December 14, 2022 Sometimes Things Just Work Out: A Fundraiser’s Tale of Year-End Optimism December 14, 2022/ Karen Brooks Hopkins, Guest Contributor In her annual end-of-year reflection, Karen Brooks Hopkins, president emerita of Brooklyn Academy of Music, reminds fundraisers to stay optimistic even when things seem destined to fail. Donors, after all, are full of surprises.Read More
February 14, 2022 The Donor Deplorables: a Fundraiser’s Tales of "Bad Apple" Donors February 14, 2022/ Karen Brooks Hopkins, Guest Contributor Karen Brooks Hopkins regales us with tales of a “small but truly miserable group” of hard-to-deal-with donors she encountered during her time leading the Brooklyn Academy of Music.Read More
December 22, 2021 A Winter’s Tale: A Fundraiser Recalls an Exceptionally Chilly Reception from a Potential Donor December 22, 2021/ Karen Brooks Hopkins, Guest Contributor In her annual end-of-year reflection, Karen Brooks Hopkins, president emerita of Brooklyn Academy of Music, recalls an unusual trip to meet with a donor in a far-off—and very cold—location. Read More
December 16, 2020 The Great Latke Competition—a Fundraiser Reflects on the Holiday Event That Kept Giving December 16, 2020/ Karen Brooks Hopkins, Guest Contributor In her annual year-end post, Karen Brooks Hopkins, president emerita of Brooklyn Academy of Music, fondly recalls a very different holiday season than this one, and a fundraising event that turned out to be more than she bargained for.Read More
December 16, 2019 A Fundraiser’s Nightmare Before Christmas December 16, 2019/ Karen Brooks Hopkins, Guest Contributor It was the most important fundraising event of the year for the Brooklyn Academy of Music—a holiday gala in the iconic setting of Grand Central Station. Then a raging winter storm came barreling into New York. Here’s what happened next. Read More
December 09, 2018 Words to Live By (Or Not): A Fundraiser's Holiday Rant December 09, 2018/ Karen Brooks Hopkins, Guest Contributor As fundraisers everywhere pray for end-of-the-year miracles, Karen Brooks Hopkins draws on her decades of chasing money—and landing big gifts—to offer some bracing advice on how to succeed in this business. Read More
August 31, 2018 “Why Would Anyone Want To Do This Work?” A Fundraiser’s Lament August 31, 2018/ Karen Brooks Hopkins, Guest Contributor Do today's young people have what it takes to succeed in grueling jobs that generally consist of 90 percent rejection? A veteran fundraiser reflects on the growing challenges—yet exhilarating upsides—of chasing donors.Read More
August 17, 2018 'Tis the Season: The 10 Most Excruciating Parts of Fundraising August 17, 2018/ Karen Brooks Hopkins, Guest Contributor A former president and chief fundraiser of a major arts nonprofit offers an end-of-the-year list of the things she dislikes most about the grueling and stressful work of raising money. Read More