You're a dedicated fundraiser with a passion for your mission. You know the ins and outs of major gift programs, creating campaigns, organizing donor data, segmenting your constituents and handling appeals. But asking for donations, no matter how seasoned you are in the world of fundraising, can still be intimidating and even a little awkward.

We won’t deny it – working for a nonprofit organization is hard. Limited funding, endless hours of work that so often goes unrecognized, number crunching, task juggling and fundraising. While Metafile is not a nonprofit, we work closely with the organizations who work day and night to accomplish their missions and see the blood, sweat and tears that nonprofiteers put into their work. This, and many other blog posts out in cyberspace, probably make you wonder why anyone would ever choose to work for a nonprofit.

Summer is on the horizon (really, it is!), and with that comes the summer-slump for many of us. We don’t want to be spending the beautiful days in the office, we want to be at the pool, on the beach, on the court, in the garden, napping on a hammock or playing with the kids. How can you keep up that philanthropic momentum, even when you’re being pulled toward the summer sun?

Another AFP International Fundraising Conference has come and gone, and while we are already missing the fundraising and nonprofit camaraderie (and the warm California sun), we left with more tools in our arsenal, a renewed sense of inspiration for the nonprofit industry and some great takeaways.

As a millennial PR and communications professional, I think it’s safe to say that I love me some social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, LinkedIn – I’m always plugged in. And while we can debate whether or not this is healthy another time, it’s clear that the best way to connect with me is through digital means. In the words of children’s cartoon character, Kim Possible, “Call me, beep me if you want to reach me!”