First Day Podcast

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., is joined by Jasmin Johnson, executive director and founding staff member of the Baton Rouge Area Youth Network, to discuss fundraising for intermediary organizations. Unlike nonprofits that provide direct services, intermediaries strengthen the organizations doing that work through coordination, partnershi...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., is joined by Carla Knorowski, Ph. D., a veteran fundraiser and advancement leader whose work has included institutions such as The Henry Ford, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and the U.S.-based foundation supporting Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Knorowski shares how she became involved...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., is joined by Angela Seaworth, Ph. D., MBA, ACFRE, Instructional Associate Professor at the Bush School of Government & Public Service, Texas A&M University, to explore how fundraisers can move beyond annual and major gifts toward transformational giving. Seaworth explains that a transformational gift is not...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., is joined by Jeff Grandy, Vice President of Client Development at Catapult Fundraising, to discuss why every nonprofit should be thinking seriously about legacy giving, and why the best planned gift prospects may already be hiding in plain sight. Grandy explains that while surprise million-dollar bequests m...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., is joined by Lisa Chmiola, MS, CFRE, CSPG, Director of Legacy and Gift Planning for Children’s Medical Center Foundation in Dallas, to discuss how fundraisers can make planned giving less intimidating and build support for it across an entire nonprofit organization. Chmiola shares her own path into gift pla...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., is joined by Adrian Sargeant, Ph. D., co-director of the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy and a pioneering researcher in donor relationships, stewardship, and fundraising, to explore what it really means when fundraisers say that fundraising is “all about relationships.” Drawing on decades of research...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., is joined by Vicki Pugh, CFRE, CAP, CEO of Advancement Experts and longtime faculty member with The Fund Raising School, to explore how fundraisers can begin using artificial intelligence with confidence, curiosity, and a healthy dose of caution. Drawing on decades of fundraising experience, Pugh describes...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., is joined by Amanda Sattler, PhilD, consultant and researcher with Amanda Sattler Consulting, to examine fundraiser burnout and why solving it requires more than self-care. Drawing on more than 20 years of fundraising experience, including two significant periods of burnout in her own career, Sattler explai...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., is joined by Ted Grossnickle, CFRE, Senior Consultant and Chairman at JGA Counsel, to explore one of the nonprofit sector’s perennial challenges; meaningful board engagement. Grossnickle argues that board members often underestimate just how much influence they have on current and prospective donors, and th...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., tackles one of the most persistent questions in major gift fundraising: when is the right time to make the ask? Fundraisers may know the classic “six rights” of fundraising: the right person asking the right person for the right amount, for the right reason, in the right way, and at the right time. But that...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes Jeremy Wells, Senior Vice President of Philanthropic Services at the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation, to explore one of fundraising’s largest overlooked opportunities: non-cash giving. Fundraisers often focus on a donor’s income, checking account, or other liquid resources because, as Jeremy admi...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes back Rick Dunham, founder and chairman of Dunham & Company, to unpack the firm’s latest annual survey of donors. One of the biggest findings is a disconnect between donors’ personal finances and their perceptions of the broader economy. Donors reported feeling less financially stressed personally,...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., takes an analytical look at the 2026 Giving USA report, which reviews charitable giving in the United States during calendar year 2025. Bill begins with the headline that charitable giving reached $617 billion in current dollars, the highest total ever reported. He explains the difference between current do...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes Morgan Jessup, Director of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s for the Alzheimer’s Association in Indianapolis. Bill opens with a reality many fundraisers know well: some of the nonprofit sector’s most generous donors are members of the Boomer and Silent generations, and normal aging can sometimes bring ch...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes Julianne Read, founder and principal of E and E Fundraising & Events. Bill sets the stage by naming the rumors, myths, and legends that swirl around special events: they are either the ultimate fundraising solution, they never work, or they live somewhere in that wonderfully confusing middle ground...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes Christina Daniken, senior member of the research team at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and Editor-in-Chief, for Giving USA. The big headline: charitable giving in the United States reached $617.2 billion in 2025, growing 5% in current dollars and crossing the $600 billi...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes Karen Houghton, CEO and Founder of Infinite Giving, for a clear, lively, and highly practical conversation about endowments: what they are, why they matter, and when nonprofits should start thinking about them. Karen brings a rare mix of nonprofit leadership, technology, finance, venture capital, a...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes Soren Kaplan, PhD, nationally regarded educator, consultant, and author, for a practical and energizing conversation about nonprofit collaboration. Drawing from Soren's 2025 article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the episode asks a big question: why should fundraisers and nonprofit leade...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes Jasmin Graham, founder, president, and CEO of Minorities in Shark Sciences, for an energetic conversation about leadership, vision, representation, and yes, sharks. Jasmin shares how her lifelong connection to the ocean, her curiosity for science, and one fateful Twitter exchange with other Black w...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes Neelam Makhijani, Director of Strategy and Operations for SUVIDHA, for a lively and practical conversation about blended financing; bringing different kinds of funders together to create long-term social impact. Neelam explains that blended financing combines private capital, government support, co...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes Connie Falcone, JD, founder and CEO of Firefly Athlete, for a conversation about what fundraisers need to know when sports and philanthropy collide. Connie brings serious insider credentials: seven seasons leading Cubs Charities, a 2016 World Series ring, and the proud title of “Connie from the Cub...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes Janie Judd, founder and principal of Elevé, a national consulting firm that helps nonprofits “work better without losing what makes them human.” Their conversation tackles a challenge many mission-driven professionals know all too well: what happens when you care so deeply about the cause that you...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes Mladenka Majerić, CEO of the Yellow Dot Foundation in Croatia and an international leader in nonprofit effectiveness, fundraising culture, and philanthropic development across Europe. Bill and Mladenka first connected at the Central and Eastern European Fundraising Conference in Bratislava, Slovaki...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes back Phil Purcell, Director of Planned Giving for the Central Territory of The Salvation Army, a veteran faculty member at The Fund Raising School, and nationally recognized expert on planned giving, nonprofit law, and charitable organizations. Phil joins the conversation fresh from leadership role...

In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed. D., welcomes back Lindsay Marciniak, Managing Partner at CCS, for a data-rich conversation about the fifth edition of the Philanthropy Pulse Report. The report draws on responses from 618 nonprofit organizations across 47 states and 18 countries, giving fundraisers a broad look at both recent fundraising perfor...