1032. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Professional Fundraising Consultant?

“Two years after I graduated from Catawba College in Salisbury, NC, I was contacted by the admissions director, who offered me a job as the number two person in admissions. I was very interested because, while I grew up in Washington, DC, I missed the small town environment of Salisbury. The next day I got a call from the fellow who ran development who wanted me to be his number two man and start something called a ‘planned giving program.’  I had no idea what that was, but the development job paid $1,000 more a year than the admissions job did. So for a meager $1,000 a year, $83 a month, I picked fundraising over admissions and I have built my entire career in the fundraising space from that day forward!”

Benjamin R. Case is a professional fundraising consultant, who has served in the nonprofit sector for 41 years. He has personally been involved in the successful solicitation of over $1.1 billion in gifts and worked for and been engaged by organizations that have raised $4.8 billion. His fundraising experience includes working with The Metropolitan Opera in NY, Duke University and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, among others. He recently launched an online learning webinar “The Daily Dozen: Habits of Highly Successful Fundraisers.”  He is the CEO of Focused on Fundraising, Inc. and the author of 21 Tips for Highly Successful Fundraisers, an international best-seller.