Quite Simply, Thank You
One Saturday night in July of 2003, I called to have dinner delivered and realized 1) that I had $12 in the bank and 2) maybe this whole freelance thing wasn’t working out as well as I would have liked. Eating leftover stromboli for breakfast the next morning, I perused the hefty employment section of the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer and found one job listing under the communications header. As it turns out, the job was editor-in-chief of a still-in-the-planning-stages magazine to be called FundRaising Success.
Beyond bake sales and car washes for various youth groups, I knew squat about fundraising. But I did have a solid track record as a writer and editor. I was hired on a Monday in August, and even before my first day in the Philadelphia office of North American Publishing Co., I found myself at the DMA Nonprofit Federation conference in New York. And I was in love — with the people, with the passion, with the energy, with the challenges and the innovative ways fundraisers were overcoming them, and with the free flow of ideas and sense of camaraderie that filled the session rooms, dining areas and hallways of the elegant Waldorf Astoria. My enchantment with the nonprofit sector began that day and is still going strong 10 years later.
I’m not shy about telling our readers how much I cherish being a part of this sector and how honored I am that you’ve embraced FundRaising Success (and me) with the exuberance that you have. As we mark our 10th anniversary this month, I want to be sure to tell you again how much we (as the magazine) and I personally appreciate your support. As readers, you have allowed me access to a world where passion, compassion and dedication are the order of the day, every day. As a group, fundraisers are so laser-focused on making the world a better place that you’ve happily shared successes, failures, and ideas big and small with your fellow fundraisers through FS. The guidance and involvement we’ve gotten from our Editorial Advisory Board members — who over the years have included some of the sharpest minds, quickest wits and kindest souls I know — bear that out. I often have described the magazine as a clearinghouse of ideas written by, for and about fundraisers — and it’s your openness and generosity of spirit that have allowed that to be true. For that, you have my heartfelt appreciation.
And of course there are our advertisers and sponsors — the companies that partner with us to make possible the print publication, our online content, webinars, live conferences and other editorial components of the growing FS brand. You’re such an integral part of what we do, and we greatly appreciate your support, ideas and insights.
FS is a collaborative labor of love. Being its editor has enriched me professionally and, to an even greater extent, personally. It — and you — have made me a better person. A better asker. And a better giver. I am deeply thankful for our first 10 years and looking happily forward to the next 10 and beyond.
