People in Fundraising: A Nonprofit Podcast by Tim Wilson

People in Fundraising #180: Bibi Babatunde-Ikoton, Services and Housing in the Province

Thank you to Canadian social impact leader Pamela Aranas for connecting me with today's "People in Fundraising" guest, Bibi Babatunde-Ikotun! A Nigerian Canadian, most of Bibi's fundraising career has been with health, human services, and community development NGO's. She is currently Director of Fundraising and Initiatives at Ontario-based Services and Housing in the Province (SHIP). In our interview, Bibi shares: * Her viewpoint that as social impact leaders, "We are value provides, and we try to hope and inspire other people." * Why she is "really passionate about how faith, culture, and lived experience shape our approach to philanthropy, and how emerging fundraisers, especially women and people of color, can navigate leadership and visibility in this sector." In addition to her fundraising work, Bibi is a Christian pastor and an enthusiastic celebrant of her faith. * How her global perspective informs her work in Canada. Thank you, Bibi, for an uplifting and enjoyable conversation! I really enjoyed our time together and am excited to share your experience with our audience.

People in Fundraising, ep. 179: Bwagu Isa, Director of Village Stand Uganda

Today's "People in Fundraising" guest is Bwagu Isa, founder and director of Village Stand Uganda. He and I chatted in January 2026, and he is the first podcast guest from Uganda. We connected via LinkedIn, which Bwagu is now no longer on, though he and his NGO are active on Instagram and other social media.
In our conversation, he describes:
* Village Stand Uganda's community-based operations in the rural Tororo District of eastern Uganda, bordered to the east by Kenya. The NGO focuses on providing meals, education, and training skills to under-served children and families in the District.
* What led Bwagu to launch Village Stand Uganda in 2020 and how it has grown in response to continued and emerging needs to help orphans, widows, and other population groups.
Thank you Bwagu for a sobering and informative conversation. I feel honored to help shine a spotlight on your important NGO and its mission to lift up more vulnerable people.

People in Fundraising #178: Sok Tng, Associate Director of Prospect Research & Management, Pomona College

Following on her Pomona College Rodger Devine's "People in Fundraising" interview, Singapore-born Sok Tng joins my podcast to discuss her fascinating career! Sok shares that her "childhood dream was to become a veterinarian - a wildlife veterinarian working in wildlife conservation," and how her career took unexpected paths that ultimately led Sok to nonprofit fundraising. In our conversation, Sok discusses:
* Pivoting from wildlife conservation to a Master's degree in Information Sciences, to working in libraries and conducting grant-seeking research. Through the libraries, Sok met two prospect researchers, and the rest is history!
* Why Sok "loves research, and I love how research informs other aspects of advancement....Prospect management is locating seemingly disparate pieces of information and finding ways to piece them together to form a picture."
* Her desire to "use what I have learned to help other smaller organizations that cannot afford or do not have enough resources. I volunteer to help other orgs., sit on the board of smaller nonprofits, and try to scale."
Please watch or listen to these and other goals and experiences that Sok enthusiastically shares in today's episode! Thank you for a great conversation, Sok!

People in Fundraising #177: Rodger Devine, Chief of Staff & Advancement Operations, Pomona College

Today's phenomenal "People in Fundraising" guest is Rodger Devine, a recent Apra International president and author of two books, "Data Science for Fundraising" and "Hands-On Deep Learning with R." We covered a lot of different topics, for which Rodger shared interesting personal and professional insights, as he dispensed gems such as replacing "Yes, But" with the new-to-me phrase "Yes, If."
In our chat, Rodger discusses:
* His diverse career background prior to entering nonprofit fundraising, and then how he entered our field at his alma mater, the University of Michigan;
* His fondness for and learnings from the landmark book "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice" by Shunryu Suzuki, published in 1970;
* How "micro-habits" can turn into and shape one's destiny;
* Whether there is a third book (or more) in Rodger's future, and why he loves piano music;
* His experience as President of Apra International from summer 2023 through summer 2024. Apra is the premier global organization for prospect development, data science, and prospect research leaders in nonprofit fundraising.
Thank you Rodger for a rich and enlightening conversation! I appreciated your time and your warmth in our chat. Thank you for being a strong advocate for prospect development!

People in Fundraising ep. 176: Barron Cato, Director of Data Science & Analytics, U. Washington

May the 4th Be With You! It's a special day for "Star Wars" fans like me and today's guest, Barron Cato. After recently completing one goal (Greening the Map of the U.S.), today starts a new podcast goal:
Each week for the next 52+ Mondays, "People in Fundraising" will feature an interview with a nonprofit leader of color. This is an important new goal for my podcast, and I am grateful for the reception so far to my invite from a diverse, and world-spanning, collection of upcoming guests. Launching this goal with Barron is an honor.
In our conversation, Barron discusses:
* How his role as the Director of Data Science and Analytics has evolved over the 5 years he has held this position;
* His liberal arts and business studies, coupled with Barron being a Certified Intuition Master Practitioner, a Certified Yoga Body Breath Coach, and a martial artist - and how his mastery and application of these broad elements compliment each other;
* how he has seen gift officers/MGO’s adapt to the implementation of data science and analytics tools to advance fundraising objectives. In particular, Barron shares what has worked well in his communication and training of MGO’s to help them become more willing and eager to see data science and analytics’ critical contributions.
* some of his favorite parts from "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away!"

People in Fundraising ep. 175: Amanda Crawford, CFRE; Mississippi Nurses Foundation

Amanda Crawford, CFRE, is my first guest to represent Mississippi on "People in Fundraising." She is a terrific nonprofit leader who warmly shares her enthusiasm for fundraising work and its impact on communities.
Thank you to prior "People in Fundraising" guest Jen Wasem for connecting Amanda and me! With Amanda's interview, I have now interviewed at least one nonprofit leader from each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico!
In our conversation, Amanda shares:
* How volunteering with the American Cancer Society directly led to her career in nonprofit development;
* The mission and impact of the Mississippi Nurses Foundation, where she is its Executive Director;
* The general fundraising landscape in the Magnolia State and how it has evolved during Amanda's career
*Amanda's exciting involvement with Indiana University's Lilly School of Philanthropy, as a student and, more recently, as a co-teacher in fundraising courses.
Thank you, Amanda, for a warm and very enjoyable conversation! I am grateful for your nonprofit leadership example and how our interview greened the map of the whole U.S.! 

People in Fundraising #174: Julia Dossett Morgan, CAO, Winthrop Rockefeller Institute

Julia Dossett Morgan is the first guest to represent the U.S. state of Arkansas! 49 out of the 50 U.S. states covered. For me as a podcast host, it was well worth the wait - Julia is a dynamic, down-to-earth, and enthusiastic nonprofit development leader and person! Her conversation is a real treat for our audience. Julia discusses:
* Her path to nonprofit development, starting with attending a nonprofit career fair her senior year of college. That led to several years with Steppenwolf Theater Company in nonprofit marketing and communications.
* How "genuine affection for people and a deep belief in the mission of the organization that I work for are, luckily, two things that come naturally for me. And I can build on those."
* An Illinois native now living in Arkansas, how Julia connected to nonprofit orgs. and opportunities in central Arkansas. This led to her joining the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute. Julia also shares a terrific overview of the Institute's programs, location, and mission as a convening center.
* Interestingly, Julia and I both moved to other states (Minnesota to Arkansas for her, Massachusetts to Utah for me) in May 2018.
* Why Julia recommends Priya Parker's book "The Art of Gathering," and why she's excited for this September's publication of Priya's, "The Art of Fighting: The Transformative Power of Conflict."
* The power of experiencing art and artwork in a communal setting, such as plays.
Julia shares so many more interesting facts about her career, her role as the Chief Advancement Officer, and the Institute's work! Thank you Julia for an amazing conversation!

People in Fundraising ep. 173: Aaron Silverman, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Ari Foss Foundation

My conversation with today's "People in Fundraising" guest, Aaron Silverman, was one of the most emotionally moving interviews in the fours years of this podcast. Aaron movingly shares how a devastating personal loss has led him and his family to launch the Ari Foss Foundation. Their foundation is named in honored memory of their newborn son, Ari. Aaron describes the immense family grief and their conviction "to help other parents and families with financial assistance for cremations of funerals when there is a stillbirth or neonatal loss." Ari's "memory lives on through the Ari Foss Foundation helping families when the unthinkable happens," per its website.
Aaron also vulnerably shares how he has processed his own grief and questions, and in turn how he has - in time - been able to engage with other men who have similarly lost a child. Further, Aaron details the Ari Foss Foundation's efforts to engage with local and state media to get its message to communities in South Carolina, including TV interviews and an annual memorial walk and 5K.  
I greatly admire Aaron and his family's vision to provide financial support to other families at a time of extreme emotional hardship and decision-making. Thank you Aaron for sharing Ari's and your whole family's story with me and our audience. 
 

People in Fundraising ep. 172: Amy Begg, Crypto Miner and Senior Director of Prospect Management

I am thrilled to share today's interview with Amy Begg, who I have known for many years through the New England prospect development world. She was president of NEDRA when I served on its board from 2016 to 2018. That was my first time serving on an Apra chapter board, and Amy showed me that volunteer leadership can be really rewarding and fun, all with the goal of providing professional development opportunities for prospect research, management, and data analytics people in New England.
In our conversation, Amy also discusses:
* Her career history, starting with her long tenure at Harvard University;
* The influence of nonprofit leaders such as Mary Beth Pearlberg and Janet Cahill (who was the Executive Director of HBS' fundraising team in the late 2010's when I was there);
* How "interesting and insightful" it was for Amy, serving as the student alumni rep on the University System of New Hampshire board of higher education, to be in meetings with fellow board members from the business world outside of nonprofits, many of whom were philanthropists themselves. 
* Her life outside of work, including how "libraries are my home." 
Thank you Amy for a dynamic and fun conversation! I enjoyed reconnecting with you. 

People in Fundraising ep. 171: Sarah Marcotte & Katherine Scott, "From the Ground Up: Prospect Research for Nonprofits"

Prospect research veterans Sarah Marcotte and Katherine Scott have just published their book, “From the Ground Up: Prospect Research for Nonprofits.” They joined my podcast to discuss the development, writing, editing, and launching of this important resource for the nonprofit world. In our conversation, Sarah and Katherine share about:
* The working lunches, reading groups, and writers’ retreats they attended as they started writing this book. After I asked about how their collaboration went, and hearing that they were in sync for so much of the content, we joked that they were “the John Lennon and Paul McCartney” of the prospect research book world.
* Nonprofit leaders who have mentored and greatly supported their careers: Paloma Gonzalez; Barbara Fanning; Jackie Wyatt; and Brock Warner.
* How Sarah and Katherine deployed a “fundraiser sensitivity reader” 😊for their book, hoping to ensure that it represented frontline fundraisers/MGO’s in a good light.
* Their lives outside of work. Katherine loves plotting her “next travel adventure,” including trips to North Africa; and Sarah has a “to-be-read” stack of books that will last “beyond [her] life expectancy.” I screenshare a totally nerd thing from my own reading list: an Excel spreadsheet showing the 665 books I’ve read in my lifetime/ (right up to my interview with Katherine and Sarah).
Sarah and Katherine, I loved our conversation and had a really fun time chatting with you both. I'm honored to have "People in Fundraising" be a stop on your book tour to help amplify this vital new resource!