People in Fundraising: A Nonprofit Podcast by Tim Wilson

People in Fundraising ep. 160: Pavel Rutherford; League of Conservation Voters, and Rewilder

Pavel Rutherford kicks off 2026 for "People in Fundraising" with a fascinating interview about his life and career. Originally intending to become a doctor, Pavel shares how he pivoted into development and data science. From there, he discusses:* His involvement with Rewilder, a innovative environmental and sustainability endeavor started by Pavel's late mentor
* Current work with the League of Conservation Voters and his tenure with Somos el Podor, which was founded by prior guest and fundraising legend Armando Zumaya to empower Latinx-focused nonprofits
* Pavel's fascination with Zeitgeist Intelligence, which he describes as "a more intelligent way of analyzing the relationship between organizations and their constituents."
* His thoughts on this quote from actor Harrison Ford (Pavel and I are huge "Star Wars" fans): "Whatever it is you want to do, don't imitate somebody else's way of getting there. Don't try and imitate somebody else's success. You've got to find your own path."Thank you very much for a fun and outstanding conversation Pavel! I loved our time chatting together.   

People in Fundraising ep. 159: Mario Hernandez, Co-Founder of Impact Circle

Impact Circle co-founder Mario Hernandez is today's exceptional "People in Fundraising" guest, bringing a fascinating mix of corporate and nonprofit experience to our sector. He is driven to help nonprofits secure corporate partnerships and long-term funding support through a relationship-first strategy.
In our conversation, Mario discusses:
* His popular online training "Live LinkedIn Bootcamp" for nonprofits - how he developed these workshops, and where nonprofit leaders can access the bootcamps.
* Being a very active thought-leader and content sharer on LinkedIn. How does he capture ideas when he's not on the platform, to ensure that he shares these helpful tips with his nonprofit network?
* What led him to return to the nonprofit/social impact sector after launching several for-profit companies and leading them to successful exits. And the experiences he had outside of the social impact world that he now draws upon for his focus on the philanthropic sector.
Thank you Mario for your commitment to improving our nonprofit community and all of the ways you share practical, experience-based tips with other social impact leaders! I am excited for others to hear about your conversation!

People in Fundraising ep. 158: Cal Sturgeon, Donor to the Apra Foundation

In honor of Giving Tuesday on December 2nd, 2025, "People in Fundraising" spotlights a longtime Apra volunteer leader and donor to the Apra Foundation, Cal Sturgeon!
On behalf of the Apra Foundation - on which I have served since fall 2024 - I am excited to share Cal's story about being a donor to the Apra Foundation, in their case through a monthly recurring donation.
The Apra Foundation (link to give: https://www.aprahome.org/About/Foundation) gratefully accepts donations of any amount from anyone at any time. Donations support scholarships that are awarded to prospect development (PD) fundraisers to attend the annual Apra PD conference.
In Cal's own words:
* Why they donate to the Apra Foundation: "I am unbelievably blessed beyond measure by my experiences with Apra, both locally and internationally...I give to causes that I care about and where I can see direct impact from my giving." The Apra Foundation is one of a handful four causes that Cal consistently supports.
* The impact of supporting the Apra Foundation: "It is so incredibly important to our profession. It's nice to know that in my small part, I've helped bring people to the conference and help people further their careers in our profession. Having well-versed prospect development professionals is critical to fundraising success, and I can see the direct impact of my dollars."
Please join Cal, me, and many other prospect development friends on Giving Tuesday by making a gift to the Apra Foundation. Thank you, Cal, for movingly and personally sharing why you are a longtime donor to the Apra Foundation!

People in Fundraising ep. 157: Valerie Anastasio, Expert in UHNW Prospect Strategy

Valerie Anastasio was one of the first prospect development leaders to be honored with the Ann Castle Award, an annual recognition by Apra chapter NEDRA. The award acknowledges outstanding effort or achievement in the field of development research and related fields.
Valerie's career has spanned many sectors within fundraising, from arts organizations to higher education to healthcare. She has been a tireless advocate for our profession, and I am honored to feature Valerie as today's "People in Fundraising" guest.
In our conversation, Valerie discusses:
* How she entered the fundraising field, and mentions collaborating with other longtime leaders such as Jay Frost and Val Roberts.
* Her deep interest in understanding the motivations and capacities of ultra high net worth (UHNW) prospects, and becoming an expert in this donor segment. 
* How, as a manager, she came to points in mentoring junior prospect development staff on their career goals and sometimes felt that the staffers had advanced as far as they could on Valerie's team/in their shared org. Valerie describes how to have those sensitive conversations in ways that are beneficial to the mentee. 
* Her singing and stage career, which led to her reflections on a quote by Hollywood star Judy Garland: "Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else." I really liked Valerie's thoughts on this!
 
Thank you for being a phenomenal guest, Valerie! I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. 

People in Fundraising ep. 156: Jill Vorndran, Chief Development Officer, Covenant House International

Today's "People in Fundraising" guest, Jill Vorndran, is on a mission to reframe the fundraising profession. "It should be a bride-building superpower," Jill advocates. In her current role, she has been the Chief Development Officer at Covenant House International, a federated organization working to combat human trafficking and youth homelessness, for a decade.
In our conversation, Jill focuses on these topics, along with other ideas:
* The staff retention crisis in the social impact/nonprofit development world - and how Jill's vision for "relentless joy *and* relentless accountability" with staff are ways to retain excellent fundraisers, especially in social services nonprofits.
* The importance of investing in development operations - prospect development, donor relations and stewardship, gift processing.
* The reasons why many people - including some who work in fundraising - erroneously regard fundraising as "a necessary evil," and how Jill reframes our profession when she hears such sentiments.
Thank you Jill for an outstanding conversation! I learned a great deal about Covenant House and your positive advocacy for our fundraising profession.

People in Fundraising, ep. 155: Maia Iva, Co-Founder of Kweet and Co-Founder of Petners Berlin

A native of Ukraine, Maia Iva is my first guest to join "People in Fundraising" from Poland, where she lives. A social impact leader and entrepreneur, Maia co-founded two orgs. - Kweet, a nonprofit AI tool; and Petners Berlin, which seeks to rescue and re-shelter (mostly to Berlin) animals caught up in Russia's continuing onslaught in Ukraine.
Tune in as Maia discusses:
* How her philanthropic mindset began at 5, when she began donating to animal shelters (her "go-to" cause) - and how she later became an animal rights activist.
* The daunting human and business complexities of rescuing animals from an ongoing war zone, and how "pure adrenaline" kept Maia going for days on end as Petners started. Evacuations have shifted to re-settling animals within Ukraine, presenting a new challenge for Petners - how to feed and shelter them, feeding 250,000 animals in 2025.
* Launching her startup with limited know-how about getting a nonprofit started (legal, publications, etc.) - and how this, in hindsight, was liberating to Maia and her team.
* Her response to a quote from one of my favorites, David Bowie. I had to include this, as Maia is based in Warsaw - inspiration for Bowie's song "Warszawa" (the name in Polish of Poland's capital city), from the album "Low," part of Bowie's late 1970's "Berlin Trilogy" - Berlin being Petners' base.
Thank you Maia for an outstanding and enlightening conversation! 

People in Fundraising, ep. 154: Jason Befort, Vail Health & Tim's former Manager

My friend and former manager Jason Befort joins "People in Fundraising" to talk about our many shared interests (baseball, music, The Cold War, 1980's pro wrestling, how "one bad week can be improved with a good Caesar salad!"). And we still manage to spend most of our 55-minute interview talking nonprofit development!
In our conversation, Jason shares his insights on:
* Figuring out how prospect development “keeps everything moving” in a large-scale fundraising shop. He spent 12 years at the Mayo Clinic, where “there aren’t a lot of B+ students in the room!”
* Building prospect development from the ground-up at his current employer, Vail Health, and Intermountain Health Foundation - to which Jason recruited me from Harvard Business School in late 2017.
* The balance between persistence and talent. 
* As someone who has worked fully remote since before the pandemic, how he "breaks down the distance" with his in-office coworkers - including by always having his camera on in virtual meetings and being on-site several times a year. 
Thank you Jason for an incredibly fun and interesting conversation!
 
 

People in Fundraising ep. 153: Ashutosh Nandeshwar, Ph.D. EVP Data Science Practice Lead CCS Fundraising

Ashutosh Nandeshwar, Ph.D., discusses a range of fascinating topics with expertise and humor in today's "People in Fundraising" interview! I am grateful for his time and excited to share his conversation. In our chat, Ashutosh focuses on:
 
* His academic background and how it prepared him for roles in data science within the nonprofit development industry
* The recent launch of Seeker+, an AI-powered fundraising intelligence tool developed by CCS Fundraising - and how Seeker+ is designed to "make smarter decisions, increase Donor Lifetime Value, and boost fundraising efficiency," per its launch press release, which quotes Ashutosh. 
* His insightful thoughts on one of my favorite quotes, by systems theorist/architect/ inventor Buckminster Fuller: "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."
* One of his outside-of-work hobbies, and how it fuels his spirit
* Reflections on the implementation of AI, data science, and machine learning across our industry and in fundraising shops of all sizes - and how they relate to a quote from the late, legendary Harvard Business School professor/disruptive tech and innovation thought leader Clayton Christensen. 
 
Thank you Ashutosh for a highly enjoyable and very informative conversation! I know the "People in Fundraising" audience will gain helpful insights from you and your expertise that they can apply to their work - and how they understand and grapple with fast-paced AI, machine learning, and data science advancements in fundraising!

People in Fundraising, ep. 152: Grantyd CEO and Co-Founder Frankie Axam Frederick

Thanks to social impact leader and previous "People in Fundraising" guest Michelle Flores Vryn, who introduced me to today's fantastic guest Frankie Axam Frederick! Frankie joined this podcast around the time that her new company, Grantyd, launched. I appreciate Frankie making time for our interview during a thrilling and busy time in her career!
In our conversation, Frankie discusses:
* How the idea for Grantyd came about, with the ultimate goal of serving as a new source especially for small and grassroots nonprofits to streamline the grant-writing process for funding. And the intricacies, complexities, and excitement of refining the tool, leading to its launch.
* Her career as a dancer, including graduating from the prestigious Boston Conservatory at Berklee with a BFA in dance - and how Frankie continues to channel her passion for dance and advocacy by serving as chair of The Black Artists Dance Collective.
* The fundraising roles at a myriad of institutional nonprofits in the arts, youth and family advocacy services, and higher ed. shops, giving Frankie incredibly diverse exposure to the unique and common resource constraints many nonprofits face - and how this benefited her later in the development of Grantyd.
Thank you Frankie for an outstanding and really fun conversation! I wish you and Grantyd continued success.

People in Fundraising, ep. 151: Laurel Teel, Development Leader for Child and Family Services

Laurel Teel is my first guest to represent Alabama in my three-years-old weekly nonprofit series "People in Fundraising." I am excited to get ever so closer to have all 50 U.S. states represented. Here's still looking at you, Mississippi and Arkansas. Laurel was a delight to talk with - honest, thoughtful, and sincere. 
In our conversation, Laurel discusses:
* The hard truths about working in child advocacy and family services-focused nonprofits. She candidly catalogues the mental and emotional impact about working in such emotionally charged and oftentimes very limited resourced environments. 
* The mentorship she has received from prior "People in Fundraising" guest Jason Lewis (he was on this podcast in late 2023 with Jennifer Harris).
* Her reaction to this quote from one of my favorite civic-minded thinkers and writers, David Brooks: "We assume we are being judged on our competence, but mostly we are judged on our warmth. Ethical leaders communicate a joyfulness in what they do and attract followers in part by showing pleasure." 
Thank you Laurel for a very open, honest, and insightful conversation. I wish you well in your future pursuits, and know that many in our audience will learn valuable info about your career history.