Derwin Dubose is a fundraising professional with eight years of experience in development and external relations with non-profits, universities, K-12 institutions, churches and political committees. He blogs about careers, issues facing young professionals, and fundraising.
He currently works for the Ronald McDonald House and Family Room of Durham, which provides a “home away from home” for families whose children are fighting critical illnesses in area hospitals. As the organization’s Annual Fund Director, he launched and now manages the organization’s major gifts and direct marketing programs.
He started fundraising in 2000 by writing grants and securing individual gifts for alternative education and youth leadership programs. Most recently, he worked in the North Carolina political arena by raising funds and by consulting 80 elected officials, candidates and three political committees on fundraising and campaign finance compliance.
He’s also done work in social justice activism and organizing. Derwin has performed field work for progressive political candidates, led a 2,000-member social justice organization, and currently serves as development chair of Traction, a 501c3 that engages left-leaning 20- and 30-somethings in progressive activism. In 2004, he was recognized by the AARP as a Modern Civil Rights Leader.
Born in Mississippi and raised across the state line in Alabama, Derwin graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a history degree. He is completing coursework from Duke University’s non-profit management program and has graduated from Wellstone Action’s political management program.
Derwin Dubose's blog is Fifth Quarter.
I can tell a marked difference between my mood a few weeks ago and how I feel now. The list of things that have to get done haven’t changed too much, but I’m more confident about the rest of the year and ready to move forward — with much less stress.
During the second week of my first job, a 70-year-old well-respected activist walked up to me during an important meeting and yelled, “Who in the hell hired this kid?”
For fundraising, most organizations solely look to boomers and seniors for donations. The prospect pool is much higher because of the sheer population numbers and income. But this conventional wisdom often leads organizations to completely ignore young donors, but they are making big mistakes if they don’t build donor relationships with millennials.
The non-profit sector is providing a remarkable opportunity for twenty-somethings in all walks of life. Most non-profit leaders, especially board members, are retiring soon, leaving a void that we should step up and fill […]
You need to understand the home buying process. Purchasing your first home can be a confusing, intimidating process. Before getting started, make sure you understand the real estate process, lest you fall prey to rogue real estate agents, predatory lenders, and botched deals.
But when people ask me about my career in politics, there’s only one quote that can accurately describe how I feel: “I’m glad I did it, partly because I enjoyed it, but mostly because I’ll never have to do it again.”
I spent two years working in North Carolina’s political realm, doing grassroots organizing (canvassing, phone banks, training, and voter outreach) and fundraising and campaign finance consulting. Here are all the best things I learned.
I spent today with social enterprise on the brain. In a class that’s part of my non-profit management program at Duke University, David Rendall, a Mt. Olive College business professor and author of some very cool books, proposed social enterprise as the future of non-profit funding. As of 2006, there were nearly 1 million 501(c)(3) […]
