Nonprofit Fundraising 101

Foreword Discovering What It Means to Be a Fundraiser

Lynne Twist

“You will find as you look back upon your life, that the moments you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.”

—Henry Drummond

I discovered my passion for fundraising when I was in kindergarten in Evanston, Illinois. My oldest sister had just gotten the lead role in the school play, but there wasn’t enough money to buy costumes or sets because of a budget crisis. I saw how heartbroken she was, so I went to my teacher and asked if there was anything our class could do to help. Turns out I wasn’t alone in wanting to support the cause, and I’ve often found since then that when you take a stand for something you believe in, it inspires others to follow your lead.

As Goethe once said, “Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid.” The entire kindergarten class ended up selling chocolate chip cookies and lemonade outside our school every afternoon, and on weekends, until we’d raised enough money to support the play. Our actions inspired the rest of the school, including the PTA and Board of Education, to step up and look at how they could solve the budget crisis. At just five years old, this was a life-altering experience for me; it ignited my passion and helped me realize that fundraising is an act of love. We were a bunch of children who couldn’t read or write, add or subtract, but we could fundraise with homemade cookies and lemonade! I remember thinking how amazing ...