AFP Member Spotlight: Kimberly Lewis

AFP Member Spotlights are a recurring series of interviews with AFP members, highlighting the unique individuals and career paths that exist within the fundraising profession. If you know an inspiring fundraising professional who deserves to be featured, please email [email protected].

In this member spotlight, we interviewed Kimberly Lewis, president & CEO of Goodwill Industries of East Texas. She shared how even as an experienced executive director, being an AFP member is beneficial, and how a focus on stewardship—rather than just fundraising—has guided her leadership and strengthened her organization.

Q: How did you start your career in the fundraising profession and what led you there?
A: After graduating from the College of Charleston (Charleston, SC) with a bachelor’s in fine arts and minor in communications, I went into print journalism. I was a newspaper reporter for over a decade. I left the field to pursue writing a book and during that time I volunteered in the community.

To make a little extra money I took temporary jobs, and one was at my alma mater, the College of Charleston in the development office. At the time, I had no idea what "development" meant in the higher education and nonprofit arenas. I was filling in for the administrative assistant in that office and most of my job was sending out donor acknowledgement letters. I found some of the letters to be outdated and stale, so I took it upon myself to rewrite them.

The development director liked them, and I was offered a full-time job running their call center. However, I had just had my second child, and the hours would not work for me, so I declined the offer. That experience did, however, trigger a curiosity in me and when I began looking for development jobs a few months later, I was hired as the development coordinator at Carolina Youth Development Center.

Q: When and why did you decide to become an AFP member?
A: I learned of AFP when I was at Carolina Youth Development Center, and I attended a few local training workshops, but since my supervisor was a member, I did not join and attended only as her guest on occasion.

I did not become a member until I moved to Tyler, TX and became the president & CEO of Goodwill Industries of East Texas. I didn't consider joining in my previous Goodwill executive role because I didn't consider myself in the fundraising field anymore. A fellow nonprofit executive convinced me otherwise. He said that although my primary role was not raising funds for the organization, I still oversaw that operation. He was absolutely right. I had long been writing grants, soliciting major donors for funds, and creating streams of income for my organization from philanthropic donations.

Q: Are you doing anything innovative at your organization (or a past organization) that you think other fundraisers could benefit from?
A: My development director came up with the great idea of getting our retail staff involved in GivingTuesday by running the campaign in the stores as a competition. The retail staff collected gift baskets from area businesses and gift cards to raffle off. It not only has increased the amount of money we raised through the campaign by 5x, but it also generated fun and excitement amongst all staff members (including fun jabs and smack talking as staff root for their favorite store). 

This is something that all fundraisers can do — even those without a retail store. Create a fun contest, teams and fun or meaningful prizes (and a trophy that is passed from winner to winner each year). Get your constituents involved and make it FUN!

Q: What is your favorite word? (only one word) How has this word influenced or inspired your career?
A: My favorite word is "Consistency." This word influenced my life as a student, a reporter, a fundraiser, and a nonprofit executive. It is a reminder to continue — continue working, connecting, and believing. As a reporter I was always given high marks on my annual evaluation because of my consistency. It's what separated me from the "one hit wonders" that show up in every field. No matter the task, I am consistent.

Q: What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
A: I am most proud of stewarding the funds and resources of Goodwill Industries of East Texas to the point of financial strength. We are debt free, and this enables us to create the programs and services most needed in our territory.

When I speak to donors or potential donors, I come from a position of stewardship and community investment, not financial need. This approach has allowed me to develop seven new programs and services in the 12 years that I have served the East Texas communities.

Q: How has being an AFP member benefited you in your career?
A: AFP gave me a place and means to learn about the field in a way that no other membership organization has. I had been a member of various public relations associations and nonprofit associations, and they were great, but not focused on fundraising as a profession. Even as a CEO with more than 25 years of nonprofit experience, 22 of which has been leading Goodwills, I still find value in AFP and recommend it to all nonprofit leaders who have anything at all to do with fundraising, whether it's their primary role or not.

Q: In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge facing the nonprofit fundraising profession today?
A: The biggest challenge facing the nonprofit fundraising industry today is the many cutbacks at every level. Federal cuts have triggered state and local cuts. Likewise, some foundations have shifted their focus. Nonprofits are pivoting and shifting their priorities as well. All of it creates uncertainty, which is not good for staff or stakeholders.

Q: What advice do you have for other fundraising professionals?
A: My advice is to create a new business plan that builds in financial sustainability. This will mean diversifying revenue streams, from individual gifts to grants, revenue from the sale of goods or services. Nonprofits are full of talented people. Tap into that talent pool to get other staff members, volunteers, and board members to help put on a fundraising event.

If there was ever a time when we all needed a party, it's now. My organization hosted a chamber of commerce business after hours event a few weeks ago. Staff members from several departments and board members pitched in. We included a fundraising portion and used it as an avenue to promote sponsorships and tickets to our 50th anniversary luncheon this year. We had food, drinks, music, a fashion runway, a Goodwill "Blu-tique" and giveaways. It was a blast, raised money (which these events don't typically do) and created quite a buzz to attend the upcoming luncheon.