From Professional Fundraiser to Author of a How-to Guide on Philanthropy

For nearly three decades, I devoted my career to the nonprofit sector…as a volunteer, staff member, executive, and board member. Two of the best jobs I had were leading the national women’s philanthropy programs for both the American Red Cross and United Way. Those organizations mobilize over 70,000 women and raised over $2 billion. I am inspired to work with women who invest their time, talent, and treasure to make the world a better place.

In getting to know the volunteers and donors who supported the causes for which I worked, our conversations would invariably turn to the mechanics of “doing” philanthropy. How will I know if I am investing my time and money where it will have the greatest impact? How do I raise money for my cause when I hate asking my friends for anything, especially money!? What does it mean to serve on a nonprofit board – what do they expect of me?

Female philanthropists have been asking these questions over and over again for years – but not finding the answers.

I wrote For A Good Cause: A Practical Guide to Giving Joyfully because I wanted to help these conscientious, intentional, and curious women be effective change agents. One thing I have learned so far in my career is that women do their research and want to do things right. Before embarking upon any major endeavor, they scour the Internet, talk with their friends who might have worked on similar projects, develop step-by-step action plans.

While this level of thoroughness positions female philanthropists to do their work well, it also obstructs them from hitting the ground running – which is a significant challenge if their work is urgent (e.g., helping Afghan women flee the Taliban within a short period of time). 

There is another risk associated with female philanthropists recreating the wheel with each new charitable venture: they are not learning from the lessons learned by other change agents who might have undertaken similar work. And if they are not learning the lessons learned, they run the risk of making the same mistakes as others have made – which results in wasted time, money, and opportunities. There is a problem with “knowledge transfer.”

Writing For A Good Cause took only three months– while I was working a full-time job and planning an interstate move! I knew that I didn’t have all the answers to the questions female philanthropists had, so I went to my network to leverage their wisdom. This resulted in interviews with 30 women from across the United States who generously shared their experiences with me. These interviews provided the core content of the book and kept me inspired to put in long nights and weekends writing. 

Writing the book was the easy part – getting it published was a challenge. I desperately sought an agent to represent the work and developed a marketing plan for how to reach the right audiences. Like so many writers, I believed what I had to say was important – but unfortunately, no one I sought to represent me shared that same viewpoint (or believed that there was a large enough audience for the book).

I received so many rejection letters and emails that I had to put them in a binder. I had explored self-publishing and found a firm that would have published my book – but they did not share the same values or standards of excellence as I did. I was just about ready to give up on the project – but fate intervened and put me next to a very helpful author at a women’s charity event. She introduced me to She Writes Press and as they say, the rest is her-story.

The next challenge I had to overcome was the pandemic. I signed with She Writes Press in December 2019. The pandemic struck three months later. The visions of in-person book talks that danced in my head fizzled into hopes that prospective book buyers would still be interested in virtual gatherings long after the novelty of Zoom had run dry.

As the delta variant threatens to kill the joy that was once associated with a book launch, I am planning ways to evangelize about the book using pandemic-resistant tools like social media, Zoom rooms, and webinars. I now recognize that I can reach more people from my laptop and phone than I do through planes and (high risk) in-person gatherings. 

In sum, here are the three things I learned through my For A Good Cause journey:

You know you are writing about the right thing when the words flow from your fingers to your screen. You should question your subject if you get stuck in a writer’s block or aren’t willing to spend as much time with your book as you would with a new love.  

Publishers publish what they believe will sell. If they pass on your project, it’s not that you lack a talent for writing – it’s just that they can’t see a way to monetize it. Either clearly communicate how they can make money – or reconsider your endeavor.

Your book has a shelf-life of 3-6 months after publication, max. How will you maximize its shelf life before it becomes a relic? Don’t wait for a publisher or publicist to create your success; take an active role in promoting yourself and your content.

For A Good Cause: A Practical Guide to Giving Joyfully comes out on October 12, 2021. For more about Diane and the work she does to empower nonprofits and individuals working for a good cause, visit www.evergreenphilanthropy.com.  

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Diane Lebson: Diane grew up as a first-generation American in Milford, Connecticut, the daughter of working-class, Polish immigrants who instilled in her a strong work ethic and desire to “do good.” After studying international relations in college, Diane stayed in Washington and began her nonprofit career on the national staff of United Way, the largest charity in the United States. Over the course of seventeen years, she managed United Way’s national literacy program, directed the national board of trustees, and built a women’s giving program that has to date raised over $2 billion and mobilized over 70,000 philanthropists.

After leaving United Way, she went on to lead US fundraising operations for an international nongovernmental organization that serves orphans and abandoned children, lead a public library foundation, serve as the Chief of Protocol at the US Embassy in Canberra, Australia, and oversee the women’s giving program for the American Red Cross. In 2018, she and her husband cofounded Evergreen Philanthropic Solutions, a national consultancy that helps nonprofit organizations, individuals, corporations, and foundations achieve their philanthropic goals. For more about Diane, please visit Evergreen’s website at www.evergreenphilanthropy.com.

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Contemporary Women Writers