MY SUMMER AT FUSE FUNDRAISING

Blog written by Fuse Fundraising Intern, Helina Mesfin

As I entered the summer before my senior year of college, I began to reflect on the type of professional environment I would want to be a part of - a place that would allow me to grow as a person.

In college, the importance of gaining experience is emphasized, and when I began my search for an internship, my goal was to find an opportunity to help me improve my personal and professional growth along with expand my communication and collaboration skills. While interning at Fuse Fundraising, I can confidently say that I meet these goals every workday and am taking away important lessons for my future.

I saw the opportunity to intern at Fuse on Handshake, a job posting site. The job description aligned with my major along with other interests of mine. One section of the posting that stood out to me was their specific request for first generation and minority students. It can be intimidating to apply for work when identity is included, however, Fuse made it clear that there was space for diversity, which was assuring and led me to apply. This would be my first job since before the pandemic, and it had become difficult to apply for internships in a competitive environment. Before applying, I contacted Shelby Truxon, the director of Internship Experience at The Nonprofit Alliance to seek advice about the application process. I found this to be very helpful, and gaining additional information allowed me to submit my application with more confidence.

After receiving an email for an interview, I was excited. This was the first breakthrough for me in a while. Interviews can be nerve-racking, and I had to figure out a way to approach this calmly. But, being interviewed by Courtney Lewis made this process much easier. I began to share my experiences about living abroad, along with experiences in school and what drew me to work with Fuse Fundraising.

I had prior experience with nonprofit organizations and volunteering, but never had a clear understanding of how they operate and are funded. Not only this, but I had no understanding of the work behind bringing awareness to these organizations and just how important the work at Fuse is to uplift organizations.

Shortly after receiving the position, I began my first work week. Much was discussed and learned in that time. I met and trained with my friendly co-workers and learned more about Fuse Fundraising. New learnings came from familiar applications such as Outlook and Zoom, which I use heavily during school. However, I was soon able to organize my email and set up an Outlook calendar, as well as schedule meetings on Zoom, which was something I was not used to at all. Interning at Fuse continued to surprise me in ways I didn’t expect. Often, I felt I was learning new material on the simplest things.

First it was technological like emails and Zoom meetings, then I was learning about copywriting: how letters for donors are designed and why components such as a teaser, lead, and ask are so important.

Before interning at Fuse, I would have thought a letter was simply a letter. But now I understand the actions that occur to make a letter, the different types of letters for certain audiences, and why it is important to distinguish them. Audience was another key learning of this internship, understanding how many categories there are in direct marketing and how acknowledging the type of donor affects the type of mailing they receive.

Fuse could take something simple and create a new learning experience. While gaining new insights is important, interning with Fuse has also taught me the value of connection. One way I’m learning about connection is through The Nonprofit Alliance’s webinars and biweekly Lunch ‘n’ Learn meetings. Guest speakers from other prominent agencies would advise interns and inform them on their own career journeys. Attending these events truly broadened my connections with people and has introduced me to others with the same passion. It’s always great to hear the perspectives of those who lived through what I’m living through. Maintaining these relationships with the people I’ve met during this internship has become a priority and it’s inspiring to see their growth in doing what they love.

Opportunities like this hold much value in my development and being able to work with and listen to professionals in this industry has made this experience rewarding. I know that being able to enter a new space and learn new information and skills will guide me in the future. Overall, I’m fortunate to be able to intern at Fuse Fundraising and become exposed to amazing organizations and contribute in any way I can to enforce positive change.