People in Fundraising: A Nonprofit Podcast by Tim Wilson

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 11: Olga Woltman of LemonSkies

Interviewing another nonprofit podcast host, Olga Woltman, was a terrific and very enjoyable time! Among her many contributions to the social impact sector, Olga is the founder and host of "People of Substance," a nonprofit podcast similar in theme to my "People in Fundraising." I became aware of Olga and her podcast through LinkedIn, and welcoming her as a guest was a treat.
Among our topics of conversation, Olga shares:
* Her career in the nonprofit and nonprofit-adjacent sectors, at agencies or at nonprofit shops - including Olga launching fundraising communications and marketing company LemonSkies about 5 years ago. She also shares the lessons learned in starting this business with purpose, nimbleness, and trying to be fearlessly objective.
* Olga's volunteer leadership role and tenure at The ALS Association, BRAWS (which provides resources for women's shelters) and Special Olympics Virginia.
* "It is hard to exit the nonprofit world because there is such a sense of purpose" in what we do.
* How launching LemonSkies contributed to Olga's suite of skills development to find optimal solutions for her clients, including the need to quickly shift and re-focus as well as how compartmentalization can crop up in this work. "Structure yourself for your work so that you optimize your results."
* The impetus for Olga to launch her LemonSkies-affiliated podcast, "People of Substance." So many great insights here about being deliberate, pacing yourself, and the joy of connecting with other people.
Thank you Olga for a fascinating conversation, and I appreciate the energy and enjoyment that you put into our profession through your volunteering, your client work, and your podcast!

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 10: Jessica Balsam, University of Washington

Artist, longtime Apra volunteer, and prospect management leader Jessica Balsam joins "People in Fundraising" to talk about all of these topics and more! One of the topics I was really interested in hearing from Jessica about was the Inclusive Design Framework and centering marginalized people in feedback loops in her development work.* Her background in a variety of art forms (glass blowing, etc.) and working in the food service industry before serendipitously working in the development shop at an arts office. She oversaw data management work, "which is funny, considering I was an arts major who avoided any class that wasn't in the Humanities!"* Why prospect management "calls to" Jessica due to its opportunities for analysis and data-wrangling.* Why Jessica's involvement with Apra has kept her in prospect development, instead of other interesting areas such as institutional research. Among initiatives Jessica has helped to compile and share is Apra's Advocacy Toolkit.* Outside of work, Jessica's interests in art and music, including karaoke (paging season 1 guest James Cheng!), mentioned around the 29-minute mark. She sang karaoke with a bunch of friends at the Apra PD conference in New Orleans!

People inFundraising, season 3 ep. 9: Peter Hayashida,

I am honored to feature Peter Hayashida, with whom I had breakfast this morning at the CASE District VII and District VIII Conference in Anaheim, CA! It was so great to meet Peter in-person.
The first guest to represent Hawaii in "People in Fundraising," Peter's interview is a delightful and really engaging overview of his extensive fundraising career. We cover a variety of topics, including:
* Peter's first year as a Senior Consultant and Principal at renowned development consulting firm Marts & Lundy.
* Peter's passion for and commitment to the intersection of diversity, equity, and inclusion in fundraising/social impact.
* Peter's lengthy involvement as a leading volunteer with CASE, and how additional commitments of time, effort, and attention actually can be recharging.
* Being a storyteller and someone who, throughout Peter's career, has sought to help others realize their potential - and who did the same for him when Peter's career was beginning.
Several "People in Fundraising" guests mentioned to me that they follow and admire Peter for his longstanding commitment to the fundraising world and to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts in this space.
I am grateful that Peter agreed to be a guest so our audience can hear from him on this crucial topics. Thank you, Peter, for a fascinating conversation!

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 7: Sharise Harrison

A native of D.C., philanthropy game-changer Sharise Harrison joins "People in Fundraising" to talk about her extensive career experience in nonprofit prospect development. I was really excited to welcome Sharise as a guest, because among other attributes, Sharise is a frequent public speaker on a wide range of social impact topics and has volunteered at the highest levels in our profession. Her conversation is rich with detais about her career journey.
Among other topics, Sharise discusses:
* Working as an Apra International board liaison to Apra's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Justice, and Access (DEIBJA) Committee. Specifically, Sharise talks about the committee's work to create space for DEIBJA offerings in all of Apra's content offerings.
* Sharise's professional involvement with nonprofit organization The Inclusion Firm.
* How Sharise first became acquainted with nonprofit work as a career.
* Sharise being a student of metaphysics and how this shapes her worldview.
* How Sharise's involvement as a panelist with what is now called Apra's "Data Science Now" led her to become even more focused on data science in her career.
* Mentorship provided by Sharise's former manager Amy Carrier, and what she's applied to her career from interacting with Amy.
Thank you Sharise for such a broad, deeply moving, and fascinating conversation! I am honored to share your insights with our audience.

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 6: Vanessa Boyle of Hoag Hospital Foundation

Vanessa Boyle joins "People in Fundraising" to talk about, in her own powerful words, "reflection and feeling joyous in a career that so many of us adore and love." And she does a terrific job describing those sentiments in our conversation!
Vanessa also discusses:
* Going from prospect development in a higher ed setting to healthcare, and hitting her one-year mark at Hoag Hospital Foundation in Newport Beach, California.
* The importance of showcasing prospect development in all-staff fundraising meetings, getting a seat at the table, and being seen as valued partners with development leadership - as well as a shift from "administrative" prospect research (such as event bios) to "analytical" prospect development to "create efficiencies and precise reporting."
* Her reaction to this quote from Anne Helen Petersen and Charlie Warzel: "We love to talk about kids’ personalities, how unique and weird and joyful they are. We don’t grow out of those characteristics so much as subsume them with duties. But they remain building blocks of our humanness, the enduring difference between us and robots. We must preserve [and rediscover those] not because they allow us to rest and, as such, make us better workers – because they anchor us to who, at heart, we’ve always been." Vanessa provides an excellent answer that ties in to Artificial Intelligence, differences of opinion, speaking up, and other dynamics.
Thank you Vanessa for your warmth, expertise, and insights about your career to-date! This was such a fun and informative conversation,

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 5: Mark Egge of Itasca Partners

Mark Egge covers a fascinating array of topics with great insights and humor in our "People in Fundraising" conversation. We talk about his founding role at his prospect development, reporting, data, and dashboards firm Itasca Partners.
(Mark: "It's named for the headwaters of the Mississippi River." Tim: "Cool! I thought it was named for the ship that was the last to be in contact with, and helped search for, Amelia Earhart.")
Rolling with my history-loving geek-ness, Mark discusses:
* His career in prospect development and what led him to launch Itasca Partners
* His involvement with Apra at the local chapter level and later as President of Apra International. "Getting involved with the Apra is the single best career decision I have ever made."
* The importance of presence and intentionality in his work.
* How to build and maintain social connections in work and life, and creating little moments of connecting, "like a little piece of art, in conversation."
This was a really fast-paced, hilarious, and engaging interview, Mark! Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm for prospect development and larger nonprofit work, and for your volunteer leadership example in Apra.

People in Fundraising, season 3, ep. 4: IESE Business School's Paola Horvath

International Development Officer Paola Horvath joins "People in Fundraising" from Spain - my second guest so far from Europe! Paola and I first became connected about 10 years ago via Nida Januskis, with whom I worked at HBS and Paola worked at INSEAD in Paris.
In our really enjoyable conversation focusing on international fundraising, Paola discusses:
* How fundraising is growing in the Latin America region and what excites Paola about this trend. Paola also shares current challenges.
* How Paola transitioned from business intelligence and prospect research on donors, to her current role as an international philanthropy director.
* A native of South America who is half-Uruguayan, Paola's general experiences living in 7 countries, and how this has helped Paola see how interconnected our world is. "It is a humbling experience," Paola says. "You see how beautiful their landscape is, how simple foods are prepared in so many different ways. People are resilient."
Paola, thank you for a fantastic interview! I am so glad that we reconnected and am delighted to feature you as a guest, with your terrific insights.

People in Fundraising season 3, ep. 3: Stephanie Brouwer

Stephanie Brouwer is my first guest to represent Indiana in "People in Fundraising," and she makes the Hoosier State proud!
Speaking of Indiana, Stephanie excitedly discusses having the 2023 Apra International Prospect Development conference in Indianapolis; she chaired the conference planning committee, a lengthy volunteer leadership commitment lasting over a year.
 
Stephanie also covers:
* What she is passionate about in social impact philanthropy
* Embracing being herself, with confidence and authenticity
* Stephanie's reply to a famous quote by jazz legend Miles Davis: "Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself."
* The importance and impact of community in one's professional and personal lives.
 
Thank you Stephanie for such an engaging and touching conversation!

People in Fundraising, Season 3, Ep. 2: Joan Ogwumike and Elizabeth Roma, The Obama Foundation

In a "People in Fundraising" first, we feature an interview with two guests who are also coworkers: prospect development veterans Joan Ogwumike and Elizabeth Roma, of The Obama Foundation!
Our conversation airs almost 15 years to the day of President Obama's first inauguration in 2009.
Joan and Elizabeth discuss their careers in prospect management and research; what trends and developments Elizabeth has seen over her 25-year career; and Joan's professional blog, "A Researcher's Diary."
Elizabeth and I served for a few years on Apra International's Online Content Committee.
And in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day today, both Joan and Elizabeth share their thoughts on Dr. King's message from his Dexter Avenue Baptist Church sermon in 1957: "“Love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals."
Thank you Elizabeth and Joan for a wonderful conversation!

People in Fundraising: Michelle Flores Vryn

People in Fundraising's third season kicks off with a fascinating conversation featuring top nonprofit leadership voice Michelle Flores Vryn! Among many intriguing topics, Michelle discusses:
1. what topics (DEI, burn-out, workplace balance, etc.) drive her level of engagement among social sector people and causes in her LinkedIn activity
2. Michelle's love of talking about the future of philanthropy and AI; how she stays current with emerging trends and developing thought leaders in these topics; what excites and gives her cause for concern about the future of philanthropy and AI (together and/or separately)
3. Michelle's daily habit of meditating (since June 2008) 
4. Her involvement with AFP GlobalThank you, Michelle, for such an engaging and rich conversation!