Meet Our Award Winners!

Karen Climer
Annual giving coordinator
BETA Center (Orlando, Fla.)
www.betacenter.org

Organization’s mission: To give our community’s children and parents the knowledge and support needed to build strong and healthy families.
Annual operating budget: $3.07 million
How much raised annually: $2.67 million
Role models: Mom taught me what it means to be generous. She’s the person about whom I’ve always thought, “That’s who I want to be like!”
Why did you choose fundraising as a career: I applied for an internship at the Kennedy Center. When they asked me if I was interested in a fundraising position, I imagined myself making cold calls during dinner, selling cookies door to door and ringing a bell outside the grocery store. [But] all of my preconceived notions about fundraising were annihilated. I discovered how challenging it is to come up with strategies, how delightful it is to talk to donors and how rewarding it is to create win-win situations for donors and organizations. I was hooked!
Greatest fundraising challenges: There is so much competition for the donor’s attention. People are bombarded with media messages, and donors are experiencing information overload. It is more difficult — and more important — than ever to break through the clutter, capture the donor’s imagination, and provide compelling information about the organization and mission.
Keys to success (in fundraising): Treating people as people and not as merely a source of money. Listening to people. Really listening. You can’t fake listening — even children can tell if it’s real.
Keys to success (in life): I say thank you as often as possible because I really do value the support of others.
Fundraising accomplishment of which you are most proud: The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood was in the middle of a public-relations crisis dealing with art censorship. I represented the center at a city council meeting. After I spoke, the mayor said, “Usually I write my own speeches, but if I decide to run again, I might hire you to write them.”
How would your co-workers describe you: Dogged perseverance, razor-sharp focus and a good sense of humor.
Greatest lesson ever learned: You can’t always choose what happens to you, but you can always choose how you react to it.
Personal philosophy: If you’re going to look back at this and laugh, you might as well laugh now.