Investing in yourself is never a bad idea — but let’s be honest, it’s not always an easy one either. Sometimes it looks like reading the right books or finding a great mentor. And sometimes it looks like signing up to retake a brutal 200-question exam you’ve already passed.
That’s where I am right now. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
So What’s the Big Deal?
Last week I started looking through the requirements to apply for the Certified Fund Raising Executive designation, better known as the CFRE. It’s the most widely recognized professional certification for fundraisers, and it is not easy to get.
Before you can even apply to take the test, you need three years of active fundraising experience, documented continuing education points, and verified professional performance. Then — if your application is approved — you sit down for a 200-question exam in a four-hour window.
I know people who didn’t pass their first time. I know people who didn’t pass their second time.
This isn’t a test of dates and definitions. It’s a test of principles — of knowing when to apply what you know, not just that you know it. And oh, by the way, you’ve already paid hundreds of dollars in non-refundable fees just to sit for it. So the stakes are very real.
I’ve Already Done This Once
I took the CFRE exam in 2010. For reasons I honestly can’t remember anymore, I had to drive almost four hours to find a testing center, which meant spending the night so I’d be rested for an early morning test session.
I remember sitting there at three hours and forty-five minutes, staring at my screen, and deciding that my answers weren’t going to get any better in the next fifteen minutes. So I hit submit.
The screen went black.
I died a little.
I was absolutely convinced the computer had crashed. About ten seconds later — which felt like three full minutes — I got enough positive feedback on the screen to make the four-hour drive home without completely losing it. (Here’s the fun part: they don’t even give you your score right away. Just enough information to not completely fall apart. The official results come later.)
I held my CFRE for ten years. Then life happened. I stepped into a nonprofit marketing and communications role that didn’t have a fundraising component, and I was in it just long enough to miss the window for recertification. And because of how the requirements work, I had to wait three full years after returning to active fundraising before I could even apply again.
So here I am.
Investing in Yourself Doesn’t Stop When You Change Lanes
Here’s what I want to be clear about: I wasn’t coasting during my time away from fundraising. I was learning. A lot. In the three years while I was working in nonprofit insurance (yes, that’s a thing), I earned certifications critical to that industry.
I say that not to brag, but to make a point. Chasing professional excellence wasn’t something I did once for the CFRE and then set down. It’s just how I operate. When I’m in a field, I want to be excellent at it. I want to know it deeply. I want the credentials that prove I’ve done the work.
Which is exactly why I’m looking at doing this again.
Why Bother Going Through It Again?
People have asked me — and honestly, I’ve asked myself — why go through all of this again? I’ve already had the CFRE. I’ve got a great job. Isn’t past certification enough?
No. And here’s why.
The CFRE isn’t alphabet soup I can tack onto a business card. It says something. It says I take my profession seriously. It says I’m committed to ongoing learning, to ethical practice, to being the best fundraiser I can be — year after year, not just the year I studied for the exam. It also says something about the profession itself: that we value integrity and professionalism, not just results.
And maybe most importantly to me right now — it says something to the people coming up behind me. New fundraisers who are wondering if this is worth it, if the standard is really that high, if anyone actually bothers anymore. I want to be a living, slightly-stressed answer to that question.
Don’t Just Do the Minimum
Here’s what I really want you to take away from all of this, whether you’ve ever heard of the CFRE or not:
Don’t just do the minimum. Choose the hard thing on purpose.
Most of us have a version of the CFRE in our field. A certification we keep putting off. A standard we could meet but haven’t chased yet. A level of excellence we know exists but haven’t reached for because we’re already good enough, already employed, already busy.
Good enough is comfortable. Excellence is a choice.
And the great thing about choosing excellence professionally? It tends to spill over. The discipline, the growth mindset, the willingness to be evaluated and found wanting and keep going anyway — that’s not just a career trait. It shapes who you are across the board. In your work, in your relationships, in the goals you set and actually follow through on.
So here’s my challenge to you: What’s your CFRE? What’s the hard thing in your field that you’ve been putting off because you’re already doing fine?
Investing in yourself is always worth it — even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.
Dream Big. Plan Smart. Live Fully.
And maybe go sign up for the hard test.
If you’re getting ready to tackle something hard like the CFRE, use my Goal Road Map to help you map out your journey. I’m using this to plan my attack for getting ready to take the test this fall, but you can use it to help you tackle any goal.
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