People in Fundraising: A Nonprofit Podcast by Tim Wilson

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 11: Robby West, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Originally recorded in summer 2023: Robert West joins my "People in Fundraising" webcast just before his 1-year anniversary of working at the world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He entered fundraising from experiential education and admissions before first working in prospect research.
A University of New Hampshire alum, Robby also talks about the joy and challenge of working for his alma mater for several years.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 10: Rachell Brandell-Mayers, Virginia Commonwealth U.

Originally recorded in summer 2023: In the 50th published "People in Fundraising" interview, I am so pleased to spotlight Rachel Brandell-Mayers! She and I currently are co-heads of Apra International's Online Content Committee. We manage a team of great volunteers from the prospect research & management sector of fundraising, working to generate content ideas; line up speakers; and deliver the content to our wider Apra community.Rachel leads by sharing a lyric from singer Ani DiFranco that has been a driver for Rachel's diverse career: "I do it...because the world owes us nothing, and we owe each other the world."

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep.9: John Beckvold, CFO and VP, West Virginia

Originally recorded in spring 2023: My friend John Beckvold is the first "People in Fundraising" guest to represent the beautiful state of West Virginia. In our wide-ranging conversation, John catalogues his nonprofit and for-profit experience in various states.
Doing so, John discusses how he creates the narrative about his career journey in interviews, focusing on the opportunity and his enthusiasm for new challenges.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 8: Krissy Cannizzo

Originally recorded in spring 2023: In this "Friends and Family" edition of People in Fundraising, I welcome Krissy Cannizzo to the program. Krissy and I were in the same grade all the way through high school in Massachusetts. Our interview purposefully is airing on Monday, June 19th - the birthday of her step-father, George Mitchell. George was an amazing early education teacher and passionate advocate for whole-child educational, emotional, and social development.Happy heavenly birthday, Mr. Mitchell.Krissy movingly talks about George's impact on her life and some of the wisdom he shared with her. She dreams about buying a new school bus and stocking it with STEAM resources to bring classroom/lab learning to under-developed school systems in southeastern Massachusetts, where she lives and works. This is influenced by a goal Krissy and George had many years ago.Krissy also talks about her passion for STEAM education as the Director of Education and Outreach at The Children's Museum in Easton, MA. She has a STEAM board with info behind her during our interview, and enthusiastically talks about the importance of including "A" for Arts in the STEAM acronym.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 7: Jennifer Filla, Founder Prospect Research Institute

Originally recorded in spring 2023: Nonprofit Prospect Research is full of generous people sharing their talents and enthusiasm for our work in fundraising. To welcome one of the most enthusiastic, generous, and insightful leaders, Jennifer Filla, to my webcast is an honor!2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Jennifer establishing the Prospect Research Institute! Jennifer had earlier also launched Aspire Research Group, which has overseen the Institute for the last two years.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 6: Lucas Horns, Project Rainbow Utah

Originally recorded in spring 2023: In celebration of Pride Month, Utah native Lucas Horns joins People in Fundraising to discuss his founding role at Project Rainbow Utah. This nonprofit, now in its fifth year, has numerous programs and initiatives to raise awareness and provide resources for the LGBTQIA+ community in this conservative state (take it from me, a New Englander).
Lucas shares his personal background for launching this nonprofit, which among other activities uses a team of volunteers across the state to plant Pride flags in donors' lawns. I have been a flag-staking volunteer a few times since moving to Utah in 2018, and it's a really worthwhile effort. Lucas has been involved in queer advocacy for over a decade, and his commitment to supporting Utah's LGBTQIA+ community is remarkable.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 5: Beth Inman, Shriners’ Childrens, North Carolina

Originally recorded in spring 2023: Longtime Apra International and Apra Carolinas volunteer leader Beth Trammell Inman joins "People in Fundraising"  to discuss her prospect development career.
She and past "People in Fundraising" guest Jennifer Vincent recently co-presented at the annual NEDRA Conference. Beth received Apra International's Distinguished Service Award in 2019.Beth discusses her art history background and earlier work in museums, including the impact that mentor Terry Mularkey had on Beth's onramp to fundraising. She shares how her art background and creativity complemented the working-with-numbers aspect of development. Beth has worked at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and George Washington U. among other nonprofits, and in 2022 joined Shriners Children's, a system of 20 hospitals separate from Shriners International that celebrated its centennial in 2022.Beth concludes our conversation by discussing the rituals that start her day and Michelle Obama's focus on working one's hands to rest one's mind.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 4: Jenn Grasso, Bates College, Maine

Originally recorded and aired in spring 2023: Jenn Grasso is the first guest to represent Vacationland (Maine)! She talks about how being a first-generation college student motivated her to want to give back. Jenn has since worked in national cause-based nonprofits and universities, in hybrid, fully remote, and in-person settings.Jenn shares about trying to balance her work and volunteer affiliations – including in her local community - and how freeing it can be to know how much one can take on at any one time. We talk briefly about some lessons Jenn has gleaned from "Ted Lasso," too! She concludes by sharing a quote from her daughter that motivates her: “You be you and do what you do!”

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 3: Bruce Berg, Northeastern University

Originally recorded and aired in spring 2023: Bruce Berg, a longtime prospect development leader, is my guest in "People in Fundraising." A few days after our conversation, Bruce was honored on Thursday, May 4th, at the New England Development Research Association's (NEDRA) annual conference with its Ann Castle Award.
This award "acknowledges outstanding effort or achievement in the field of development research and related fields," per NEDRA's website.Our conversation touches on the prevalence of mountains of easy-to-access info vs. actionable, strategic intelligence; his career origin, starting with orchestras and symphonies before moving into prospect research; and the invaluable mentoring of fellow prospect development leader Valerie Anastasio, the 2008 Ann Castle Award winner.

People in Fundraising, Season 2, Ep. 2: Rachel Reschke, Cystic Fibrosis Warrior

Originally recorded and aired in spring 2023: In the second season of "People in Fundraising," I will continue to feature guests who work in development and also bring in people whose lives have been impacted by nonprofit funding. Today features one such guest, my friend Rachel Reschke, a cystic fibrosis warrior.
May is National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, to inform people about this chronic and potentially terminal lung disease. Rachel shares how this condition impacts her daily life, such as maintaining at least 6 feet distance from other people living with CF.
She also discusses how philanthropy has helped fund scientific breakthroughs that have lengthened the life expectancy and improved the quality of life for many people with CF, including Rachel and my brother-in-law.