When Becky Carlino walked in as the first-ever VP of Development at Volunteers of America of Massachusetts, the donor base had collapsed from roughly 2,000 active donors to fewer than 100. The reason? The organization had stopped talking to them.
Becky has spent 25+ years doing the relational work that makes fundraising actually work, including leading two successful capital campaigns at VOA Ohio & Indiana. Now she's rebuilding from the ground up, and her blueprint starts with one word: love. 🩵
In this episode, you'll hear:
- How to rebuild donor trust after years of silence, and why the first move is simpler than you think
- How shifting from a donor-hero narrative to a shoulder-to-shoulder model changes not just your messaging but the entire relationship donors have with your mission
- Why your instincts as a fundraiser matter more than you think
You'll walk away with a back-to-basics playbook for rebuilding donor relationships, one newsletter, one story, and one $5 gift at a time.
Episode Highlights:
- (4:28) Becky's origin story: national parks, history, and a historical society
- (6:13) Why Volunteers of America is "in the love business"
- (9:04) From 2,000 donors to under 100
- (11:47) The first six months of rebuilding
- (13:57) What builds a great fundraising program
- (15:12) Centering love in donor storytelling
- (18:31) Removing the agency from the story
- (24:17) Trust your expertise: the one good thing
Episode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/750
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