From Camp Counselor to Multi-Million Dollar Fundraising

Life After Summer Camp

3 Tips for Future Non-Profit Digital Marketers

Liz Blaszkiewicz breaks down how she went from camp counselor to running multi-million dollar fundraising campaigns.

From Jack

I am trying something new.

Every week I'll send a few tips from former camp staff who have gone on to incredible careers and want to help you.

The goal is to give you a larger more concrete menu to build your career from.

There will specific tips, stories, & examples from people a few years ahead of you. People that comforted homesick campers, sang silly camp songs, and cried on the last day of camp then gone on to crush it in their chosen field.

They get where you’re coming from and have leveraged their camp experience to get ahead. You got this.

You don't need all the answers just fill your CUPS.

C - Connect

U - Useful

P - Personality

S - Story

Make connections, be useful, grow your personality, and refine your story.

- Jack

If you like this newsletter, would mean the world to me if you told a friend about it. "I get this email every week about former camp staff giving career advice. Check it out. Life After Summer Camp"

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Meet Liz

Jack said I had to say why I was awesome… and that feels hard. Here’s a bit of my background with some braggy bits thrown in for good measure:

Hey, I’m Liz Blaszkiewicz!

I wandered my way through three college majors and spent 6 summers working at a camp in Upstate New York before deciding I needed my first “big girl” job. I wasn’t sure where to turn, but I loved the idea of working for a farmer’s market. I had volunteered at one during college, so I reached out to the director and asked for an informational interview.

One thing led to another and weeks later I was running a farmers market in Rochester, NY!

In the years since, I’ve worn a lot of hats across nonprofit, higher ed, and agency roles. I led digital fundraising for the University of Rochester, and spearheaded social media for big clients like Ford and Pfizer. I ultimately decided to get my MBA with a concentration in digital analytics.

These days, I work as a digital marketing and fundraising consultant, helping nonprofits and colleges kick ass at social media and online fundraising.

Wait… what does that even mean?

Here's what I do on the day-to-day:

Run higher ed and nonprofit giving days, crowdfunding campaigns, and Giving Tuesday efforts.

Teach nonprofit leaders, deans, board members and volunteers to use their social channels to promote their priorities/causes.

Analyze social media/web/third party platform data and make recommendations on how nonprofits can connect with their donors/alumni etc. online.

If you’re interested in a job like mine, check out the tips below:

Tip 1: Volunteer

If you want to work in nonprofit but don’t have any experience in that sector, become a volunteer. I gained a great deal of experience volunteering for the camp I went to, and another one Jack weaseled me into supporting!

Liz was the board chair of the camp I helped start - Jack

But it doesn’t have to be a camp… I promise you there are so many organizations in your local community desperately in need of more hands. Volunteering can be a great way to get connected with other nonprofit leaders.

Hint: Ask them for informational interviews!

If you want to learn about digital fundraising, ask a nonprofit you are involved with to help with a giving day, crowdfunding or Giving Tuesday campaign. You will learn a lot about the challenges of fundraising just by collaborating as a volunteer.

Note: Colleges/universities are considered nonprofits… even though they are a very different beast. It may be a bit harder to gain direct experience as a university volunteer, but you can certainly network and informational interview with the right people as a volunteer for your college/university!

Tip 2: Do It Yourself

The internet is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to free or very low-cost online courses.

You’ve already taken a great step by signing up for this newsletter. What other skills are you going to need for your dream job? If there is a role you are interested in that requires a hard skill or experience with a particular tool, go online and learn it!

There is no reason for you NOT to have a working fluency in subjects like SEO, HTML, social media advertising, email marketing, etc.

3 Free Certifications You Can Get Right Now

Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate

HubSpot Academy - Email Marketing Certification

FreeCodeCamp - Responsive Web Design

When I began my career in a small nonprofit, I had no idea how to run social media ads. But I figured it out, and ultimately taught myself enough that I was running million-dollar campaigns for big companies like Ford.

Whatever you can teach yourself online, DO.

Tip 3: Jump Around!

The biggest mistake someone early in their career can make is staying in a position that doesn’t make them happy.

Do not be afraid to jump to something new if you are feeling stuck, unhappy or bored. I gained the skills and experience that I needed for my current role by working in a wide variety of environments and wearing a lot of hats.

I’m so glad that I made the decisions I did to pivot, shift, or quit along the way.

Sometimes if you’re feeling stuck, you may just need to take on a new challenge within your role or consider transferring to a different department/function within a company.

Do not put loyalty to ANY company over your own continued growth and development.