People in Fundraising: A Nonprofit Podcast by Tim Wilson

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 38: Amber Countis, University of Houston-Victoria

Originally recorded and aired in early 2023: Amber Countis joins the People in Fundraising program from the Lone Star State, where she recently became the Vice President of Advancement and External Relations at the University of Houston-Victoria. This institution proudly serves many first-generation students.
She shares her career history, from prospect research and management to a broader and more forward-facing portfolio of responsibilities, including engaging alumni and other donors in her community. Amber talks about her tenure on the NEDRA board, as well as how having a diverse background of roles in various states has enriched her career.
She discusses how in her new role, Amber has to be up-to-date on student and campus issues in order to communicate with a wide variety of donors and civic leaders, as well as bring in faculty and the board of regents to help represent their institution.

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 37: Carmen Tordiglione, Tufts University

Originally recorded and aired in early 2023; Carmen Tordiglione was the very last co-worker I had the pleasure of seeing on my last day at Harvard Business School almost 5 years ago. She is the Director of Gift Planning at Tufts University, and takes us to the beginning of her career, where Carmen was exposed to estate planning through working earlier in her career at a law firm.
This fascinated her – why did these people choose this charity? It’s a fascination that continues two decades on. Carmen discusses the common threads (emotion) and differences (grateful patients, alumni) between planned giving in the higher ed. and healthcare sectors – “their story is part of the gift. Planned giving can bring bright spots in somber moments – “this is about legacy, about living.”
Carmen talks about the pivot and uptick of gift planning conversations as the pandemic progressed and a renaissance of phone conversations. Finally, we discuss what motivates Carmen’s personal philanthropy, including to her alma mater, Tufts. “You should feel happy after you make a gift!”

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 36: Nathan Chappell & Brian Crimmins, Co-Authors, The Generosity Crisis: The Case for Radical Connection to Solve Humanity’s Greatest Challenges

Originally recorded and aired in early 2023: Nathan Chappell, the Senior Vice President at DonorSearch, and Brian Crimmins, CEO of Changing Our World, join the "People in Fundraising" weekly webcast series to discuss their recently published book, The Generosity Crisis, which they co-authored with Michael Ashley. 
In our wide-ranging conversation, Nathan and Brian talk about their individual upbringings and how philanthropy was embedded in their families' lives. They also discuss how Nathan and Brian first thought to collaborate and, later, the impetus for this timely and thought-provoking publication. The book is a holistic look at the root causes and challenges of a declining societal emphasis on philanthropy, and how Nathan, Brian, and Michael envision righting the course to improve society through data and radical connections.
This is an illuminating and fascinating conversation about The Generosity Crisis. Thank you, Nathan and Brian, for your generosity in including the "People in Fundraising" website in your promotional efforts! I highly recommend this book to anyone working in or touched by the philanthropic world.    
Aside from our conversation, you can learn more at the authors' website. You can find The Generosity Crisis on Amazon as well. 

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 35: Steve Grimes, Data Insights, NYC

Originally recorded and aired in early 2023: Happy new year! I am excited to start the first full year of the People in Fundraising webcast series with Steve Grimes.
Steve talks about his current role with The Helen Brown Group, which he joined in 14 months ago. He also describes the challenges, emotions, and honor of serving as the Assistant Director of Data Analytics in New York City’s Mayor’s Office, as well as other roles he has held across his more than 15 years in prospect development.
Other highlights:
*Steve’s love of sociology, the idea of doing social research, the conceptuals of doing data analysis, the difference between things getting easier vs. seeing things from a 30,000-foot level
*Starting at the 16-minute mark, Steve describes in detail working in his beloved NYC in the Mayor’s Office during the earliest period of the Covid pandemic
*His "return" to the nonprofit sector – what motivated him to come back, connect and reconnect with nonprofit leaders, friends, and organizations
*Frustrations about DEI, private equity, and other issues within the nonprofit world – what are we adding to change and innovate our profession?
*Creating new structures in our roles to allow us to think more like data professionals
*At the 35-minute mark, the importance of aligning and compartmentalizing work and life, instead of rushing to decompress after work
We get really meta on numerous topics, including David Bowie and the flow of life, plus our commitment to continue our conversation in a second conversation! 

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 34: Brandie Evans, Legacy Preparatory Academy, Utah

Originally recorded and aired in winter 2022: In my last "People in Fundraising" episode published in 2022, Brandie Evans joins the program from her office at Utah-based Legacy Preparatory Academy. She details choosing a minor in Nonprofit Studies at the University of Utah, a first step in her eventual career with the nonprofit world.
Brandie talks about balancing her career pursuits with a young daughter and a diagnosis, as well as serving on the board of Legacy Preparatory Academy, which enrolls about 1,000 children. She went from a broad portfolio of responsibilities to focusing on events at Intermountain Healthcare Foundation.

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 33: Ruthie Giles

Originally recorded and aired in winter 2022: When someone is a Prospect Management Rock Star, you *must* interview that person! Ruthie Giles joins my “People in Fundraising” weekly podcast from western Massachusetts. In addition to her full-time role at Westfield State U., Ruthie works with clients around the world for Staupell Analytics Group. She describes the serendipitous moments that led to her career in prospect research and management – “not a straight line to anything.”
*How prospect management was not really built-out and then tied with prospect research
*How Ruthie built prospect management processes and structures in her nonprofits’ databases and asking lots of questions of leaders along the way
*How Ruthie connected with prospect development leader Marianne Pelletier of Staupell Analytics Group
*The exact moment when Ruthie knew she was hitting her stride in her career – “‘the mothership calling you home’ moment," as Ruthie calls it

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 32: Nhu Huynh

Originally recorded and aired in winter 2022: Nhu Huynh joins my weekly webcast to share her career journey. She has been at the U. of Chicago Booth School of Business for just under 1 year, after roles at Loyola University Chicago and Harvard.
Nhu talks about relocating to work fully remote, leaving and joining teams during the pandemic - and how her goal to manage a team of prospect development professionals has come about. Nhu mentions Amy Bagley Begg and Adele Beekman as people who helped her in the early days of Nhu's career.
Highlights of our really enjoyable and introspective conversation:
* Nhu is first-generation and the first child in her family to enroll in a 4-year higher ed. institution
* Her degrees in theological studies and philosophy, and Thomas Merton's "The Seven Storey Mountain"
* The 3 key reasons why Nhu does the work that she does in the nonprofit world
* Curious about how to manage people well and help the people she manages see themselves as leaders. Manage to peoples’ strengths. Strive to communicate well. Be clear about her own expectations. Is my vision clear? Are my expectations clear?
* Growth mindset over perfection/ impactful mindset over a Q mindset
* "Exposure to leaders at your organization is hard if you are not invited to the table"
* Following leaders of color on CASE Faculty and on LinkedIn, in particular Peter Hayashida, M.B.A.
* Would love to see more women of color in leadership positions.
* How to make prospect development a true community and stay invested in its evolution to welcome more young professionals and people of color.

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 31: James Cheng, Boston University

Originally recorded and aired in winter 2022: James Cheng is Boston University's inaugural Senior Director of Prospect Information Strategies. In our conversation, he talks about how this role, which he has held since March 2022, focuses on prospect analytics and pipeline development & management in support of BU's Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) office.
Highlights of our conversation:
*James' experience in computational philanthropy at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Memorial Sloan Kettering, and the differences and similarities with his higher ed. role (the pool is smaller, but the depth is deeper in higher ed.)
*"Computational philanthropy," which is an intriguing, new-to-me description of fundraising data science *"Machine learning is my jam" :-)
*Positive perceptional changes frontline fundraisers have shown about understanding and using computational philanthropy as an integral partner in development (e.g., some staff held on to an idea that "the narrative about this donor is not in the numbers")
*Any conversation with James will naturally include him excitedly talking about his passion for karaoke

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 30: Lydia Kamicar, Smithbucklin

Originally recorded and aired in fall 2022: Lydia Kamicar does a terrific job explaining the association management company Smithbucklin's involvement with client nonprofit organizations in Episode #30 of "People in Fundraising."
Highlights of our conversation:
*The years-long dynamics of discussing, planning, and running in-person events and online webinars with client leadership and committee volunteers - and how we bring that all to life!
*Moments that stand out over her 18 years' career at Smithbucklin - including her first-ever work conference in the face of dire external weather events and internal company changes
*The power and motivation of creativity in Lydia's professional and personal lives
*Focusing on audience/attendee engagement with constantly changing tech advancements and participants' learning goals
*Reflecting on what the last few years have been like and what they mean for our careers ahead.
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People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 29: Trina Landlord, Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation

Originally recorded and aired in fall 2022: November is Alaska Natives and Native American Heritage Month, and I am honored to have welcomed Trina Landlord to Episode #28 of “People in Fundraising.”
An Alaska Native of the Yup’ik tribe, Trina wonderfully and colorfully shares her personal and professional experiences working with Alaska-based non-profits that serve the 299 Indigenous tribes and 5 distinct cultural groups in the 49th state. She works in Anchorage, which is on the Dena’ina tribal land and is the 4th-largest U.S. city by land area.
Highlights of our conversation:
* Her passion is nonprofit work within the Alaska Native community
* The small community of nonprofit fundraisers in Alaska who come from the Alaska Native/Indigenous community
* General assumptions, misconceptions, and lack of awareness that people in the Lower 48 have about Alaska and the Indigenous Inuit peoples native to Alaska
*The answer is always no…until you ask 😉
* Trina’s emphasis on three R’s – respect, relationships, and reciprocity
* The significance of the raven (tulukaruq in Yup’ik) in Alaska Indigenous cultures. One is seen in a print behind Trina in our chat, titled “The Madonna of the Beginning of the Mountains to the North and to the South”