Suzy Myers Jackson didn’t expect to have a career in fundraising, but when the opportunity to lead an organization that aligned with her passion for theatre presented itself, she hit the ground running. After 17 years at Opening Act New York, Suzy became the Executive Director of SparkYouth NYC. Now, she’s bringing a refreshing style of tried and true fundraising opportunities to expand opportunities for young people in New York City.   What You Will Discover:  ✔️ We all learn from experience, but establishing a process to evaluate and adapt to those experiences can make all the diff ..read more

Melissa Hilton uses her diverse background to get the most out of the relationships she holds with her donors. As the Vice President of fundraising efforts for Erie Family Health, a $100M+ FQHC, you have to think outside of the box to not only maintain relationships with donors, but help them understand the most important needs of your organization, and the funds it requires to achieve that. Sherry and Melissa discuss FQHC's, the balancing act of managing your annual fund with a capital campaign, and dive into the details of how your relationships  truly impact your fundraising efforts ..read more

With over 40 years of experience, Mary Hiland knows what it takes to truly grow your nonprofit. In the ever evolving landscape, relationships have always been the utmost importance, and that includes the relationship with your board of directors. Mary wants to reshape the way we approach these relationships to get the most for your organization. Mary shares how her journey in the nonprofit sector inspired a passion for supporting executives in their leadership role with their boards. They discuss the responsibility of boards in fundraising, the decision-making process for executive directors ..read more

Maiya Holliday builds websites that make it easier for good people to do great work. And no, these aren’t just your corporate, run-of-the-mill, cookie cutter websites. These sites are built with accessibility at the forefront, making it easier for everyone to succeed and allowing businesses to reach new customers. Through her background in international development and nonprofit work, Maiya noticed many organizations lacked functioning websites and a sustainable web presence. As society became more dependent on the internet, many organizations were falling behind, unable to keep up with curren ..read more

When Arlene Siller reached a career crossroads, she knew she had a choice: continue trudging through a field that was no longer aligning with her personal values, or take a leap of faith and apply her skills in a completely new industry. She chose the latter and never looked back, entering the world of grant writing for nonprofits.  Arlene’s research background proved valuable as a grant writer. She had experience securing funds, but now she could help the causes she was passionate about raise the money they needed to fund their mission and strategic vision. She hit the ground running, ra ..read more

Bofta Yimam has quite the story. After an award winning career in television journalism, where she was always on the move, Bofta felt called to shift gears and apply her skills in a new field. That’s when she created StoryLede, a minority owned, female led marketing agency with the expertise to help businesses and individuals reach their strategic vision.  Bofta found that too many people were “burying the lede,” or not focusing on the human elements that made their story unique. How could a donor or customer trust you if they didn’t know who you were or what set you apart? With StoryLede ..read more

Erin McPartlin’s organization was doing important work, but conveying their purpose proved more difficult than she anticipated. They were experiencing an identity crisis, and donors just weren’t getting the message. Rather than racing forward, Erin slowed down, rebranded, and got to work on creating an effective and malleable strategic plan. Breaking out of their routine allowed Erin and the newly renamed “Tutoring Chicago” to establish infrastructure that supported the growth of her organization. Her methods, procedures, and goals were clearly defined, and donors responded in a big way. Tutor ..read more

Green City Market Executive Director Mandy Moody inherited an established nonprofit that’s growth was plateauing. Their work was essential in her community, but few outside of the nonprofit truly understood what that work was. How could she get their message to the world despite having so many responsibilities on her plate? The first step was figuring out what that message was. Then she had to communicate it to donors. With these goals in place, Green City Market quickly grew from $800k in annual revenue into a $1.6 million nonprofit. Now, they have both the resources and public knowledge to s ..read more

Rapid growth entails rapid changes. It also means recalibrating your nonprofit’s vision to fit with the current times. Brooke Richie-Babbage joins us to share her expertise in creating an efficient and honest strategic plan in five steps, making your donors a part of the outcome, finding your North Star, and setting up a finance engine that can fully fund your vision. Tune in to The Business Behind Fundraising — Setting Your Organization’s Strategic Vision with Brooke Richie-Babbage.  What You Will Discover:  ✔️ Organic response to growth can only get you so far. Brooke suggests bein ..read more

How many books have you already read? Articles you've saved for reference? People you've consulted? Workshops you've already attended? When it feels like the faucet's left dry and your fundraising efforts are still not working for your organization, it's time to seek a better way to address areas needing improvement and get help.  For STEM From Dance Executive Director Yamilée Toussaint Beach, she knew it was time to come to us when she decided it wasn't worth wasting months of her career and life trying to figure out how to reach donors on her own. She needed the right mindset in showing ..read more