LI fundraisers find economy 'challenging'

Think you have a tough job in today's economy? Think again. You could be a professional fundraiser. Hundreds of them gathered at the Huntington Hilton Friday morning for Philanthropy Day 2010, which is celebrated nationally. What came through most clearly, from interviews, is that fundraising is not what it was in the go-go days of only a few years ago.

"It is a little harder opening a new door," said Cynthia Metzger, a fundraiser for Molloy College in Rockville Centre. The percentage of giving, she said is down some. "You have to have enthusiasm for your cause," Metzger said.

Metzger was among the hundreds who turned out at the Hilton to attend the daylong session held by the Long Island chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The chapter has about 300 members, said chapter president Patrice Frank. The key word among the fundraisers to describe their job these days is "challenging," Frank said.

"I would say many of the organizations we look at are flat [in donating] or have dropped in giving," Frank said. "People are concerned about their own good and welfare. Lots of corporations and foundations may not be at the same level [of donating] but they still participate."

The keynote speaker, Stephen Post, a professor of preventive medicine at Stony Brook, talked about "the power of doing good" and tried to raise spirits. "Don't forget . . . " Post said. "What you do is good for the givers, too."