From the age of 15, York alumna Fatou Jammeh (iBA ’15) was certain she wanted to become a diplomat. She fulfilled this dream working in various roles at the UN World Food Programme in Italy, Kenya and most recently, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Today, Fatou is breaking barriers in the non-profit sector as a Black fundraiser and consultant to various organizations. While she had no clear trajectory to the world of fundraising, choosing to pursue International Studies at Glendon proved to be a pivotal step in her journey.
“I really wanted to improve my French language skills and since Glendon is a bilingual campus, surrounded by Francophones, you get access to people who speak French,” says Fatou. “Bilingualism helped me a lot in terms of positioning myself for most of my roles.”
After graduating from Glendon, Fatou secured an internship as a resource mobilization officer at the Women’s Legal Aid Center in Tanzania with the International Youth Internship Program. This role introduced her to the world of fundraising and led her to her next role as a fundraising assistant at the Equality Fund, formerly known as the MATCH International Women’s Fund.
“I always wanted to give back somehow and that specifically included women’s rights,” says Fatou. “That’s why my first two roles were in women’s organizations because I was so certain that was my trajectory, to give back.”
But it would be her time at these organizations that would uncover the reality of working in fundraising as a Black woman. She shares these experiences in the book Collecting Courage, a collection of testimonies that highlight the experiences of Black fundraisers in North America.
In the book, Fatou discusses the challenges of navigating a non-profit system that lacks individuals who look like her and the implications of working in these spaces as a Black woman.
“I realized that in the stories of fundraising, you don’t see many Black people or as many racialized people in the system,” says Fatou. “I was in a fellowship with the Association of Fundraising Professionals and there was a fundraiser who wanted to narrate our stories, so we wrote about our experiences as Black fundraisers and how we saw things.”
Currently, Fatou is expanding her impact in fundraising through her consultancy firm, Fjammeh Consulting. Her mission is to empower non-profit organizations by enhancing their capacity to drive locally led development initiatives. She plans to achieve this by advising and building capacities within fundraising so that organizations can be sustainable in the challenging funding landscape.
“There’s a lot of gaps in terms of knowledge for fundraising essentially,” says Fatou. “I want to build that up and plan towards helping the whole community.”
Fatou advises students who wish to follow a similar path in international development to have an open mindset and keep their options open regarding which roles they pursue.
“What you think you want to do might not be what you want to do,” says Fatou. “I didn't have in mind that I was going to be a fundraiser, but I had a mindset that I can do it.”