Question 1

What is the single biggest suggestion you would give to someone wanting to get into this career?

Maribeth Stahl · Accepted Answer

“My biggest career advice is to be THAT person. Be dependable. Volunteer. Step forward. Don’t expect more pay to take on yet another project. Just do it and do it well. Show up early and stay late.” 
“Do it because it needs to be done and because you’re passionate about the music, and because, well, it’s pretty cool to run a meet-and-greet with legends like Yo-Yo Ma or Itzhak Perlman or the Temptations or Kenny Rogers. (I cooked breakfast for Kenny Rogers’ Road Crew once because no one else could be there. Eggs and bacon on a double-skillet. Yep.)”
“And you should find yourself being rewarded for a job well done. If you aren’t, then talk to your mentor, boss, department lead, and find out what you could be doing better.”

Question 2

What’s the #1 mistake people make when trying to get into this career?

Maribeth Stahl · Accepted Answer

“Expecting to be rewarded without putting in the time and effort.”

Question 3

What is the question people should ask about this career but rarely do?

Maribeth Stahl · Accepted Answer

“What brings you the most joy about being a fundraiser? The answer is: that magical moment when you’re able to match up a donor’s philanthropic priorities/what’s important to them perfectly with your organization’s mission. To find that you’ve done a good job listening to a donor to find out the details, and then to come back to them with a proposal or an idea that is spot-on. It’s a golden moment!”

Question 4

What is one thing I should have asked which I didn’t?

Maribeth Stahl · Accepted Answer

“How do you balance work and life? My personal scenario is that I put in a lot of extra effort during the first decade of my career to establish myself, before starting a family. So I would say that for the first ten years of my professional life, the scales definitely tipped more toward work than life.”
“Now that I have a small family (two boys under three years old) I have forced myself to dial back a bit and make sure that family is the top priority. I still work one to two evenings per week, but I make sure to take a bigger picture look at the month as a whole to be sure the flow evens out over time.”

Question 5

If you could describe in one word what makes you successful, what would it be?

Maribeth Stahl · Accepted Answer

“Fearlessness.”

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