Why do I do what I do?
This question has been with me as long as I can remember. Looking back, many of my decisions were made to please someone, like parents or husbands. Other decisions were based on my best guess of what I thought was appropriate (or not). I’m sure some of my decisions and actions during my teenage and early adult years, were based on what someone didn’t want me to do.
One decision I made purely for myself was to graduate from college. It took a while. For many years I was a community college student. When I was 38, I became a fulltime student at SMU Meadows School of the Arts.
I clearly remember thinking, if I’m going to spend my time and money on my education, then I’m going to do what I want to do, and that was study art. It didn’t matter that a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree didn’t guarantee a job. College is not a trade school.
My student peers were the same age as my children, and my professors and I were mostly the same age. It was one of the best and most difficult times of my life, but I did it with a lot of support from my second husband. I graduated a semester before my daughter.
Why do I do what I do as a professional fundraiser? I started down my fundraising path as a frustrated volunteer. My friends and I started a mentoring program for Latina middle and high school girls. We funded the program ourselves. As our program grew, we needed more than we could afford, and I volunteered to fundraise. How hard could it be, right? I did what I did at that time because the young girls we worked with depended on us, on me.
I learned about a profession I didn’t know existed and it was one I wanted to be part of. After twenty years of working for various DFW nonprofit organizations, holding leadership positions within my professional association, and achieving accreditation as a Certified Fund Raising Professional (CFRE), I decided it was time for another challenge.
Why do I, do what I do, now? I started my consulting business because I have more to give. I formed an LLC, hired an attorney, worked with a banker and website designer because I want to present my company and what I have to offer in the best way possible.
DMGroupConsulting was launched in January 2020, 3 months before COVID-19 shut us down.
I do what I do because I have a lot of help: a husband who believes in me, friends who mentor me, and clients who trust me.
I do what I do because I’m not done yet.
How about you?
At DMGroupConsulting, our goal is to help you achieve your goals. Contact us at https://dmgroupconsulting.com/contact/.