The Moment, The Mentor and Me

Picture this…

I was 8 months pregnant with my son and had a 3-year-old at home. I was Director of Sales for 8 radio stations. I had never worked a job from home in my life.

Enter the man who would change my life forever.

It started with a call from the VP of a company called Interep Radio, the national sales representative for large radio groups like ABC and CBS. They had a project of scary proportions called Radio Disney (then owned by ABC) — a group of 50 unrated, low-power AM radio stations that, according to George, were full of potential for just the right person.

I told him I was 8 months pregnant and not interested.

He said, "Just meet me for coffee before you say no." I did. 

He was, in a word, relentless.

The rest is history.

Have a Mentor

When I didn't believe something was possible, he would convince me it was — and that I was the only one who could make it happen.

When I came up with a plan that was new and different, he would help me make it possible.

He pushed me to do more, do better, do different, and to bring my team with me. So I did.

He listened to me vent. He sent me leads that were truly awful. He raised my stock in the company and with our ABC clients. And every so often, he'd send a one-word text that just said: Excelsior.

Years later, when I made the leap into my first nonprofit role, George was there too writing a check to the Red Cross. He became my very first official donor.

He knew I would be a great Fundraiser and wanted to make sure he was correct

Be a Mentor

My love of mentors started in high school and college. There were teachers and professors who saw who I would become before I could see it myself. They believed in my future, and I grew into their belief.

I carried that forward into both my radio career and my work in the nonprofit sector. I'd spot the rookie with high energy, or the veteran who had lost their spark, and I would believe in them so hard  (while coaching and teaching along the way) that they would rediscover their own talent and find their spark again. That has always been the best part of every job I've had.

In Hard Times, Your Mentor Is Priceless

This is where George's story and the nonprofit world come together for me. Moving from radio sales into nonprofit work taught me that fundraising is, at its core, the same job: building relationships, believing in people, and showing up for them when it's hard. The titles changed. The lesson George taught me didn't.

Today, your fundraisers are looking to their leaders for guidance, support, and mentorship. If you're that leader, you have to believe in them, teach them, or bring in someone who can (I know a GREAT consultant) And do it with compassion, which sometimes means helping someone find a different role within your organization where they're better suited to thrive.

George is gone now. In hard times, I try to see myself through his eyes.

I still share that practice with the group of strong women (and men too) I worked alongside in those early radio days. (Did I mention that one of George's superpowers was hiring people who knew how to work as a team and stay friends FOREVER?)

Does your team need outside support for training, tactics, and tools and maybe a little mentorship and belief on the side? Reach out to Team Kat & Mouse.com