Gary Rejebian is a major gift officer who came to fundraising later in his career. Eric Johnson, CFRE is a highly-seasoned fundraiser and a former AFP Board member who understands that reciprocity of learning in the mentor/protégé relationship is key to success for both parties.
Derek: Gary, you started your fundraising career after years of success in the for-profit world. As such, you are not what people think of when envisioning the stereotypical protégé. How did you come to work in fundraising?
Gary: I have a passion for causes and service to others. It’s baked in my DNA. I inherited a deep respect for fostering community from my grandparents, who survived the Armenian Genocide of 1915-22. For them, rebuilding community in the New World marked their victory over losing the entirety of their old world and the way of life into which they were born. After a 22-year career as a retail trade association executive, I began independent consulting with a range of clients to find my Next Big Thing. One of them was a community health center in Logan Square, which eventually led me to a newly-created position as a campaign associate in the medical center development office at the University of Chicago (now Medical and Biological Sciences Development). I merged development writing and major gifts strategy experience with my past life in a professional society as a development officer for a neurosurgery association, a nonprofit hospice, and the pediatric dental academy foundation. I am now thrilled to be working in a similar role at the American Association of Endodontists (AAE). Dentistry is close to my heart; my father and sister are orthodontists. I don’t think I ever lost sight of an aspiration to work in a health care professional society, which to me represented a pinnacle in the association world.
Derek: As a fundraising professional who has moved beyond the novice stage of your career, what prompted you to seek out a connection in the Peer Mentoring Program?
Gary: Learning is a life-long process. I deeply valued the exchange of ideas, wisdom, experience, and connections in the weekly strategy sessions among fundraisers at University of Chicago, and I appreciate the opportunity to tackle the challenges ahead in my current role by sharing and testing ideas with someone completely outside my organization and nonprofit sector. I am also extraordinarily grateful for the encouragement I received from my senior management to participate in the program, which speaks to the wonderfully positive culture of the association.
Derek: What do you hope to accomplish by working with a mentor like Eric?
Gary: I hope this experience will help me prepare for earning the CFRE designation, partly because professional development is highly valued by the organization, and that’s my next professional development Big Thing. I also hope to continue growing my gift officer strategic skills….so much of this work is completely a judgment call. Finally, I hope the experience will be a pathway to mentoring others, because giving back is a big part of the donation appeal I make to AAE members. I like to practice what I preach.
Derek: Eric, what inspired you to volunteer to be a peer mentor?
Eric: I typically seize on opportunities to share knowledge, and gain knowledge back, through one-on-one, formal relationships, including the AFP Chicago program. I enjoy the person-to-person interaction, the rituals and opportunities to understand someone else's perspective. That energizes me constantly.
Derek: Have you ever served as a peer mentor with AFP before, and if so, what did you learn from the experience that has helped you professionally?
Eric: I became a peer mentor several years ago, I want to say around 2013. At the time, I was a newer AFP Chicago Board member, so my commitment to the organization was deep and getting deeper. It was intriguing to me to satisfy part of my formal Board obligations by serving as a peer mentor. There is an intimacy in serving as a mentor that you can't replicate through other committee service. Really what's inspired me since my first peer mentorship has been the learning I've gained from my proteges. Each peer mentorship is an opportunity for me to grow, as well as give my perspectives back.
Derek: Do you have any advice for AFP members who are thinking of serving as a mentor?
Eric: Let the protégé drive the conversation but be attentive and ask good questions in shaping their journey. I appreciate any relationships, whether formal counsel, coaching, or general management, in which the less-experienced or newer person to a field has agency. The mentor's role is to listen and provide formative guidance. It's simple but the best advice I could share to any mentors (and protégés).
For more information about the AFP Chicago Peer Mentoring Program, please contact:
Protégé and mentor applications for the Spring 2022 Class will be accepted starting in early January. Please monitor AFP communications for eligibility criteria and deadlines. If you have any questions about submitting your application, please contact Shawn Jezak.
