The Closet Fundraiser — It's Time to Officially Come Out

[Editor’s note: For six years, Dane Grams has served on the FundRaising Success Editorial Advisory Board — the last two as co-chair. He is stepping down at the end of this year to serve on the Direct Marketing Fundraising Association Board. We hope he will remain a regular contributor.]

Nearly 20 years ago to the day, I embarked on my nonprofit fundraising career when I walked into the offices of Greenpeace USA and started as the assistant to the director of development. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I was ready to learn. Or was I? The truth is, I was asking myself, “How the heck did I end up here?” I had ambitions of being a lawyer! I had just finished school, had no money left and, frankly, needed a job. So I put my three years of work-study in the annual fund office to good use on my résumé. And so it began … the journey of an accidental fundraiser.