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In this episode, discover why impatiently “watching” your donors actually blocks generosity—and how to shift into “watering” relationships with trust, patience, and consistent care. Learn the WATER method to move from transactional fundraising to transformational connection.   Key Takeaways: Lasting donor relationships are built by tending to them consistently, not by pushing for quick outcomes or instant results. Anxiety-driven behaviors—like over-checking email or over-following up—often come from fear and self-doubt, not from what donors actually need. Adding value without expecting an immediate gift shifts relationships from transactional to transformational and builds deeper trust. Trusting the timing means allowing people to move at their own pace while still using clear systems and follow-ups to keep the relationship moving forward. Learning to truly receive and celebrate “blooms”—gifts, compliments, progress—reinforces your sense of worth and keeps you open to unexpected forms of support.   “Consistency builds trust more than intensity.”   “You can't rush readiness. Timing is part of the relationship. It's not a problem to solve.”   “Your job isn't to make it happen faster. Your job is to just keep watering, keep cultivating, instead of checking for results, asking yourself, ‘how am I tending to what matters?’”  - Maryanne Dersch     Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Dave LeVan is President and CEO of Water for Good. They transform lives by providing access to reliable water, sanitation, and hygiene in needy communities. He recently led a merger with Lifewater International.    Key Takeaways: Successful mergers start as honest conversations about where each organization wants to go and what assets they bring, not as a rushed decision to combine. Fear of change is universal, even among leaders who specialize in transformation, so acknowledging loss, grief, and uncertainty is essential. Over-communicating the “why” behind big changes, long after leaders are tired of saying it, is what finally helps staff, donors, and partners internalize the vision. Honoring history and founders while clearly articulating a new shared identity allows people to see the merger as an evolution, not an erasure. When nonprofits collaborate and share proven models instead of staying in silos, they can dramatically increase impact, sometimes doubling the number of people served without doubling revenue.   “People just want to be seen and heard, even more so than they want to be right.”   “We don't have to double our revenue to double our impact.”   “You need to communicate and communicate and communicate and keep sharing that vision.”- Dave LeVan   Reach out to Dave LeVan at: Website: https://waterforgood.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/water4good/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/water_for_good LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidlevan/     Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Key Takeaways: The Donor Flow Framework moves donors through four stages: Aware, Interest,  Connect, and Act. Awareness and interest are often handled well, but true giving comes when people feel personally connected. The real gap is in the Connect stage. Without structured opportunities for meaningful interaction, donors may like your work but won’t feel invested enough to take action. Small, consistent, and low-risk events like lunches, behind-the-scenes tours, or after-hours experiences turn interest into real relationships. Regular, predictable opportunities make engagement repeatable and sustainable. Fundraising is about influence. Meeting people where they are, providing value first, and creating consistent follow-up builds trust and long-term support.   “Systematize to stabilize.”   “Connection… is where people feel important, where people feel loved, and where people see that they just don’t say, ‘I’m interested in you.’ They say, ‘I feel personally connected to what’s happening to your cause.’”   “The biggest shift of all is that fundraising isn’t about tactics. It’s about influence.” - Maryanne Dersch       Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Sally is the founder and CEO of Commonwell Marketing, a heart-centered marketing and leadership firm that helps nonprofits and rural health organizations stand out. A former brain injury rehabilitation therapist turned marketer, Sally brings a rare blend of art and science to her work—applying the neuroscience of belonging, trust, and human connection to marketing, communications, and leadership strategy. Key Takeaways: Sally’s work sits at the intersection of neuroscience and marketing, showing that effective nonprofit communication isn’t about doing more, but about doing less with intention—simple visuals, few words, and a clear emotional hook consistently outperform dense, information-heavy messaging. Emotion is the gateway to attention and memory. According to Sally, nonprofits have 2–8 seconds to spark an emotional response; if they start with data dumps, history lessons, or program lists, the brain simply checks out to conserve energy. Instead of trying to make people care, great nonprofit marketing finds and attracts people whose lived experience and “philanthropic heart” are already aligned with the cause—shifting from convincing and chasing to resonating and inviting. The “energy” behind communication matters just as much as the words: desperate, scarcity-based, or pushy outreach is neurologically and emotionally repelling, while servant leadership, curiosity, and genuine human connection build trust, oxytocin-driven bonding, and long-term engagement. Rural health organizations face unique pressures—funding volatility, hospital closures, staffing shortages—but Sally stresses that no amount of new programs or technology will transform outcomes without strategic, trust-building communication that makes patients feel seen, safe, and confident choosing local care. “More stuff for the sake of stuff is not what the world needs from marketers.”  “There has to be something in it that triggers a neural response in our brain of emotion… at roughly two to eight seconds, you've got to capture an emotion enough to get attention, then people's brains start to wander.” “There is no transformation without engagement and connection, because they don't know that you have a cool new telemedicine, or who it's for, or… why would I want to trust it?” – Sally Mildren Reach out to Sally Mildren at: Website: commonwellmarketing.com / theleadershipcafe.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@christiansforimpact/videos Book: https://www.christiansforimpact.org/getbook       Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

JD Bauman is the executive director of Christians for Impact and co-author of a new book on effective altruism, All the Lives. You can change how you turn good intentions into real impact. It shows how you could move beyond. Feel good philanthropy, I make a maximum Impact on problems that you care about. JD spends most of his time helping analytically minded Christians find careers that have maximum social impact or donate effectively. Key Takeaways: Passion is what brings people into mission-driven work, but it’s not enough to create meaningful change. JD emphasizes that without data and evidence, even well-intentioned efforts can unintentionally cause harm or fall short of their potential. Pairing heart with strategy is what turns care into real-world impact. Not all good actions are equally effective, and that distinction matters. JD illustrates how some interventions can be hundreds of times more impactful than others, even when both are “doing good.” Understanding cost-effectiveness allows leaders to multiply the difference they make. “Band-aid” solutions are often criticized, but they can still create life-changing outcomes. In a world where immediate suffering exists, practical, scalable interventions such as poverty relief and disease prevention can dramatically improve lives today. Long-term systemic change and short-term relief must coexist. The nonprofit sector often lags in innovation due to fear of risk and failure. Unlike startups, many organizations continue programs that don’t work because shutting them down feels unacceptable. JD argues that testing, failing, and iterating are essential to discovering truly impactful solutions. “In the real world, we don't have an impact just by caring about something.” “If you want to be someone that has a maximum impact possible, that really wants to make the most of everything you've been given and do the most good possible, then it's going to require a heart and a head as well.” “If you don't take those risks, you're never going to find what works.” - JD Bauman Reach out to JD Bauman at: Website: https://www.christiansforimpact.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/christians-for-impact/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christiansforimpact/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@christiansforimpact/videos Book:  https://www.christiansforimpact.org/getbook    Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Naomi Hattaway is the founder of Leaving Well, a practice devoted to helping organizations treat leadership transitions not as crises or cleanups—but as acts of cultural maturity. She works with mission-driven teams to address board development, succession planning gaps, and workplace transition support. Through interim executive leadership and advisory services, Naomi's work lives at the intersection of trust-building, systems change, and the radical belief that how we end things matters just as much as how we begin.   Key Takeaways: Leadership changes are often treated as crises even though they are normal and predictable. Naomi reframes exits as acts of cultural maturity rather than simple HR events. Thoughtful offboarding helps organizations create healthy closure and continuity. Transitions affect not only leaders but also the team that remains. Founder departures can trigger identity questions when organizations are built around one personality. Acknowledging grief and uncertainty helps teams move forward with clarity. Succession planning should involve the whole team, not just top leadership. Documentation, relationship handoffs, and knowledge transfer strengthen organizational resilience. Sabbaticals and temporary leaves can help organizations practice navigating absence and return. People respond to change in different ways, and each style brings value. Understanding these differences helps teams balance stability with forward movement. Healthy organizations accept that transition is messy but handle it with intention and care.   “We need to normalize the reality that people leave.”   “We put so much effort and beautiful intention into the onboarding, and then the offboarding is not the same level of energy.”   “We have to start somewhere by being a little bit better to each other when it comes to goodbye.” - Naomi Hattaway   Reach out to Naomi Hattaway at: Website: https://naomihattaway.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/naomihattaway LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/naomihattaway       Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Key Takeaways: Fundraising rooted in pressure and extraction erodes trust over time. Sustainable support grows from community, shared values, and genuine connection. When relationships lead, generosity follows naturally. Over-following up and manufactured urgency often reveal anxiety, not strategy. Constant pressure weakens credibility and exhausts donors. Abundance thinking creates calmer, more effective leadership. Caring about a mission is not enough to spark giving. Donors contribute when they feel seen, heard, and connected to something meaningful. Relationship transforms passive belief into active generosity. A “no” rarely means disinterest or lack of care. Staying curious and honoring dignity preserves long-term trust. Valuing the person over the transaction builds lasting loyalty.   “Manufactured emergency undermines your credibility. If our relationships are rooted in trust... manufactured urgency breaks that trust, and it is a tool of manipulation.”   “Curiosity keeps relationships alive. Assumptions shut them down.”   “When we stop treating generosity like it's running out, fundraising gets quieter and more effective.”  - Maryanne Dersch     Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Heidi is a nonprofit communicator passionate about helping civic tech, human services, and food access organizations tell clear, human-centered stories. She believes marketing carries great responsibility and shapes how communities understand and access support. As the founder of Heidi Kerr Strategies, she loves building thoughtful campaigns and social videos that earn trust and inspire action.   Key Takeaways: Marketing in nonprofits is not just about fundraising but about shaping how communities understand and access support. When treated as strategy and education, it becomes core to the mission, not an afterthought. Short-form, phone-shot videos often outperform highly produced content. Imperfect, human storytelling builds more trust than scripted perfection ever could. Pair real stories with data while protecting dignity and consent. The person sharing their experience should be the hero, not a prop for fundraising. Strong marketing equips teams with reusable tools, aligned messaging, and clear goals. Capacity-building creates momentum that lasts beyond a single campaign.   “When you ask them to create a short form video… ‘who is the star?’ And my answer to that is the people you serve - the humans in your organization.”   “The data is out there that those little videos - informal, authentic - they outperform anything fully branded or anything fully produced.”   “One thing I just can't talk about is ethical storytelling and trauma-informed storytelling, and the importance of ensuring that you're not having people perform for their poverty.”- Heidi Kerr   Reach out to Heidi Kerr at: Website: heidikerr.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidikerr/ Substack: https://substack.com/@heidikerr Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidikerr/     Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

As a fundraising consultant and coach, Perry helps nonprofits develop strategies, systems, and relationships to improve their fundraising yield. She believes in creating environments that nurture all gifts - time, talent, treasure, testimony, and ties - honoring how each person is uniquely suited to make a difference within their community.   Key Takeaways: Donors are partners who bring time, talent, treasure, testimony, and ties. When relationships are rooted in shared values and trust, financial support follows naturally. Sustainable fundraising honors the whole person rather than treating giving as a transaction.Scarcity culture fuels burnout, fear, and reactive decision-making. An abundance mindset focuses on transformation, sustainability, and long-term impact. Organizations that move beyond survival thinking create healthier outcomes for both staff and communities.Burnout drains capacity, while moral injury erodes trust and integrity. Misalignment between stated values and lived behavior is a common source of harm. Naming these dynamics is the first step toward healing individuals and institutions.True alignment requires that daily actions reflect the organization's declared values. Healthy conflict and psychological safety strengthen culture more than surface-level niceness. Leadership grounded in empathy and the Platinum Rule fosters belonging and lasting engagement.  “People who show up to give, they often don’t just want to write a check. They want to do whatever they can to help a cause that means something to them.”   “Let’s stop flattening people. Let’s treat volunteers and donors with the same level of respect. Let’s not just keep putting money on this pedestal.”   “We want to treat people the way they want to be treated. We want to honor them. We want to acknowledge them. We don’t want to just dismiss them and act like our way is the only way.” - Perry Radford   Reach out to Perry Radford at: Website: radphilanthropy.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/perryradford/       Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Key Takeaways: Chasing a yes often comes from anxiety, not intention, and people can feel that pressure immediately. When you stop needing a specific outcome, your tone relaxes and trust increases naturally. Your role is to help others decide freely, not to manage your own fear through follow-ups.Momentum shows up as shared energy, mutual curiosity, and agreed-upon next steps. Chasing looks like one-sided check-ins, escalating urgency, and tension after sending messages. Learning to tell the difference protects your time and preserves relational integrity.People avoid giving honest answers when saying no feels costly or awkward. Explicit permission to decline reduces avoidance and leads to faster, cleaner decisions. Trust grows when people feel respected, regardless of what they choose.Fantasy relationships rely on polite delays that sound like yes but function as no. Booking the next meeting during the current one turns vague interest into real movement. When someone will not schedule a follow-up, it is often wiser to release than to pursue.  “Pressure is when a donor feels managed. Relationship is when they feel respected.”   “A fantasy relationship just means that you’re not able to be honest. So you’re both pretending… because nobody knows what to say to actually get you out of it.”   “The more permission you give people to say no, the more likely they are to say yes.”  - Maryanne Dersch       Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Key Takeaways: Lasting fundraising growth does not come from better tactics alone but from changing the internal narratives that drive behavior. Coaching addresses fear, money stories, and self-doubt that silently undermine even the best strategies.Fundraising leaders often carry invisible baggage that affects how they show up with donors and teams. Coaching builds awareness, emotional neutrality, and sovereignty by separating facts from stories and reducing reactive behavior.Effective fundraising leaders coach boards and staff through fear, avoidance, and shame rather than simply training them. Through questions, accountability, and normalized discomfort, coaching creates ownership without blame.Over-functioning leaders burn out when they carry all the emotional and relational weight alone. Coaching redistributes responsibility, strengthens collaboration, and removes leaders as the bottleneck in fundraising efforts.  “Strategy is great. Training is great. You need both those things, but mostly they do not shift your mindset. They do not shift your thinking.”   “Sovereignty means you own your own thoughts, choices, and actions. You do not outsource your confidence to outcomes, and you do not let no define your worth or competence.”   “At its heart, fundraising is a team sport. When you coach instead of carry, you stop being the bottleneck.”  - Maryanne Dersch     Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Key Takeaways: Fundraising nos and prolonged indecision often reflect emotional readiness, not the quality of the ask. Letting go of over-attachment to a yes allows fundraisers to listen more clearly.The Map of Consciousness offers a practical way to understand donor behavior without ranking people as better or worse. Effective fundraising adapts presence and strategy to a donor’s current emotional state.Lower emotional states call for safety and acknowledgment rather than solicitation. Courage is the turning point where donors become open to clear, values-based asks.Repeated follow-up does not move donors emotionally; trust and presence do. When a relationship leads, financial support follows.  “The issue isn’t your ask. It isn’t your words. It isn’t your case. It’s that the ask is happening at the wrong level of readiness.”   “You cannot argue your way into a yes.”   “Love doesn’t need a pitch; it needs a pathway.”  - Maryanne Dersch     Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Key Takeaways: Centering fundraising on genuine care, honesty, and alignment creates trust and long-term support rather than transactional gains. Actions from authentic relationships feel meaningful, while actions solely for money feel manipulative.Loving donor relationships are honest, authentic, and aligned. They are not transactional or performative, and both the donor and organization benefit from shared values and mutual yeses.Applying love languages in fundraising—words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, meaningful gifts, and shared experiences—builds connection without pressure or manipulation. Each interaction should reflect respect, care, and intention.Listening, personalization, and alignment are critical. Engaging only with donors who resonate with the organization’s mission fosters sustainable giving, while letting go of misaligned relationships protects energy, trust, and long-term impact.  “If we are doing things for our donors because we genuinely love and care about them… that’s a loving relationship.”   “Love languages don’t replace integrity. They express integrity.”   “Healthy donor relationships don’t come from saying the right thing. They come from being in the right relationship.” - Maryanne Dersch       Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Key Takeaways: 90 days is long enough to get something done, but short enough that there’s some urgency to it. The 90-day MOST stands for Mission, Objective, Strategy, and Tactics. It accounts for having an overall vision and creating simple strategies to implement each quarter. We need to have a clear vision so that we know what we’re looking for. Before creating a plan, take time to create a vision board. Visualize what you want to create in your life and depict it in your vision board. Once you have a vision, determine an objective. Then, create three strategies that will serve to achieve that objective. Under each strategy, create three simple tactics. Keep it simple.   “90 days has been studied to be very effective. It's long enough to get something done. But it's short enough that you there's some urgency to it.”   “We create the vision. And then from that vision, we create the plan. But we don't want to plan while creating the vision, because we wind up talking ourselves out of doing some bold things.”   “We're keeping it very, very simple. The more complicated you make this, the less likely it's going to work for you. So you pick what would make this quarter be the win for you.”  - Maryanne Dersch   Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Key Takeaways: Reframe goals as guides, not judgments. Traditional output-focused goals can create pressure and burnout; goals should inform your direction, not define your worth or success.Wrap up the year holistically. Reflect on wins, surprises, and growth beyond numeric targets, release what no longer serves you, and recognize internal and relational progress as real achievements.Make goals human-centered, not just metric-centered. Reframing SMART goals to be Supportive, Meaningful, Aligned, Relational, and Tension-free ensures they strengthen trust, connection, and values alongside traditional metrics.Measure relationships, not just money. Track trust, reciprocity, affinity, consistency, and advocacy to prioritize connection and mission impact, understanding that financial outcomes naturally follow strong relational foundations.  “Goals aren't good or bad. They are just what they are. They are information.”   “If we're only measuring our worth by input and output, we're really missing a lot on what we're doing and the progress that we're making.”   "Work can be joyful. Grace, ease, joy is sustainable. Hustle and grind is not.” - Maryanne Dersch       Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker