Carrying the Voice: What Andrea Gibson Taught Me About Fundraising and the Power of Showing Up

There are voices you don’t just hear—you carry. Andrea Gibson was one of those voices. A poet, a warrior and a weaver of radical tenderness. They didn’t just write poems—they wrote blueprints for how to feel more fully, how to witness pain and joy without flinching. Their passing has left a tear in the fabric of many hearts, mine included. And yet, their legacy continues to pulse with life.

I found Andrea at a time when I was desperate for something real. Their words—raw, urgent, defiant—were both a wound and a salve. I remember looping their spoken word albums, the cadence of their voice rising like a storm and settling like a prayer. They spoke of queerness, injustice, illness, hope, survival—not with performance, but with presence. Andrea didn’t just speak truth to power; they sang it into our bones.

Somewhere along the way, their poetry did more than move me. It called me into a deeper sense of responsibility. It’s one thing to feel what they made you feel—it’s another to do something with that fire.

That fire led me to fundraising. Not as a strategy. Not as a career move. But as an act of love. Love for communities that needed to be heard. Love for movements that needed to be resourced. I came to understand that fundraising, at its core, isn’t about dollars. It’s about storytelling. About connection. About believing, like Andrea did, that even the smallest act of care can ripple into something enormous.

Their poem “The Year of No Grudges” reminded me that giving can be healing.“Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns” showed me that resistance can be tender.“The Madness Vase” taught me that vulnerability isn’t weakness—it’s currency. These weren’t just poems. They were calls to action.

I remember hearing “The Moon is a Kite”, and time stood still. Then came the line: “Your heart is a muscle the size of your fist. Keep loving. Keep fighting.” And I thought—this isn’t just poetry. This is gospel. This is a dare. That was the moment something shifted. I began to ask different questions. Not What do I want to do?  but What do I want to stand for? Not How can I make a living?  but How can I make a difference?

And so, I found my way into the world of fundraising—not as a job, but as a calling.

Andrea taught me that we are all storytellers. And fundraising, at its heart, is storytelling. It’s finding the pulse of a cause and helping others hear it. It’s connecting passion to purpose, and resources to revolution. It’s believing in a future that doesn’t exist yet—and inviting others to believe, too.

Fundraising is not just about securing gifts. It’s about nurturing hope. It’s about holding space for possibility. And in that way, it is its own kind of poetry. When I work on a campaign for LGBTQ+ youth, I hear Andrea say, “The gender box is a coffin.” When I advocate for health equity, I think of how they chronicled their cancer journey with fierce, defiant grace. When I speak to donors about mental health, I carry the echo of their verses on depression, on survival, on choosing to stay.

Andrea reminded us that we are not just witnesses to this world—we are shapers of it. And through fundraising, I’ve found a way to participate in that shaping. To take all that their words stirred in me and turn it into connection, into action, into change.

Andrea never wanted to be idolized. They wanted to be understood. More than that, they wanted us to understand ourselves—to dig into the messy, beautiful truth of who we are and what we’re capable of when we act from love.

Today, I walk a path I never expected, with a clarity I didn’t always have. And I owe a part of that to a poet who turned pain into power, who made space for us to show up exactly as we are—and then challenged us to show up for each other, too.

Andrea once wrote, “When your heart is broken, make art with the pieces.”

This blog is a small piece of that art. A thank you. A promise.

Rest in power, Andrea. You changed me. You changed so many of us. And we are carrying your words forward—one story, one act of care, one step toward justice at a time. Today, as I sit in my role raising funds for causes that matter, I know I’m not just managing campaigns or donor lists. I’m channeling stories. I’m echoing voices. I’m, in my own small way, carrying forward the torch that Andrea lit—one that says, in every stanza and every ask:

You matter. Your story matters. And we are in this together.

Your words planted seeds, Andrea. I’m doing my best to help them grow.

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Juliana M. Weissbein, CFRE is a respected leader and decision influencer in regard to fundraising operations best practices. With over a decade of experience, Juliana thrives on professional growth, team success, measurable results, and inspiring fundraisers to utilize data-based strategies. Juliana currently serves as the Associate Director of Development Operations at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She has served as an AFP Global Board Member, AFP Global's 2019 Outstanding Young Professional Fundraiser and is a member of the AFP Global Women's Impact Initiative. Juliana is immediate past chair of the AFP New York City chapter’s Emerging Leaders Committee and currently serves on the chapter’s board chairing their mentorship program. She resides in Houston, TX and never turns down a good kombucha.