People in Fundraising: A Nonprofit Podcast by Tim Wilson

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 21: Karrie Swanson of CommonSpirit Health

Karrie Swanson is my first "People in Fundraising" guest from Arizona, and the first guest to talk specifically about branding and marketing. For those reasons, as well as the fact that Karrie recruited my friend and former Intermountain Health manager Jason Befort, I was excited to talk with her and now to share her fantastic interview!
Among other topics, Karrie discusses:
* How through mergers and related job relocations, Karrie "became a remote worker before remote work was a thing," and how she added prospect research to her graphic design portfolio. "I am a self-taught prospect researcher!" she excitedly adds. She is also the sole Brand Specialist for CommonSpirit Health!
* The variety of graphic design, branding, social media, and communications work that Karrie handles for CommonSpirit Health, which with 65 foundations and 80+ hospitals is the largest nonprofit healthcare system in the U.S.
* The turnaround time Karrie needs for her projects, such as gift proposals and events, with graphics, elevator signs, charts, and other visual guides for co-workers and donors.
* Being in charge of CommonSpirit Health's social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram), and using Google Chat to communicate with colleagues across the country to plan out projects of all sizes, paying special attention to the demographics of populations and the topography in the specific health facilities. Karrie has over 65 million branded images to choose from as she develops content!
* Serving as Vice President of SWARO, the Apra prospect development chapter that covers Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada - and how prospect research brings her a lot of enjoyment.
* Reflections on psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of "flow," and a quote from Talking Heads co-founder and lead singer David Byrne, who recently said (with the re-release of the band's 1984 documentary "Stop Making Sense"), "I think you can develop a willingness to try new things, but curiosity is kind of self-motivated." Karrie replied, "His first sentence is my life in a nutshell!"
Thank you Karrie for a phenomenal conversation! I learned so much about your work, and I am sure others in our profession will enjoy and benefit from the insights you shared. It was a delight to have you as a guest!

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 20: Carrick Davis of UC-Davis, Immediate Past President of Apra

Talking with Carrick Davis, the immediate past president of Apra International, was such a treat, we almost went a full hour! I loved hearing how Carrick deliberately chose to enter the nonprofit/social impact sector, whereas many people in fundraising have a more circuitous route to this profession. Or as the Crosby, Stills, & Nash song "Delta," referenced in our conversation, goes: "of fast-running rivers of choice and chance."
In our super enjoyable conversation, Carrick:
* describes the goals, achievements, and lessons learned from being President of Apra International from 2022 through 2023; the importance of being involved as a volunteer in our profession; and enhancing Apra's perception among members
* shares his reflections from a 2017 interview with Joan Ogwumike, MPA Ogwumike (season 3 guest) that “the thread that I can string through all my positions [in my career] is a focus and commitment to promote social good.” Where does this originate in Carrick's life?
* offers thoughts on this quote from theologian, philosopher, and civil rights activist Howard Thurman: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive!” What makes Carrick come alive?
* describes has learned about himself from living in various parts of our country personally and professionally. "Geography is deeply important to me. Place, whether the built or nature environment, has a really profound affect on us as social creatures - how culture and space have influence over a person. I have been almost a different person in each of the places where I've lived."
* "the generational opportunity" he had at his current employer, the University of California-Davis, and how this allows him to allocate "professional energy into changing lives through public education." Carrick oversees a team of 14.
* shares how "the fast-running river of chance" at work led Carrick to meet his future wife, his future best man, and some fantastic friends all at work.
Thank you Carrick for an awesome, wide-ranging, and totally fun interview! Looking forward to meeting you at Apra PD in Seattle this summer.

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 19: Auctria.com's Laurie Hochman

Laurie Hochman joins "People in Fundraising" from Florida to enthusiastically discuss her career history prior to and since joining the nonprofit world. Thank you to Merryn McKeough of Lexus Marketing for connecting me and Laurie! She is currently the Director of Business Growth & Strategy at Auctria, which runs all types of online and in-person auction and event fundraisers. This specific area of the fundraising landscape was really new for me to learn about, and Laurie does an incredible and fun job of explaining it well for me and our audience!
Laurie also discusses:
* the skills that translated well from Laurie's earlier extensive career in sales and client services to the social impact sector.
* the skills she felt needed additional building in her nonprofit-specific roles.
* at about the 15-minute mark, Laurie's advice for other people looking to transition from corporate roles to fundraising.
* Auctria is headquartered in Ontario, with 80% of its business coming from the U.S.; 10% from Canada; and the remainder from other countries in North America, as well as Australia, the U.K., and elsewhere. At the 20-minute mark, Laurie excitedly talks about the stunning breadth of nonprofits that she is acquainted with around the world.
This was a gem of a conversation with Laurie! Not only did I learn a great deal from her about auction and event fundraising, but Laurie you brought a lot of sincerity and kindness to our interview. Thank you for your time!

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 18: Mariame Sano of Make-a-Wish Massachusetts & Rhode Island

I am so excited to share this "People in Fundraising" conversation with a rising star in the fundraising world, Mariame Sano! Mariame and I got connected through my former Harvard Business School co-worker and season 1 podcast guest Jessica McNeill. Like Jessica, Mariame is an alum of Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, where my father has worked for decades.
In our terrific interview, Mariame discusses:
 
* her experience as a first-generation immigrant, what brought her to the U.S., and what she has learned about herself as a person and professional
* her role as the Senior Manager of Corporate and Community Partnerships for Make-a-Wish Massachusetts & Rhode Island
* her response to teacher and writer Margaret Wheatley’s observation that “There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”
* volunteer leadership experience at Bridgewater State University
* the benefits of being a super-early riser. In Fall 2023, Mariame posted this on LinkedIn: “I wake up and do what my heart desires…uninterrupted. At 5 a.m., I am no one’s friend, sister, or employee. I JUST AM!”
* Mariame's goals and aspirations in fundraising, specifically for social impact initiatives in focused on women and girls in her native Guinea and Africa in general. "Somebody has to go do the work there, to make it better. I hope and wish to see more of that!"
Thank you Mariame for a phenomenal and motivating conversation! I look forward to seeing your career continue to advance and see the dreams you set for yourself to uplift and inspire others come to life.

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 17: Past NEDRA President Susan Grivno

I am excited to share this reflective conversation with Susan Grivno. She and I served on the board of directors of NEDRA (the New England Development Research Association, one of the largest chapters of Apra International), from 2016 to early 2018. Susan later became President of NEDRA, her tenure coinciding with the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among the reasons I wanted to chat with Susan was to have her share what it was like to pivot NEDRA's famous, multi-day, in-person conference, with just weeks' notice. 
Susan also discusses:
* How the decision to cancel the 2021 NEDRA Conference was actually more difficult than the 2020 conference, yet it set a precedent for the NEDRA conferences going virtual in 2021 and 2022
* Susan's reflections on former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers' impression that Americans were "working unsustainably hard" during the pandemic
* Her take-aways from being NEDRA's President about managing bandwidth and expectations (including her own), planning ahead, and allocating and delegating responsibilities - Susan began using a quadrant to segment her personal, work, and NEDRA assignments
* What Susan misses about working for a university, as a fully remote staff member (Susan works for the University of New Hampshire, and is based in the San Antonio area)
* The example of her friend Joyce Newton for the latter stages of one's career
 
Thank you Susan for your thoughtful conversation and for doing so much for NEDRA and the broader prospect development community!

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 16: PhilanthropyOps founder Jenny Kleintop

To help celebrate her birthday today (!), I am so excited to share Jenny Kleintop's energetic "People in Fundraising" conversation. In addition, Jenny is my podcast's first guest to represent Delaware. We got connected on LinkedIn when I started seeing Jenny's frequent posts and immediately realizing how freely and kindly Jenny shared her expertise and excitement for fundraising, specifically philanthropy operations.
In our conversation, Jenny discusses:
* How she developed and launched her company, PhilanthropyOps, in 2023. Happy one-year anniversary! Link to Jenny's company here: https://www.philanthropyops.com/about
* Burnout - how she has experienced it, how she addresses it earlier now, and how she encourages others to acknowledge this stressor and pivot as needed
* How being a prolific content-generator and content-sharer on LinkedIn has enriched Jenny's career, and her life in general
* Her November 2023 post that encouraged her network to "Go find your remarkable!" I loved Jenny's answers to my questions, "What is your remarkable? And what have you learned about getting to this point when you know what your remarkable is?"
* Her effort to build an awesome partnership between the philanthropy operations and frontline fundraising teams, especially in small- and medium-sized fundraising shops
* Fractional fundraising - what it is, how it works for Jenny, and how many clients she works with at a time
* Being married to a frontline fundraiser, Jenny joked, "The shop talk never stops!"
* Jenny's post about a backpack and visiting Panera after getting laid off - how these elements got her through a difficult phase in her career: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jkleintop_layoffs-community-movingforward-activity-7153139692647890945-9WsP/
Thank you Jenny for a phenomenal interview! What a treat, and I am sure our audience will totally enjoy your insights as well.

People in Fundraising season 3, ep. 15: Meredith LaPierre, Phillips Exeter Academy

Volunteer management gets its topic time in the spotlight thanks to Meredith LaPierre, a terrific fundraiser whom I first met when we worked together at Harvard Business School. Meredith suggested this topic after viewing prior "People in Fundraising" episodes and seeing this as an area that viewers and listeners would be interested to learn more about.
In our conversation, Meredith discusses:
* The foundational fundraising aspects of class giving and class affinity in higher education, which was Meredith's first role in development
* Her exposure to development shops of various sizes (HBS, Southern New Hampshire University, and Phillips Exeter Academy)
* Her focus on recruiting, managing, training, and retaining alumni volunteers to give back and encourage their alumni classmates to support Phillips Exeter Academy - including a focus on how to be successful with meeting dollars raised and participation goals
* The importance of understanding and meeting volunteers where they are, as Meredith's focus is on alumni who are now young professionals embarking on grad school, careers, and starting families - all of which impact one's time, energy, and resources
* Generational differences across her alumni volunteer cohorts and how they generally wish to be engaged and informed about the impact of their giving and their time
* Her involvement with the CASE Leadership Academy, which includes a monthly video call with philanthropic leaders from around the world
 
Thank you Meredith for a terrific conversation! I really enjoyed reconnecting with you.

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 14: Children's Miracle Network Hospital's Matt Jennings

To help bring awareness to Children's Miracle Network's annual Children's Hospitals Week - starting today and being celebrated at Walt Disney World - I am delighted to feature Matt Jennings of Children's Miracle Network (CMN). Matt is the Senior Director of Business Development for Salt Lake City, Utah-based CMN, where he works with corporate sponsors and donors for CMN funding initiatives.
In our conversation, Matt discusses:
* His role at CMN, where he has worked for just over one year, and what led him to join CMN. CMN was founded just over forty years ago.
* How he learned about and entered the nonprofit profession while working at his alma mater, Texas A&M University ("Gig 'em Aggies!"), what it meant to work for A&M, and how his fundraising career grew there over a two-decade span.
* Realizing that he, as a Texas A&M student, and I, as a prospective student visiting the College Station campus from Massachusetts, were at the same Texas A&M football game against Rice University in the fall of 1992!
* His thoughts on this Brene Brown quote, "If we're not practicing gratitude and allowing ourselves to know joy, we are missing out on the two things that will actually sustain us during the inevitable hard times." As CMN's mission is to support local children's hospitals in the U.S. and Canada, treating thousands of children facing dire medical conditions each year, Matt's thoughts on how this quote applies to his work is moving and meaningful.
 
Thank you, Matt, for a truly enlightening and enjoyable conversation. Best wishes for a successful Children's Hospitals Week! 

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 13: Goodwell Banda of SAFI, Malawi

"Life is about making sure there is support for other people."
Season 1 guest Marci Romney of CoAfrica strongly encouraged me to interview today's featured guest, Goodwell Banda. My conversation with Goodwell was informative and covers his nearly 30 years in nonprofit work in his native country of Malawi, in southern Africa.
Goodwell discusses:
* The nonprofit orgs. he has worked with, and their focus on agricultural development, forestry, and other initiatives seeking to improve the economic circumstances for people in a country where more than 75% of the 21 million-plus population lives in rural areas.
* Collaboration between the Malawian government and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to strengthen nonprofit impact, as well as between Goodwell and CoAfrica.
* The School of Agriculture for Family Independence (SAFI), at which Goodwell and his family work, is 100% funded by donors, especially by the Utah-based Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation.
* Goodwell's personal background and how his life experiences (born in a village, the first of 12 children born to subsistence farmer parents; wore his first pair of shoes at ag 18) influenced his desire to give back to other people.
Thank you Goodwell for sharing your inspirational story with our audience!

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 12: NonprofitAF author Vu Le

Vu Le is a prominent social impact activist who brings clear-cut insights and humor to our nonprofit world. Welcoming him as a guest on "People in Fundraising" is a total honor, and so much fun!
Vu is the author of the website NonprofitAF.com, from which he published a selection of posts in a 2003 book, "Unicorns on Fire: A Collection of NonprofitAF Posts, Finally Edited for Spelling and Grammar." And if you're not following "Crappy Funding Practices" on LinkedIn, do so TODAY at https://www.linkedin.com/company/crappy-funding-practices/.
Vu covers a great array of topics in our interview, with enthusiasm and hilarity and passion, including:
* As an avowed Trekker ("Star Trek," for the uncool), what lessons can be drawn from this universe of shows and characters and applied to our work in philanthropy.
* Vu' post that made me get over my podcast insecurities for the last 18+ months and invite him to be a guest: "Hey white colleagues, we need to talk about these non-inclusive lists and panels you're always putting together." As a white guy, it re-affirmed my goal as a podcaster to be more intentional and thoughtful with representation among guests now and into the future.
* Vu talks about needing "over-representation of people from marginalized communities," and how white colleagues like myself can avoid tokenization in our efforts to feature a much more inclusive and broader representation of our communities. This includes guests with less-visible indicators of being from "not dominant groups," as he has written.
* Vu's reaction and thoughts to a quote from psychiatrist Carl Jung (I try to weave in quotes from past and current thought leaders in various disciplines): “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” Among other societal contributions, Jung championed the anima/animus concept, that there's a feminine side to men and a masculine side to women.
* How he thinks about and chooses social impact/nonprofit topics to write about on his website and LinkedIn, including topical subjects like the Israel- Hamas conflict.
* Vu's thoughts on what he'd like to see as one new fundraising best practice that would be adopted by all nonprofits, and conversely which one currently in use needs to be banned.
Enjoy Vu's awesome conversation, and thank you Vu for being an outstanding guest!