Grooming the Next Generation of Donors: An Interview With Miami Jewish Health Systems' Blaise Mercadante

FS: Anything else you'd like to add?
BM: Don’t be afraid to try new things. Wayne Gretzky has a quote that has guided me for years: "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take." You are not going to develop and evolve an organization while remaining safely in the bland, boring middle. You have to take chances. Dare to be bold with young donors. With all donors, young and old, I find myself constantly challenging my own assumptions and my staff’s assumptions, particularly so with donor groups that are different from us personally — young, Latin, Russian, Haitian, whoever they may be. We learn the world from their viewpoint and really listen to them. Talking meaningfully with them is a broadening experience, fun and keeps me young.