Long and Winding Road

Transferable Skills & Second Chances.

The long and winding road

that leads to you door

will never disappear

I’ve seen that road before.  

“The Long and Winding Road,” Paul McCartney, John Lennon

“...to be fully engaged requires more than merely employment.  It demands a dogged pursuit of calling.”   do less, be more, John Busacker

Many of the fundraisers I know didn’t set out to work in the field of philanthropy. After completing school,  they were destined to be in business or law, ministry or social work, government or education.   

It’s possible that they didn’t have what it takes. More likely they didn’t want to keep giving what it was taking from them. Their chosen profession became boring, a dead end, or even a death sentence.  

So they stopped, looked around, and eventually discerned their way into being a fundraising professional.

The term “transferable skills” gets used a lot when someone makes that career move.  Conventional wisdom goes like this: if you have “soft skills” (communication, emotional intelligence, active listening) you will transfer well into a fundraising career.

But I think this is inadequate to describe how someone becomes a fundraiser. There are too many paths to list. Some are straight lines. Most are winding, with steep climbs and descents. 

Here is a little about the road I’ve traveled: I was a parish pastor for 18 years. It was a privilege, both energizing and exhausting. One of the aspects of ministry that I enjoyed the most was leading stewardship programs and capital campaigns. I realized that I was drawing a lot of energy from helping people connect their priorities with their generosity. So I read the classic books on philanthropy; I networked and learned from the best at fundraising conferences; I earned a fundraising certificate (CFRE). A part-time fundraising position for the bishop’s office helped me know that it was time to leave parish ministry and shift careers.

I accepted a position in the church’s national office, overseeing scholarships for seminarians and raising the funds. It was invigorating - a real stretch. At the same time, these were four tough years, coinciding with all-time personal lows, including a divorce.   

A call came from my seminary, and I answered, returning to where I had studied. It was fertile soil- I sank my roots deep. Important work combined with caring coworkers made it just the right place to grow my way back up into the light. 

During this 12-year chapter at the seminary, I took on two personal missions: gaining self-awareness, and improving my skill as a fundraiser. 

Both tasks would have been impossible without a great deal of help and love from the right people at the right time. (I thank God for you people!)

Guess what? My professional success and satisfaction all came from my personal inner work. That’s the reason for this writing project. I know now that we become true fundraisers when we do that inside work of growing in self-awareness, going for alignment of values and activity, less doing and more being.

Many people go through some life-altering personal crisis. This crossroad could include:

• Losing a job

• The end of a foundational relationship

• Grief and loss

• Emotional breakdown

• Disease or disability

• Financial meltdown

Not many take more from their crisis than surviving the fall. But others take on the challenge of growing in self-awareness and grace. In humility, they ask for help; they get what they need; and eventually craft a new way of living.

In his incredible book Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, author Fr. Richard Rohr shares what happens when someone accepts this turning point, takes responsibility for both their past and their future, and moves upward as a different person. It is one of my all-time favorite books—I strongly recommend this book to anyone who can identify so far!  

People can sense others who belong to that club of second-chances. They don’t need to share all their vulnerable details. Usually it feels more like picking up on dropped hints that signal, “This one is also on the upward journey.”  

I love that such people find their way into our field of philanthropy. You can see them at fundraiser conferences. They are probably not working the room. Rather, you spot them sitting quietly processing their thoughts after a provocative workshop. Spy them sitting knee-to-knee with a kindred spirit, deep in conversation. Watch them as they zero in on someone whose wounds are still fresh. They carry themselves with confidence borne of self-knowledge. When you can’t quite fit them in a box—that person just might be on the upward journey. 

If you are a vice president adding to your development staff, be on the lookout for one of these transformed persons. You might need some patience—they’re hanging out in the deep water. 

Having such a person on your team can be a real gift. They have answered the question, “What should I do with my life?” Their calm is contagious. Since our never-ending fundraising goals produce anxiety, it’s good to have someone with a long horizon and a slow panic button. 

Maybe you wonder how a staff person in “the second half of life” will be with donors. When the mature gift officer shows up, respectful but not pandering, the donor relaxes their guard. Donors sense the authenticity. And the conversation deepens. 

The work of fundraising is not hard to figure out. What’s difficult is figuring out ourselves. Someone who has already paid that tuition is going to be a solid philanthropic leader. 

Does this describe you? Glad to meet you!

Is there life after…whatever you have lived through? Yes, a rich life. Will it be worth it? Totally, because you no longer settle for less. So get in, fundraiser! We’re just getting started.

FALLING UPWARD  A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life     Revised and Updated  Richard Rohr.   Jossey-Bass   Copyright 2024

do less, be more.   2013 by John Busacker

Next week’s response to this post:  John Eggen, Senior Director of Annual Giving, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  He’s thinking about the Holy Spirit and Legos.  Miss it not.

My editor is Kelly Wendell, Coordinator of Communications at South Dakota State University.