Johnecia Mason

I attribute all of my success to the power that I believe in. I'm a Christian, and so I just attribute all of my success to believing in God, and praying to Him, and just knowing that He has a greater purpose for me. When I lost my son, I was really down in the belt, and I just didn't think I could come back from that, and I have bounced right back, and so I attribute everything to that. I also attribute my success to the foundations that my parents set when I was a child, and also just the support that I have at home with my husband and my children.

The best piece of advice I ever received was to not compromise my personal values or my beliefs to close a deal. I had a senior C-suite executive, a Black female, tell me that. She said that sometimes, as African American women, we feel like we have to tiptoe, or we have to do certain things just to get ahead, or just to make a name for ourselves, and she said, do not do that. Do not ever do that, because this job will be here, this industry will be here, and you will be long gone, and no one will ever appreciate what you brought to the table, so don't lose yourself and what you stand for trying to make a deal.

I would definitely tell them, if you know that this is your purpose, stay true to it, be humble, be friendly, don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do it, and fundraising is not a man's world, it is definitely a woman's world. Just be the best that you can be, and just come with a real attitude, come with a sense that I can do this, and just be your authentic self. Donors will see that, or people will see that, and they will likely listen to what you're saying, they will be attentive to the mission of whatever organization that you're raising the money for, and they would just see that you are an authentic person. That's the only thing I bring to the table is I'm just real. Just be authentic and just be real about what it is you're doing and what it is the organization is setting forth. And don't compromise your own personal beliefs or morals just for the organization, or just to secure a deal.

The biggest challenge in my industry right now is the money. A lot of donors who once had a lot of money to give are now finding themselves having to cut back on where they give their money, and so it's a true rat race and gamble of trying to retain those donors, as well as find new donors to give to your specific cause, because money is so tight. There's also a lot of red tape that donors are having to fight through. Now it's more about seeking individual givers versus corporations or other big organizations. However, one of the opportunities that's coming along is the fact of finding new donors. New organizations and new donors are looking at smaller organizations that they can give their money to. Even though they don't have the $10 million to give anymore, they probably have like 1 or 2 million they can give to a smaller organization. So it does open up the door for funders and donors to look at smaller organizations that they can give their money to. It opens up the door for people like me in resource development to reach out to those people and put another organization or another cause in front of their face.

The values that are most important to me are authenticity, being a great listener, being a great team player, honesty, and just being very accountable. I believe in being real and authentic in everything I do, both in my work and personal life.