Will I Still Believe In This 10 Years From Now?
Each week I write this Breakthru Guide as a small act of devotion: to join with givers, to honor this great vocation, and to stand with the brave souls who keep showing up everyday and extending invitations.
💖Please share with your friends who are on the frontlines raising funds for amazing causes💖
Welcome to the newcomers!
(This is the final post of the 👻Spooky Season Series: The questions that keep us up at night😱)
My friend Joan has spent more than a decade in major gift fundraising. She’s talented, thoughtful, and faithful. Recently, though, we caught up over coffee and she looked troubled. “It’s not that I don’t believe in the mission,” she said. “It’s just… I don’t feel that same spark that had me so motivated in the beginning.”
She still showed up to the events. Still prepped her talking points. Still hit her activity metrics most months. But something was shifting beneath the surface.
The stories that used to move her now felt like slide-deck fodder. The proposals she once loved crafting had become templated, transactional.
When leadership asked, “What’s the latest on the Wilson family?” or “Can we bump the year-end goal another $500k?” - she felt less like a partner and more like a walking performance report.
Joan wasn’t burning out - she was still high-functioning - but a quiet doubt had taken root. She was beginning to wonder if her faith in this work had been misplaced. If her fundraising vocation could be sacred for the long haul.
“I don’t want to get bitter,” she said softly, “But I’m afraid I already am.”
Burnout vs. Collapse of Conviction
Burnout shows up in the body - fatigue, a short fuse, the restless pulse of panic or apathy.
But when conviction begins to collapse, it’s deeper. It’s the soul that starts to ache.
- You start questioning the point of it all.
- You lose that sense of sacred urgency.
- You begin to feel like a glorified middleman - or worse, a salesperson for something you’re no longer sure works.
The scary part? You can still look wildly successful while you’re quietly losing belief.
You keep writing the proposals. Keep showing up to the meetings. Keep telling the stories.
But somewhere inside, a whisper rises: Maybe I’ve just seen too much.
Why This Question Matters So Much
“Will I still believe in this ten years from now?” isn’t simply a career question. It’s a question of formation.Fundraising doesn’t just ask for your time - it asks for your belief.You spend your career:
- Putting your reputation on the line
- Asking people to open their hands
- Listening for meaning inside the language of wealth
- Translating vision into urgency
- Holding failure and faith side by side
So when belief in the mission begins to erode - slowly, subtly - it’s not just a bad quarter. It’s an unraveling of identity. A disorientation of self.
The Three Flames That Sustain Long-Term Joy
Here’s what I’ve noticed in the fundraisers (including myself) who last with conviction - not just endurance.
🔥They keep a prayerful posture
It is an important rhythm to them.They pause before meetings.They listen beyond the ask.They invite the Spirit into spreadsheets and strategy sessions alike.That attentiveness rehumanizes the work - and reminds them they’re not carrying it alone.
🔥They stay close to the stories
These are the why moments - the touch of grace that keeps the heart lit.
- A mom watching her son graduate because of the program you support.
- A giver’s tears when they realize they can be part of something eternal.
- A staff member whose hard work finally gets recognized.
Joy endures when stories become more than tools and turn into testimonies.
🔥They cultivate friendships in the work
Isolation is an accelerant of disbelief - and of burnout, too. The fundraisers who stay joyful are never doing it alone.
They have people they can text when the CRM crashes or when a giver ghosts them. Friends who don’t just ask “How’s fundraising going?” But who laugh with them, lament with them, and celebrate even the small wins.
In the end, sustainable conviction isn’t a solo achievement. It’s a communal project - a shared fire that keeps everyone warm.
I want to acknowledge that sometimes, you really do lose faith in the mission itself - not just the work, but the core purpose. This occurred a few times in my career. While it’s a topic that deserves its own post, my summary suggestion when it happens is this: make your gracious exit. Be sure to bless them on the way out. Generally speaking, staying is a bad idea for both you and them.
A Blessing for the Long Road
If you’re asking this question -
Will I still believe in this ten years from now? - I want you to know you’re not behind.
You’re not faithless.
You’re not the only one whispering it in parking lots, after hard meetings and harder conversations.
It’s a sacred question.
And maybe the asking is part of the formation.
So may your belief be nourished by stories,
Protected by rhythms,
Sustained by friendship,
And rooted in prayer.
This guide wraps our Spooky Season series - eight honest reflections on the quiet questions that haunt major gift fundraisers: Rejection, wealth gaps, overwork, shame, dry seasons, identity tension, soul fatigue, and loss of belief.
You’re not alone in any of it.
And you don’t have to white-knuckle your way through.
You don’t have to believe perfectly. Just keep your heart open.
And by grace - real grace, not forced cheer or fake brightness - joy will return. Again and again.
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If you haven't taken advantage of some of the resources I've created to help major gift fundraisers, take a look now! Initial calls with me are free and "no strings attached". Sometimes folks feel like they need to wait and not 'bother' me until they have a pressing issue. No need for that...just make the call. 🕺
Here's where you can access a lot of content for free:
* Major Gift Fundraising MRI Scan - A story-based self-assessment that helps you name your instincts, clarify your posture, and grow with intention. Takes less than 20 minutes and gives you a custom coaching summary based on your responses.
* JappaFry Writer - A freely available AI tool that draws from over 175 pages of original teaching, storytelling, frameworks, and strategy from my 30 year career in major gift fundraising.
* Follow me on LinkedIn - You'll get short pro-tips and reflections on major gift fundraising every day between 5-7am pacific.
* Breakthru Newsletter - As you've seen here, these are longer weekly posts (audio and written) sent directly to your email.
* Breakthru Blog - the newsletter from the previous week gets posted here each week for everyone (so email subscribers get it a week early).
* Breakthru Podcast - Interviews with high net worth givers about how we as fundraisers can get better at inviting them to the party. And audio readings of Breakthru Blog posts.
Before getting to the PAID stuff: My opinion is that no small ministry with a tight budget should be spending more than $3-5k (total) for major gift coaching/consulting. Most of you will be good-to-go spending far less than that. This was a major issue for me when I was a frontline fundraiser - major gift consultants were an expensive 'black-box-of-confusion' for me. That stops now.
Here's the PAID stuff:
* Online Catalyst Course - This is a full brain dump of my 28+ years of experience - good, bad, ugly. It's built around the fundamentals, the sacredness, and the fun, of major gift fundraising. It's infused with Henri Nouwen reflections. Many people can take this course and they will be 'cooking-with-gas' and not need any additional coaching from me on the core systems. I'm grateful that this course has gotten *great* reviews.
* Live coaching with me - I refer to this as "brain rental". The ROI on live coaching, as you might imagine, is extraordinary.
Finally, be sure to connect with my colleague Ivana Salloum. She's super awesome and can help with scheduling and access to resources, etc.
I look forward to hearing about your good work!
Blessings,
