Q-and-A With Award Winners
The winners of FundRaising Success’ 2007 Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards are individuals in the sector — on both the nonprofit and consulting side — who enrich the sector in some way and/or embody important trends in fundraising.
We asked our award winners to share some things about themselves: where they come from, geographically and professionally; where they want to be in the future; who inspires them; and examples of some challenges and accomplishments they’ve had.
Below are Q-and-A’s with five of our winners: Ted Kohnen, assistant director of Planned Parenthood Online and a Rising Star; Tim Burgess, co-founder of Merkle/Domain and a Top Man in Fundraising; Katya Andresen, vice president of marketing at Network for Good and one of our Fundraising Professionals of the Year; Michael Knipp, chief copywriter/editor at Creative Direct Response and a Rising Star; and Kim Ruotsala, director of development for Food Bank of the Rockies and a Top Woman in Fundraising.
Ted Kohnen
Where did you grow up? Queens, New York and Smithtown in Long Island, N.Y.
What is your fundraising experience? About four and a half years with two nonprofits: Alzheimer’s Research Foundation and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Prior to that, I worked for two Internet companies for four years doing strategic planning and online marketing.
What is your education? M.S. in technology management from Columbia University in New York.; B.A. in international business and management from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.
Who are your role models? My father (Theodore Kohnen Sr.). Through watching my father in his career — currently VP of New York Life Insurance Company — I learned that good, honest and ethical people do win. Jack Welch (former chairman of GE). His no-nonsense management and gritty business style I think works very well in the online world and keeps projects and ideas moving forward.
Why did you choose fundraising as a career? Fundraising actually found me. It was through online marketing and Web design that I realized how powerful the Internet could be in reaching new audiences for nonprofits. Early on in my career I was focused on e-commerce for two Internet companies but soon realized how closely aligned the strategies of for-profit e-commerce and online charitable giving are.
What are some future professional pursuits of yours? I enjoy immensely what I do and I will continue using the Internet as an effective tool for promoting an organization’s mission and raising support for an organization’s activities.
What are your greatest fundraising challenges? The greatest challenge is keeping supporters engaged when a story is no longer a topic in the media.
What is the fundraising accomplishment you are most proud of? The online fundraising Planned Parenthood Federation of America conducted in response to Hurricane Katrina. To date, this was the most successful campaign in terms of total dollars raised in the shortest period of time. What I’m more proud of is that six months later we were able to communicate to our online supporters to tell them what we did with the contributions and we were able to show supporters how their gifts made a difference.
How would those close to you describe you? I’m passionate about whatever I’m doing (work, school, athletics, etc.).
Michael Knipp
Where did you grow up? I was raised in the suburbs right outside of Baltimore, Md. But I like to think I grew up at Roanoke College in Salem, Va.
What is your fundraising experience? Before I joined the Creative Direct Response team, my fundraising experience was limited to purchasing Girls Scout Cookies. Now I’m writing fundraising letters for some of today’s top charities, such as Toys for Tots.
What is your education? I hold a B.A. in English and a minor in Spanish from Roanoke College.
Who are your role models? Hands down, John F. Kennedy Jr. He came from American royalty but managed to maintain humility. Also, Greg Schmigel, art director at Creative Direct Response; he gets me.
Why did you choose fundraising as a career? I’m not sure I chose fundraising, per se, but rather seized an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others through my gift of the written word. So far, so good.
What are some future professional pursuits of yours? As long as my creativity is being challenged, I’ll be happy wherever I am. You didn’t really think I was gonna fall for that one, did ya?
What are your greatest fundraising challenges? Maintaining originality in my approach to fundraising is a day-to-day challenge. Luckily, I haven’t yet come across a mountain too high.
What is the fundraising accomplishment you are most proud of? I’ve been in the industry for less than a year and a half, so being named a Rising Star by FundRaising Success is quite an honor. You called me irreverent and brash. How hot is that?!
How would those close to you describe you? Their descriptions would not be fit for print. It’s a dubious distinction, but one I’ve rightfully earned.
Kim Ruotsala
Where did you grow up? Clifton, N.J.
What is your fundraising experience? Ten years of fundraising, all at Food Bank of the Rockies.
What is your education? Colorado State University graduate — go Rams!
Who are your role models? My mother and my Grandfather Korn.
Why did you choose fundraising as a career? I wanted to use my skills to help those in need.
What are some future job professional of yours? I would love to end my career with a major foundation distributing funds to worthy organizations.
What are your greatest fundraising challenges? The greatest fundraising challenge I have is trying to increase donations in times of economic downturns. This is when the need for our services jumps and the resources available decline.
What is the fundraising accomplishment you are most proud of? I would say I am most proud of the fact that I have been part of the same organization since the beginning of my fundraising career. The fact that I get to work with a team of individuals dedicated to feeding people in need is truly rewarding.
How would those close to you describe you? Someone who is compassionate, loves to laugh, family oriented and a tad bit of a dreamer.
Tim Burgess
Where did you grow up? Seattle
What is your fundraising/consulting experience? Twenty-eight years in nonprofit marketing and fundraising; seven years on the client side, 21 years as a consultant.
What is your education? Attended University of Washington, didn’t graduate. Eight credit hours short; got too busy with my career.
Who are your role models? For fundraising creative: Herschell Gordon Lewis, Bob Ball and Jeff Brooks.
Why did you choose consulting for fundraising organizations as a career? I worked in the trenches on the nonprofit side and thought I could do a better job than the consultants we kept hiring and firing. It’s been a great ride and extremely fulfilling.
What are some future professional pursuits of yours? I’m running right now for election to the Seattle City Council. Someday I’d like to run a national nonprofit.
What were your greatest challenges as a consultant? Persuading clients to try new things, to take risks and to focus on revenue creation instead of expense limitations.
What is the professional accomplishment you are most proud of? Co-founding a very successful consulting firm and nurturing staff to achieve their dreams. It is extremely satisfying to see the new ones succeed and achieve things they probably never dreamed they could do.
How would those close to you describe you? Thoughtful. Decisive. Passionate. Normal.
Katya Andresen
Where did you grow up? The conventional answer to that question is Chapel Hill, N.C., though that’s not the whole story. “Tar Heel Heaven” is where I spent my childhood. I feel that I grew up as a professional in the developing world. I lived and worked in Cambodia, Madagascar and Ukraine, and the experience of witnessing abject poverty, extreme personal struggles and incredible incidences of success amid hopelessness is what’s shaped me more than anything else. It made me think beyond myself, appreciate the broader world and gain an urgent desire to make a difference, however small. I try to retain that outlook most days, though I am still not always grown up enough to succeed all the time. It’s so easy to get sucked in by the small stuff.
What is your fundraising experience? Most of my career has focused on nonprofit marketing — getting people to buy into good causes, whether in the form of money, volunteering or behavior change. I’ve done this with dozens of nonprofits, including CARE, and most recently at Network for Good, the online giving site where we fundraise for thousands of charities.
What is your education? I was a history major at Haverford College, with concentrations in early European, American and ancient history. Basically, I was all over the map, literally, in my studies. I kept meaning to go back to graduate school for a more professional grounding, but I have been so lucky to have had so many extraordinary and challenging jobs, one after the other, that I managed to get the rest of my education by fire rather than formal qualification.
Who are your role models? My role models are all great storytellers, from the literary journalists you’ll find in The New Yorker to some of my more eccentric relatives. I think our work is all about telling a good story, so I try to learn from the people who are masters at it.
What are some future professional pursuits of yours? I’m happy where I am.
What are your greatest fundraising challenges? I think the biggest challenge is to get into the mindset of the donors and stay there, all the time. It’s hard. I saw a car the other day, plastered with a bumper sticker for every liberal cause in existence. If we’re passionate about a cause, we may wear it on our sleeve, or on our bumper, with great pride. Such zeal can be good and bad. Good, in that passion can be wonderfully persuasive. Bad, in that too much passion (especially the angry, slightly raving kind) isolates you from human engagement and makes you a lousy marketer. I get a certain feeling when I see cars like this: “Wow, that looks like a nice, well-intentioned person, but hope I don’t run into them at a cocktail party.” If you are a very loud preacher for your cause who rarely breaks to listen to your audience — or take in their perspective — you could end up with an audience of one. Yourself. The challenge is to be passionate, but be in a conversation with potential supporters. Good marketing is not a stickerfest, nor is it a monologue. It’s a give and take.
What is the fundraising accomplishment you are most proud of? At Network for Good, we’re proud of Six Degrees [a social networking site where visitors can learn about and support the charities of celebrities and their friends, and fundraise for causes they care about], because it shows the power of putting fundraising in the hands of donors. I’m also pleased with Network for Good’s year-end e-mail appeal that cost next to nothing and raised $2 million in 10 days. In late December, my colleague Stacie Mann sent previous donors a history of all their donations to their favorite charities through our system and asked them to give again. The e-mail was absolutely no-frills, but it worked because it made giving convenient, fast and easy at a time of year when people were inclined to give but short on time. We’re proud of it because it shows fundraising doesn’t have to be glamorous, elaborate or expensive to work. It just has to suit the donor’s perspective.
How would those close to you describe you? Impatient. Very impatient to get things done. Hopefully that’s not always a bad thing. As I said, I spent seven years living in developing countries, and what I saw on a daily basis left me with an acute sense of how important it is not just to help people, but to do it really well and really quickly. People in need do not have time for us to wordsmith our mission statements or waste time with lackluster fundraising efforts. We have a moral obligation to be extremely efficient and effective at what we do, right this minute.
