Trust Funds the Mission

A rookie mistake taught me what nobody tells you about nonprofit fundraising.

In my first year as an executive director, we hit a financial shortfall.

My team gathered around and asked me the question every leader eventually gets: “What are we going to do?”

I said, “I have no idea.”

It was honest. But honest and helpful aren’t always the same thing.

A staff member pulled me aside privately afterward. She asked me if I actually knew w…