The Intentional Fundraiser Podcast

Her gala cost $40K. Her dinner cost $200. Guess which one got a bigger gift. On this week's episode, I tell the story of two events that happened the same spring, one an eleven-month gala, one a Wednesday dinner for eight people. Only one of them led to real major gift conversations. It wasn't the expensive one. We walk through the 3P framework I now use with clients: purpose, people, program, plu...

6:30 a.m. Calendar chaos already. By 10 a.m., she hadn't talked to a single donor yet. Six months later, same alarm, same portfolio. Totally different morning. On this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I walk through what changed for a major gift officer named Renee, and exactly which categories of work she handed off to AI and automation, and which she never will. In this episode, Wor...

A gala put them on stage. Then ghosted them for good. Three community leaders invited up front, never contacted again. Zero gifts. One hurt feeling that traveled fast. On this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I tell that story next to a very different one. A major gift officer who spent four months building trust with a community before she ever made an ask. No agenda. No pitch. Just...

What if your major donors wanted to commit longer? Most of them already do. They just haven't been asked. In this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser podcast, I'm talking about one of the most underused strategies in major gifts: recurring and multi-year commitments. Not because donors resist them. Because most fundraisers don't have the language to invite them in. Here's what we cover: W...

$5k a year. For 12 years. Then she sold her business. The fundraiser said, "congratulations," and changed the subject. Sixty days later, with one different question, that same donor transferred $400,000 in appreciated stock before the sale closed. Same donor. Same relationship. Different question. This week on The Intentional Fundraiser, I'm pulling back the curtain on what most major gift teams a...

Your CEO is not your critic. They might be your scariest internal customer. Once I understood that, everything changed. For years I walked into meetings with my ED ready to defend my portfolio. Why hadn't the gift closed. Why we were behind. Why the donor needed more time. I left those meetings smaller. He left them more anxious. And the donor at the center of it had no idea any of it was happenin...

$150,000 gift. One question. 90 seconds. "Who is this changing for?" A development director walked into a meeting with a fund-of-funds founder and a 12-page impact report. He flipped through it in ninety seconds and asked one question: "Who is this changing for, and how do you know?" She closed the report. Told one story. Showed one chart. One photo. Nine minutes. Six days later, the $150K gift ca...

"You brought me a brochure, not a conversation." A donor said that to one of my clients. It changed how we prep every donor visit now. In this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser podcast, I share the story of a $250,000 ask that became a $400,000 partnership plus two warm introductions, all because we changed one thing. We stopped presenting. We started designing. Inside the episode you'l...

A $100,000 gift, made in a kitchen. The major gift officer wasn't there. Another donor was. ☕ She invited three friends over for coffee. She told them why she gave. She didn't pitch. She didn't ask. Six weeks later, one of those friends called me ready to make a major gift. That moment changed how the major gift officer thinks about major gift strategy. 🎙️ On this week's episode of The Intentiona...

Bad metrics ruin good fundraisers. Slowly. Quietly. Cycle after cycle. And almost nobody on the team is allowed to say it out loud. In this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I'm sharing why the metrics most major gift programs lean on, raw visit counts, dollars to goal, dials made, often miss the actual work. I'm walking through: → The hidden cost of using lagging indicators to coach b...

Pruning isn't loss. It's care. For years, fundraisers have been told that a bigger portfolio means a healthier pipeline. In my experience, the opposite is usually true. A focused list closes more gifts, and a focused fundraiser feels more human at the end of the week. In this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I walk through the four lenses I use to decide who stays on an active portfol...

"Fuzzy is the enemy of yes." That line came up this week while I was recording the podcast. And I cannot stop thinking about it. Most major gift offers I see in 2026 are not failing because the relationship is weak or the mission is unclear. They are failing because the offer itself is fuzzy. A program description with a price tag at the bottom is not an offer. It is a proposal. And sophisticated...

Two donors. Same problem. Completely different outcomes. One development officer waited too long to call. By the time she reached out about a delayed project, the donor had already pulled back. A significant gift quietly disappeared. The other officer called early. She was honest. She said, "Here's what happened, here's what we learned, and here's what we did to fix it." The donor's response? "I r...

Too many tools? Too little clarity? And not enough hours to manage it all? This episode is for you. On this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I talk about what a healthy major gifts tech stack actually looks like, and what to do about everything that's built up around it. We cover the four core tech categories that matter for major gifts work, a five-criteria framework for evaluating a...

AI won’t replace your voice, but it can help amplify it. I’ve been talking with so many fundraisers who want to try AI but worry their donor communication will start sounding robotic. I get it. Authenticity matters more than ever in twenty‑twenty‑six. On this week’s Intentional Fundraiser Podcast , I’m sharing how I use AI to draft and refine messages that still sound like me, while saving preciou...

My calendar used to tell on me. I’d get to Friday and realize I’d spent the whole week in meetings, email, and “urgent” internal stuff… while my top donors barely heard from me. Sound familiar? In my latest episode of The Intentional Fundraiser , I share how I started treating my calendar like a major gift strategy tool, not a suggestion box. I walk through the three time blocks that changed every...

Your next major donor might already be giving I’ve seen so many mid-level donors quietly reading emails, showing up at events, and faithfully giving year after year, without ever being invited into a deeper conversation. When we finally slow down, notice their behavior, and map a simple journey from “thank you” to “tell me what matters most to you,” everything starts to change. Gifts grow, trust d...

When one question unlocks three streams of giving In this week’s episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share the story of a longtime donor whose impact multiplied once we connected his personal philanthropy with his role as a corporate leader. We walk through practical ways to spot those “blended” opportunities, bring corporate options into donor conversations without feeling salesy, and use AI...

The biggest donors aren’t “the future” anymore. They’re already here. In my latest episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share what I’m seeing as younger, women, and values‑driven donors rewrite the rules of major giving. From shorter cultivation cycles to co‑designing impact and bringing families and circles into the conversation, I walk you through real stories and practical moves you can sta...

Your case might be costing you 7‑figure gifts. In my latest episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share why so many cases still sound like they were written in 2019, and how I’m helping leaders like you update them for a 2026 donor mindset. I walk through the five elements of a modern case, where AI can truly help, and how to pressure‑test your message with trusted donors so they lean in instea...

One donor should never control your budget. In this week’s episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share a story of a strong organization that felt “safe” until one major donor hit pause and everything started to wobble. We walk through how to map your top 20 donors, spot concentration risk, and start multi‑year commitment conversations that make your portfolio far more shock‑resistant. How expos...

Your discovery calls shouldn’t feel like a test. In my latest Intentional Fundraiser episode, I walk through how I help fundraisers turn tense, scripted discovery calls into relaxed, donor-centered conversations that still move major gifts forward. We unpack a simple four part framework, real examples of questions that open people up, and a practical way to use AI so you can listen more and type l...

Leaders keep derailing donor visits? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched a beautifully teed‑up donor conversation go sideways the moment a well‑intentioned CEO or board member “pops in” unbriefed. You’ve done the research, built the relationship, framed the invitation…and then the message gets fuzzy, the energy shifts, and the donor walks away more confused than inspired. In my latest epi...

“More touches” are burning teams out 😅 I talk with so many fundraisers who are trying to do heartfelt, hyper-personal stewardship for everyone… and ending up exhausted, guilty, and behind by December. In my latest episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share a simple 3-tier stewardship system I have used for years to keep donor care personal, scalable, and sustainable. We get into: The burnout...

AI is already in your donor meetings. I’ve been hearing from so many fundraisers who feel torn. You want to use AI to save time, but you do not want donors to feel like they are talking to a robot instead of a real person. In my latest episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share how I use AI as a quiet research assistant, not a replacement for human connection. 🤝 I walk through a real world wo...