PJ profiles Karin Cox
Senior vice president
Hartsook Companies, Wilmington, N.C.
Hartsook Companies, Inc. is a full-service fundraising consulting firm that has provided development counsel for nearly 1,800 projects on behalf of organizations across the U.S. and abroad. For more than 20 years, Hartsook Companies has been encouraging and teaching clients the importance and impact of investing in major-gift fundraising. Although our services are diverse, we provide special emphasis on major gifts. Hartsook Companies' “Integrated Fundraising Campaign” strategy aims to balance capital and endowment needs with annual development to ensure the greatest support for both.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As
far back as I can remember, I wanted to write and illustrate children’s
books. Whenever I could find a scrap of paper, I would fill the front
and back with elaborate stories. I also mastered every cartoon in a
“How to Draw Cartoons” book by Preston Blair. I filled sketch pads and
made flip books for friends; teachers let me miss class to paint murals
in the halls and help them with bulletin boards. If I couldn’t write
books, I wanted to animate films for Walt Disney. While I eventually
earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Fiction), and writing
and communication has been an important part of my life, Walt never
called me.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Early in my career over 20 years ago, I received a great piece of
advice from my mentor, Bob Hartsook -- now the CEO of our company.
After one of the first receptions we “worked” together, he told me I
didn’t need to worry so much about filling every silence in every
conversation. Looking back, I’m sure he was telling me to shut up! But
he was also saying, “Listen.” Through the years I’ve tried to resist
the urge to fill every quiet space with my voice, and I’m amazed at
what I’ve learned from colleagues, donors, clients, and especially my
children. Along with enriching my life in countless ways, Bob’s advice
still takes all the pressure for a good conversation off my shoulders.
What do you consider the most rewarding aspect of your job?
I have always loved working with nonprofits because I truly believe
they are the beating heart of the world. With so much swirling around
us -- the tenuous economy, political tensions and unspeakable suffering
around the world -- the work nonprofits do and the people who are drawn
to them represent hope. As a fundraising consultant who works mostly
with major-gift efforts, I have the privilege of joining the lives of
various nonprofits in one of the most highly charged periods of the
organization. Becoming a part of what people care about, learning what
moves and motivates them, and helping them advance their dreams is
endlessly fascinating and rewarding. Stepping into their lives at this
time is like joining a family at a holiday gathering -- only at this
gathering, everyone is alive with possibility, focused on something
larger than themselves -- and the family is functional!
If you are interested in being profiled or know someone who would like to be profiled and who is a PJ reader, contact Cathy Harms at 919.573.4646 or charms@ajf.org.
