Huddle Up with Mark The Fund Coach

You know you should stay connected with your major donors. But what do you say when you’re not asking them for money? Too often, nonprofits confuse communicating with donors with actually building relationships. Newsletters, annual reports, event invitations, and appeals all have a role—but sending more communications doesn’t necessarily create a deeper connection. In this episode of Huddle Up with Mark The Fund Coach, Mark explores how Major Gift Leaders create meaningful donor touchpoints based on what they’ve learned about the individual donor. You’ll learn why donor discovery should shape future interactions, how to find genuine reasons to reach out, why not every conversation needs to move someone closer to an ask, and how a simple message—“I remember what matters to you”—can communicate something far more powerful than another cultivation tactic. Because relationship fundraising isn’t about pretending to care. It’s taking the time to actually care. Want more practical Major Gift Leadership ideas? Join The Weekly Huddle FREE: https://www.thefundcoach.com/opt-in  

Your organization needs to raise money. So the board starts asking: Who can we ask? But if that's when you begin building relationships with prospective major donors, you've already put yourself at a disadvantage. In this episode of Huddle Up with Mark The Fund Coach, we're exploring why Major Gift Leaders build donor relationships long before they need to ask for anything. We'll talk about why your organization's urgency isn't necessarily your donor's urgency, how transactional fundraising creates a cycle of constantly starting over, and why genuine cultivation is about much more than waiting for the right moment to make an ask. You'll also learn how to begin building a relationship pipeline by identifying people whose connection with your mission is worth intentionally deepening today. Because relationships aren't what you do before the ask. Relationships are the work. Want practical Major Gift Leadership ideas like this every week? Join The Weekly Huddle FREE: https://www.thefundcoach.com/opt-in  

Major donor meetings can create a lot of pressure for nonprofit leaders. You prepare your talking points, review your programs, memorize the statistics, and try to figure out exactly what you're going to say. But Major Gift Leaders understand that the most powerful skill in a donor conversation isn't speaking. It's listening. In this episode of Huddle Up with Mark The Fund Coach, we explore donor discovery and the difference between knowing about a donor and actually understanding the person behind the gift. You'll learn how to enter donor conversations with curiosity instead of an agenda, ask questions that invite meaningful stories, and listen for the experiences, values, and aspirations that reveal what truly matters to someone. We'll also talk about why “Tell me more” can be three of the most powerful words in relationship fundraising—and why discovery should determine the next step in a donor relationship rather than simply becoming another technique for getting to the ask. Because your goal isn't to discover the quickest route to someone's wallet. It's to discover whether there's authentic alignment between what they care about and the change your mission is working to create. Keep Growing as a Major Gift Leader If this episode helped you think differently about your donor conversations, join me in The Weekly Huddle. Each week, you'll get the latest episode of Huddle Up with Mark The Fund Coach along with practical ideas to help you build trusting donor relationships, lead major gifts with greater confidence, and become the Major Gift Leader your mission needs. Subscribe FREE to The Weekly Huddle: https://www.thefundcoach.com/opt-in  

Welcome to Season 3 of Huddle Up with Mark The Fund Coach! Your major donor doesn't want your fundraising pitch. They don't want to sit through a presentation about your programs, your budget, or everything your organization needs. They want a conversation. In this Season 3 premiere, we're exploring one of the most important shifts you can make as a nonprofit Executive Director: moving from pitching donors to building authentic relationships with them. You'll learn why the best major donor conversations begin with curiosity and listening, how to ask better questions that uncover what your donors truly care about, and how to move the conversation away from organizational needs and toward meaningful possibilities for impact. We'll also tackle an important misconception about relationship fundraising: building relationships doesn't mean avoiding the ask. It means creating enough trust, understanding, and alignment that an invitation to give becomes a natural next step. If you've ever felt like meeting with a major donor means you have to become a salesperson, this episode will give you a different perspective. You don't need a better pitch. You need better conversations. That's part of becoming the Major Gift Leader your mission needs. FREE GUIDE: 5 Habits of Executive Directors Who Land Big Gifts: https://bit.ly/4hFkOth Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlduncan/ To get this video podcast in your inbox, visit and subscribe here: https://www.thefundcoach.com/opt-in Let's Talk! Click here to schedule a Major Gift Strategy Session to get clarity on what your mission needs: https://calendly.com/thefundcoach/complimentary-coaching-session Windfall - Wealth Analytics Report: https://analytics.windfall.com/partner/the-fund-coach  

Welcome to the Season 2 finale of Huddle Up with Mark The Fund Coach! Over the past season, we've talked about relationship fundraising, transformational generosity, and what it means to become the kind of leader major donors naturally want to invest in. If there's one lesson I hope you've taken away, it's this: major gifts aren't built on fundraising tactics—they're built on leadership. As we wrap up the season, I want to focus on one of the most important leadership relationships you'll ever have as an Executive Director: your board. Too often, nonprofit leaders either expect too much from their board or not enough. The result is missed opportunities to build the kind of culture that inspires transformational generosity. In this episode, we'll explore the role your board should play in major gift fundraising, the common mistakes organizations make, and how Major Gift Leaders engage their boards as partners in building authentic donor relationships. Thank you for being part of the Huddle Up community throughout Season 2. I truly appreciate you investing your time with me each week, and I hope these conversations have encouraged you to lead with greater confidence and purpose. We'll be taking a short break during August, but don't worry—we'll be back with Season 3 beginning September 8th, with more practical strategies, leadership insights, and conversations to help you become the Major Gift Leader your mission needs. ***NEW COHORT*** Introducing The Major Gift Leadership Cohort - exclusive 8-week coaching intensive for Executive Directors and nonprofit leaders who want to build authentic donor relationships that naturally lead to transformational gifts. Visit here to learn more: https://www.thefundcoach.com/cohort-waiting-list FREE GUIDE: 5 Habits of Executive Directors Who Land Big Gifts: https://bit.ly/4hFkOth Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlduncan/ To get this video podcast in your inbox, visit and subscribe here: https://www.thefundcoach.com/opt-in Let's Talk! Click here to schedule a Major Gift Strategy Session to get clarity on what your mission needs: https://www.thefundcoach.com/discovery-session-booking-page Windfall - Wealth Analytics Report: https://analytics.windfall.com/partner/the-fund-coach