UNICEF Mock Interview
Practice 35 UNICEF interview questions covering humanitarian values, global development, and child rights advocacy.
Question 29 of 35
Share a time you successfully met a challenging fundraising goal.
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Isaiah Swanson is a volunteer recruitment professional who has interviewed, trained, and supervised thousands of volunteers supporting dozens of nonprofit programs helping families in crisis, homebound seniors, and victims of natural disasters.
This will be an essential topic if you are applying for a fundraising position. UNICEF raises billions of dollars each year to fund its programs. Its website breaks this down further: "In 2020, total contributions to UNICEF were over US7 billion. The public sector contributed the largest share: US5.45 billion from government, inter-governmental and inter-organizational partners, as well as Global Programme Partnerships." The interviewer wants to know that you are a talented, experienced fundraising professional capable of meeting large goals.
Isaiah Swanson is a volunteer recruitment professional who has interviewed, trained, and supervised thousands of volunteers supporting dozens of nonprofit programs helping families in crisis, homebound seniors, and victims of natural disasters.
"In my capacity as Major Gifts Officer, I am required to raise the most significant amount of funds to cover our annual operational and programmatic costs. This position also requires me to work on expanding donations to our endowment. During the economic recession in 2008, donations dropped as people were dealing with the financial crisis. As a result, I was nearly 100,000 shy of my annual fundraising target. With only two months left in the fiscal year, I issued a challenge to each member of the fundraising team to identify current donors whose giving potential might not be fully realized. We curated a list of over a dozen individuals, and I called each of these people personally. I was honest about the situation and shared that the 100,000 would provide shelter for hundreds of families in addition to utility assistance as we approached the hottest months of the year. I was able to secure pledges exceeding 100,000, which helped me meet the target."
Isaiah Swanson is a volunteer recruitment professional who has interviewed, trained, and supervised thousands of volunteers supporting dozens of nonprofit programs helping families in crisis, homebound seniors, and victims of natural disasters.
"Every year, the fundraising team develops line items to anticipate specific ways we will reach our ultimate fundraising goal. As social media manager, I was responsible for using each of our social media pages to raise a total of 10,000. I had never been assigned a fundraising target of more than 5,000, so I had to get creative with smaller campaigns. I analyzed current trends specific to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to determine the best ways to gather followers and influencers to spread awareness of the organization. These posts offered a variety of content to appeal to different demographics. I shared client stories, program results with data, and challenges designed to increase donations and garner new followers. All of these individual strategies added up to a yearly total of 15,000. I was able to meet the goal and convert followers into real-life supporters."
Isaiah Swanson is a volunteer recruitment professional who has interviewed, trained, and supervised thousands of volunteers supporting dozens of nonprofit programs helping families in crisis, homebound seniors, and victims of natural disasters.
Share an instance in which you achieved a large fundraising goal, and talk about the steps you took to meet the deadline. To enhance your answer, describe the impact those funds had on your organization.
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