Will I Be a Success?

Douglas Shaw
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD/CEO

In my 30s, I had several conflicting emotions. Having finished my formal education, I felt the excitement of just beginning a great life journey, but I also had feelings of apprehension that perhaps the world needed someone with much more to offer than I could provide.

• Would I be up to the challenge?
• Was I smart enough?
• Did I have what it took to be a success?

As a person new to fundraising, there was really only one thing I knew for certain . . . that I was in desperate need of help! I can remember sitting at my first real business desk tasked with writing a column for my nonprofit’s newsletter. I struggled to have anything substantive to say.

Today, in my 70s and looking back, I have the benefit of knowing I was asking the wrong question. The world didn’t need for me to be a success; it just needed for me to make a difference. Today, I know that living a life that encourages philanthropy is all I ever needed to do.

That’s part of the reason why I’m excited to share our latest quarterly issue of Donor Focus because I want to help you on your way to making a difference!

It starts with tapping into Generational Giving, and Ryan Stillwater provides key strategies to help you break out of the box of a one-size-fits-all kind of approach to your fundraising.

Our Senior Vice President of Digital Solutions, Amy Sewell, provides important insights in donor acquisition that are both cost effective and impactful—and you can implement right now—in her article, Unlocking the Future: Digital Donor Acquisition in 2024.

And when it comes to making a difference, we have a different perspective on work. That’s what Hannah Bowen explores in her reflection, More Than Just Work.

Thank you for being a part of what is right with the world.