I recently sat down in the Palm Court over afternoon tea to meet with Linda Lese founder of Berend Associates which is a leading event and fundraising firm for the nonprofit sector. Linda shared her thoughts about fundraising, her favorite charities, who she would love to have dinner with tonight and her mother’s delicious tomato sauce.
Rob Arango: Where did you grow up?
Linda Lese: I grew up in Boston. I went to college here in New York at Sarah Lawrence and I've never been back to Boston since except to visit all of my family. I married and moved to New York.
Rob: What did you major in at Sarah Lawrence?
Linda: I majored in Art appreciation. I came to New York and had children and took care of them and then I worked at the New Bergen Museum up in Purchase. Roy Newberger asked me to head up a friends group and I started writing grants and all my grants were accepted so I decided that I couldn't do this for nothing and I should really be doing it as work. So that is how I really got started. I am a fundraiser and also an event planner, I am responsible for the bottom line.
Rob: What are the top 3 skills you think you need in fundraising?
Linda: Creativity, good organizational skills, and to be able to see beyond the future and anticipate what is going to happen with an organization
Rob: In the nonprofit world, in this post recession economy, how is it changed?
Linda: It has definitely changed. People are giving less. You have to make sure you have a product that they are interested in. It's marketing and it becomes very difficult in this economy, but actually it has been a lot better in the last few months.
Rob: How many years have you been doing fund-raising?
Linda: Since 1978. I am the old lady of the mountain.
Rob: Why do you like The Plaza?
Linda: The first event I did here was for the Council for Beautiful Israel. I had an image of doing Jewish fund-raising with organizations and they like coming here to The Plaza. Now I do something called the American Israel Friendship League, which is the event we are doing right now. So I went into fundraising from the New Bergen Museum and the first client was the Olympic Committee. We had old timers and athletes. Athletes are always good to have at an event because it keeps the men interested.
Rob: What are the most challenging parts in putting an event together in your experience?
Linda: Getting the leadership (honorees) and motivating the leadership, getting them to work for us and making them excited to work with us, to believe in us, and help to make it a good cause. The letter writing and the follow up is fairly simple, it’s getting the good honorees and making them believe in us that is hard.
Rob: Who do you most admire?
Linda: I have to tell you, I think I most admire my husband.
Rob: What do you do for fun?
Linda: I play golf and I ski, and I take care of my grandchildren.
Rob: What do you love about New York?
Linda: I love the culture and the bustle.
Rob: What is your greatest fear?
Linda: I think for my grandchildren, that they wont have all the things that we had. You know, the opportunities, I want them to have all the opportunities that we had. They have to take advantage of it. It is a nonprofessional kind of fear but it is my fear.
Rob: When you are looking for your honorees, do you base your honorees on how much money you think that they are going to raise for your organization or is it how much they have already raised? What are the components that go into finding a really good honoree?
Linda: You have to go through the board and make some suggestions but meanwhile we have researched these people to make sure they have the capacity to be a good honoree.
Rob: How many events do you do a year?
Linda: I think we do probably about 7 or 8. It's very seasonal, the spring and the fall is when it is busy, but the fall is always the busiest. I think we do a very good job
Rob: What is your biggest success?
Linda: I think what makes you feel the best is when someone tells you what a great job you did. That's really what makes me happy. We have worked with all kinds of famous people and you just want to make them feel comfortable and happy. That's success.
Rob: If you could do something other than what you do right now, what would it be?
Linda: You know what I would do? I am always on the end of getting the money, I would like to give it out. I'd love to work for a corporation and give out money for funding for good projects. I would love to analyze what is good about an organization and then give out money rather than try to raise it. This is what I have done all my life so I really have never done anything else besides the fund-raising.
Rob: So you think Israel prospers because of its firm strong ties with the U.S?
Linda: I just think that the people in the U.S are definitely supporting Israel. It's one of the nice things working for Israel and the people in Israel because big people in New York really do support them.
Rob: How do you get new clients?
Linda: Word of mouth. I don't think we have ever done a brochure. Our best recommendations are word of mouth.
Mother's Favorite Spaghetti Sauce
1 lb. mushrooms
2 large onions
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
small stalk of celery
2 lbs. lean ground meat
2 cans crushed tomatos
1 can spiced diced tomatoes
seasoning - garlic, salt, crushed red pepper
Make a stir fry out of the mushrooms, onions, celery and peppers. Saute the meat until well done. Add seasonings to taste. Mix all ingredients together and cook over low.