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Mentoring and Training Fundraising Professionals
by Lynn Hawks

Paths do not just appear. Someone is the first to walk from here to there -- cutting off a corner, taking a route as the crow flies or meandering around before arriving at a conclusion. Then someone else follows. Still green, the grass is pressed; tree limbs are bent. Another comes along and several more after that find their way as the path widens and the ground becomes exposed. Eventually, a new way is cleared and everyone who follows has an easier time of it.

For most fundraisers, their experience is one of tromping through until they finally come out on the other side. Some spend more time in there than others. A few give up. Many more make it, but most exhaust a large portion of their energy pushing on rather than moving forward. Not only is this time consuming, but it can also be very frustrating.

The most fortunate and probably the most successful fundraisers are those who have acquired a mentor. By sharing the well-worn paths of least resistance, mentors give less experienced fundraisers a big lead.

Mentoring takes time and requires a lot of patience. So why would anyone, especially a busy fundraiser, want to lead someone else along? Few do. Others, however, have discovered that the path of professional mentoring is not a one-way street. The best mentors are often the most successful professionals. Does this mean that the best become mentors or that mentors become the best? Probably a little of both.

What mentors believe:

1. They are good at what they do.

Mentors are confident. They are comfortable passing on what they know because it is tested and proven information. They know what they are talking about.

2. They can be generous with what they know.

They do not have a limited pie mentality. The more they share, the more creative they become. They consider themselves springs of information, not intermittent ponds. Mentoring seems the prime their pump rather than draining them dry.

3. They like what they do.

They so enjoy their work that they have no idea why others are not as energized by talking shop. Most begin mentoring as an extension of who they are, not as a decision to do it. They only recognize later on that they have been in the process of mentoring all along.

4. They consider mentoring an advancement, not an impediment.

Whatever they give out always seem to make its way back to those who mentor. It may not be their initial motivation, but it becomes clear at some point. Mentors have a sense of the investment and return potential of sharing their experience and insight.

Mentoring can begin informally through the exchange of ideas or more strategically, through training meetings and fundraising seminars. Whether you have already carved out a path or just ventured in, the fundraising profession would be greatly enhanced by the give and take of mentoring relationships.