Hey Fundraiser!

Today, my first podcast episode goes live. It's a huge milestone for me professionally and personally to put together the Hey Fundraiser podcast. To be honest, it's a little outside my comfort zone. Throughout my fundraising career, I preferred when other people shined -- the program experts, the donors, the executive directors.  In a job interview years ago, I was asked, "if you were in a band, what member would you be?" I said lighting. 

However, over the last 10 years as a major gift coach, I've come to the realization that I love helping fundraisers shine. To reach more fundraisers and help them reach their goals, I need to put myself out there. So, I'm being brave. It's funny to me that I'm totally fine with cultivating and soliciting multi-million dollar commitments, but the thought of putting out a podcast sends shivers down my spine. 

In this first podcast, I tell you my story of how I came to love fundraising. You'll learn a lot about my career in that podcast, but I thought I would share a couple personal things so we could get to know one another. 

• Upper-Left lover. Even though I was born in the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest will always be my home. I try not to leave if I can help it, and if I have to, it's not for very long.
• Dog mom. If I could spend more time playing with my dogs, Matt and Debra, I would! They bring so much joy into my life.
• Soccer super-fan. I love watching soccer, especially the Seattle Sounders and Manchester United. When the World Cup is on, I am almost unreachable.
• Playlist of a teenaged girl. I can never have enough pop songs on my playlist. And, yes, I dance around my office to Taylor Swift while cleaning up databases.
• Minimalist to the core. My husband and I lived in a 280 square foot 5th wheel for 7 years....and we're still married. We visited 34 states. Now that we have a house to fill with stuff, it's empty.
• Voracious reader. I read for at least an hour every day and probably crush 80 books a year. Ken Follett is my favorite author, and I read everything he writes. 
• 204 pine trees. That's how many Ponderosa pine trees there are on my property. It smells heavenly, and I try to spend as much time on my front porch as possible. A client recently asked me if the 204 trees each had a unique constituent ID. 
• Fundraiser for life. I have and always will be a fundraiser or help other fundraisers be successful.