An Interview With Jennifer Marrapese, Executive Director, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association

FS: How do you fund your mission?
JM: Through a combination of grants, corporate sponsors, service contracts, memberships, private donation and earned income (mainly workshop and conference registrations).

FS: What are the biggest challenges your organization faces as far as fundraising is concerned?
JM: One of our greatest strengths also presents a challenge in terms of fundraising. NESEA’s membership is truly multidisciplinary — we draw members [including] architects, engineers, educators, builders, renewable energy professionals, policymakers, energy consultants, planners and others. This diversity is a key strength of the association and mirrors our belief that the most efficient use of energy requires the collaborative effort of practitioners in diverse professions. NESEA is the only place where this diverse group comes together to network, build partnerships and collaborate on projects. This tremendous strength becomes our challenge when seeking funding. We are so many things to such a multidisciplinary group. These professionals have other primary professional organizations that they belong to and support. It’s challenging to convey the value proposition in supporting NESEA as their professional organization of second choice!