Stop Apologizing for Fund-Raising Costs, Conference Participants Told

As thousands of fund raisers gathered in the San Diego Convention Center on Sunday, Paulette Maehara, president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals kicked off the organization’s annual meeting by urging fund raisers not to apologize for fund-raising costs.

“We need to stop apologizing and start educating the stakeholders in our communities about what it takes to support the causes we care about,” she said.

She also urged meeting participants to think hard about the next generation of fund raisers. As nonprofit groups have grown increasingly sophisticated in the United States and around the world, she said, “we don’t have enough people in the pipeline.”

“If we all tell our story, we can convince people to make this a career,” she urged those gathered at the conference.

She says she tells young people “become a fund raiser and see the world.” As a sign of global interest in fund raising, she noted that conference participants had come to San Diego from countries like Australia and Japan to bolster their skills.