And The Winners Are ...
I’ve said this before, but it remains true: I’ve long believed that fundraisers are a rare breed. Passionate. Dedicated. Creative. Tenacious. And most of them, at their very core, true believers.
Where those qualities converge, it’s tough to find anything short of excellence. Such is the happy but difficult dilemma we face when we think about who to honor in efforts such as this, FundRaising Success’ second annual Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards. There are plenty of choices to weigh, campaigns to praise and people to recognize. The process begins and, when it’s over, you find yourself with 50 people who deserve to have their names engraved on the plaques — but only 20-ish spaces to fill. Not to mention the 50 others who it broke your heart to have to “cut” in the first go ’round.
Our winners are chosen from nominations sent in from FundRaising Success readers, others solicited from members of our Editorial Advisory Board and colleagues, and still others named by FS staff members. The process is fairly subjective, based on staff impressions of the nominating information rather than simply by number of nominations.
A little different from last year, the 2007 categories include Fundraising Professional of the Year, Lifetime Achievement (30+ years in fundraising), Top Women, Top Men and Rising Stars (five years or fewer in fundraising).
The nominees included names you know and just as many that you don’t, old pros and young guns, shining stars and those who toil just out of the warm glow of the spotlight. In general, we looked for people who have accomplished things — either in one fell swoop or over the course of a career — that either enrich the sector in one way or another, or embody important trends in fundraising.
Please join us in congratulating the winners, as well as thanking them for their hard work and dedication. And if you think we missed someone, make a note for next year and be sure to nominate him or her.
