising significantly more money for program delivery — the programs that she loved. I was 
dismissed with a wave of the hand and, "Yes, well, you ALL say that."