People in Fundraising, ep. 144: Ilana Xinos, Exec. Director, North American Bison Discovery Center

I am very excited to share today's "People in Fundraising" interview with a guest whose work exemplifies local and regional nonprofits' impact on their communities. It is an area I have wanted to focus on more frequently. Ilana Xinos is the Executive Director of the North American Bison Discovery Center in North Dakota, and she eagerly describes her responsibilities this role (fundraiser, tour operator, stewardship, marketing, board oversight, tractor driver!, etc.) over the last decade.

Ilana also shares:

* Why the Center is called a "Discovery Center," and not a museum - and how it has grown and evolved in its various operations in the last 30+ years, including traveling exhibits and planned virtual offerings via its website.

* Her take on why the bison holds such a sway over the American cultural consciousness, its history on the North American continent (at the peak of population in the 1870s, there were at least 60,000,000 bison before mass slaughters drove the number to less than 500 a decade later), and subsequent recovery and conservation efforts.

* As her role focuses more on fundraising, what skills she feels confident in as a development officer, and where she sees need for training, networking, and best practices from other orgs. on how to continually improve the Discovery Center's fundraising.

This was such an informative interview, and one of my most enjoyable over the nearly 150 conversations so far! Thank you, Ilana, for your time and the enthusiasm you brought to our segment!